OK! STOP!

Mark Hunt

and a "gas boycott".

I'm not doing it. I will buy gas if I need it.

I do not consider American oil companies an "Enemy of the State".

Thanks anyway.

Mark H

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DanHolohan

Gas is

still way cheap here.

doug_16

The gas boycot

has to be the dumbest thing. If I don't buy gas on the boycot day, I should buy the gas the next day? Or should I buy the gas I need on boycot day on the day before?
That one needs a Dilbert award!

jim lockard

Never Stop

10 dollars a gallon for gasoline will not slow the American public down. When you look at the cost of other things, todays gas price is very reasonable.
J.Lockard

Constantin

Yup,

The going rate in Europe is about $6 a gallon or more. The governments finance a large part of their fiscal households using gas taxes...

Having said that, a poster on another board posted the picture of a billboard showing $3.16 a gallon somewhere in rural America. We're getting there, it appears.

Perhaps the current price spike will permanently re-shape the way Americans think about energy efficiency and conservation. However, I doubt it will happen, considering the wide-spread energy conservation amnesia once the 1973, 1979 oil spikes had been digested.

With any luck, renewable energy sources will become economically viable in the future, even without a massive public injection on the loan and tax side.

Kal Row

at my local gas station

a gallon of gas s still cheaper than a gallon of water in 24oz bottles

and - just whose's fault is that now???...

Shelby

Gas in alberta

Our gas prices here north of the border are about 3.82 a gal. Takes $75 to fill up the truck. It used to take about $56. You sure notice the fuel economy of your vehicle when the gas prices start going though the roof.

Ranger

As long as...

...my low alcohol level light stay's extinguished,I'm a happy camper.

Guy_5

Gas

The high prices don't seem to have affected the sales of large SUVs. I am guilty of that myself, as the size of my family neccesitates the large vehicle, but I try to use it as sparingly as possible. I just hate having to take out a second mortgage to fill the tank....

BillW@honeywell

The young woman...

in the SUV in front of me at the gas station this morning paid $68.00 to fill up. OUCH!

Mad Dog

Why not see what happens??

Its only one day. No, they are not an enemy, but I would like to see if they even take notice. Mad Dog

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Ken_8

Yeah but...

Your dollar is only worth .68 Yank.

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Shelby

Ken

Our Canadian peso is worth 0.7188 on your American dollar. That is not the point I was getting at. We produce the stuff right here in alberta but yet we pay so much for it. It was not that long ago that we were complaining about the gas going over 0.60 a litre. Now we are paying over 0.84 and told that it is not going back down. There is talk that this is just the beginning. By summers end it could be up to a dollar a litre. When your getting 17 miles per gallon out of your truck it gets expensive to run.

J.C.A._3

For once in my life.....

I FINALLY made the right decision! (yeah ME!) I got rid of the "old service van" I was driving for my own, and bought , what is considered a LEV.(low emmission vehicle).

On my recent trip to Brookhaven, among seeing Mr. Secor, Mr. Murdough, The Firedragon, Alan Mercurio, Ron Jr., and a pile of other finest in the oil field, I achieved almost 37 MPG. Went from the north shore of Mass. to Ct. , Picked up a ferry or 2 along the way, and still managed to get "there and back" on a reasonable amount of fuel.I believe the total trip was around 16 gallons...31.00$

Not bad for a 7 month old GUESS eh? Chris. (yes, I watch the market).

Terry St.James_2

You guys are lucky !

Here in Montreal...I woke to the price of gas at 99.9 cents a litre( x 4.54 to get gallons) I have a dinky little car that a couple of years ago cost 20 bucks to fill. This pass weekend it was 47 smackers. I been thinking of some of the pictures I have seen in Dan's books. No...not the piping but the one of the front of Starbucks taken many years ago; I've been eyeing that horse and wagon.

Bud_14

I fill up 2 times a week @ just under a 50 dollar bill each time. I got it made..I'd hate to have a company with 20 trucks on the road gas this mornings fill up 2.15 a gallon...Now I found out that you can go to gasbuddy.com and find the least expensive gas around in justa coupla clicks...Our local news website has the prices of the local stations around town..these are tools to save you money, hopefully ;0

Bud

Ken_8

Shel,

I was bustin' ya a bit.

I get into PQ enough from my cabin on the north VT border to see all the canadians shoot across the border just for some of that buck-ninety a gallon VT gas.

The exchange rate is getting better - but you guys still make it very attractove for my jaunts to Montreal. I buy the food, beer, greens fees and casino chips there. Then wonder why we can't be more like you.

I just don't buy the gas. But the elctricity! Such a deal! Hydro Quebec - .04 per KW!

Guess we can't have it all.



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Unknown

Thats it

I wouldn't mind so much paying the extra buck a gallon it's going for right now - if the money was going to pay down the federal debt , or go to funding the war . But when it goes to foreign lands that cut production to increase their profits - the $2.19 a gallon is hard to take .

ScottMP

Do any of you

add on to your invoices for the rise in gas prices ??

We have been thinking about what it cost our trucks out on the road and may add a fuel charge along with the gas,solder,flux.

Scott

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Wayco Wayne_2

Adjusting prices

Yeah Scott, Now your into my thoughts. I am thinking of just raising my hourly rate to make up the difference. It might be time to look into a higher mileage work truck too. The Dodge Sprinter gets good mileage but I have no Dodge dealer near by and the local gas sation doesn't carry deisel fuel. Whereas my chevy dealer is very conveniently down the street 2 miles for service and parts for my Chevy 1 ton.

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Ken_8

We thought about that too.

But at an average of 4 calls a day (5x4=20 a week) divided into the old price (when no one made mention of gas prices) of $1.58 - which have soared to $1.98, the 20 gallons we burn a week per truck at an additional 40-cents per gallon would come out to an additional 'per call' overhead of 40-cents.

I don't think we need to get too worked up about it. (:-o) On the other hand, the HWBB add-a-zone job we quoted two months ago has materials costs going up close to a C-note.

That one (and the others like it) has my sphincter doing the mambo.

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Constantin

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion

Now I don't pretend to know anything about oil prices and/or what sets them. In many respects, that market (the efforts of OPEC notwithstanding) is full of wheeling-dealing, speculation, etc. Typically, it is very difficult for anyone except Saudi Arabia to have a meaningful impact, simply because the Saudis only use about 50% of their capacity, on average.

In my laymans understanding of the market, I see several factors why prices are high.

• The dollar devalued up to 40% relative to many foreign currencies like the Euro. Worldwide oil prices are set in US dollars. Therefore, if non-US producers (which may happen to be in the Middle East) want to maintain purchasing parity (i.e. be able to barter for the same goods as before), they will have increase their prices. BTW, IIRC we get most of our oil from Venezuela and Mexico.
• You and I know who we get to thank for the massive devaluation of the dollar, and price increases in your industry are rampant for the same reasons. As best as I can tell, it's only going to get worse as the inflationary forces trickle through the economy. The only thing holding it back right now is that wages have not increased nearly as much. However, it's only a matter of time before Greenspan decides that the dollar is worth defending and raises the rates. That will perhaps stop the slide of the dollar but it may choke off economic growth as well
• Demand around the world is very high for oil right now. Chinas own exploration and exploitation efforts failed to keep up with internal demand. Thus, it was entirely predictable that their economy would start to sop up more and more worldwide capacity. However, how many shareholders can you convince that it's OK to spend $$$ exploring for oil when the oil price is in the basement?

Granted, there seems to be a lot of air in the market, the $40/barrel price may be nothing more than speculation. However, we as a nation must be prepared to pay more for foreign goods as our currency devalues due to the massive trade deficit, governmental fiscal deficits, and most terrifyingly the personal deficits (i.e. net negative savings rate) of US consumers. I don't think people realize how much lower the dollar can go...

Caselli

gallons

> gas at

> 99.9 cents a litre( x 4.54 to get gallons)


? ? 3.78 litres = 1 gallon US

4.54 litres = 1 Imperial Gallon

George_10

Constantin

Couple all you said with our lack of refinery capacity and you can see a longer term problem. It is my understanding that if we have more oil to refine sitting in ports, we still would be behind the curve due to lack of conversion capacity.

Also out west we have these absolutely insane variations of gasoline mixtures which are mandated by various states. This hurts the supply problem too, and also may account for part of the higher prices in California.

High oil prices and rising interest rates are a one-two punch our economy will have to weather in the near future.

Cliff Brady

Gas affecting the sales of large SUVs

Yes sir:

The New York Times
May 17, 2004
No Longer the Next Big Thing, Hummer Offers First Rebates
By DANNY HAKIM

DETROIT, May 16 —
(snip)

But most dealers are undertaking the ambitious construction project just as Hummer, the loudest and proudest of the giant American sport utility vehicles, has shown signs of losing its swagger.

Sales of the flagship Hummer H2 have fallen for eight consecutive months, and 24 percent in the first four months of the year, compared with the same periods a year earlier. G.M. has resorted to rebates and financing deals, which have become standard for every Detroit brand but Hummer. Inventories piled up as Hummers sat unsold 62 days on average in the first quarter, compared with 15 days a year earlier. And G.M. is now using leases, which are less lucrative than sales, to move a quarter of its volume of H2's, according to J. D. Power & Associates.

(snip)

Dealers and analysts say rising gas prices are contributing factors for the vehicle, which gets about 11 miles per gallon and has a smaller gas tank than some rivals. For the last two years, fuel economy has been among the top 10 complaints of Hummer owners in J. D. Power's initial quality surveys.

(snip)

To detractors, they are symbols of the nation's soaring oil consumption. Hummers are so large that they are not regulated by fuel economy standards governing most vehicles. One Web site dedicated to what it calls the "ultimate poseur vehicle" has collected 553 photographs from people all over the country giving salutes to Hummers, Hummer executives, Hummer toys and pictures of Hummers in magazines. As one might guess, these are not military salutes. The site's name cannot be printed in a family newspaper.

The Sierra Club sponsors www.hummerdinger.com, a satirical site lampooning Hummers for, among other things, getting less than half the mileage of a Model T Ford.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/business/17HUMM.html?pagewanted=prin...

Sales of Gas-guzzling SUVs Sputter as Fuel Costs Climb

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
[May 19, 2004]

Before Brian Bird listed his wife's 2002 Suburban, he did some checking. Average seller's price in the classifieds was about $33,500. Reasonable enough. So that's the price he set on the loaded, low-mileage 4x4. That was 3 1/2 months ago -- before filling up the Suburban hit almost $60 a pop, before dealers started listing equivalent cars below $30,000, and before some car buyers began wondering if the oversized sport utility vehicle might be going the way of the supersized meal.

Today -- national "Stick It to Them Day," according to online organizers of a one-day gas-buying boycott -- the Birds' 2002 Suburban is selling at $30,500/or best offer. Bird has received one call. No call-back. "As gas prices go up, it's like being out in the desert," the Whidbey Islander developer said.

It's a silence familiar to other sellers of large SUVs, as the price of gasoline rolls past $2 a gallon and private parties pull prices on the autos far below Blue Book values. Then wait and wait. With the average price of gas swelling to $2.25 a gallon in the Seattle area, SUV owners are increasingly doing double-takes on daintier gas-sippers, such as compacts, and hybrids -- even mini sport-utility vehicles.

"I'm looking for a smaller Japanese engine, something more fuel-efficient," says Michael Miller, a salesman who regularly travels from his Redmond home to Bellingham. He's had his beloved 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee -- loaded, always garaged -- listed in the classifieds for more than a month. Asking price: $18,500. He's had two calls. No offers. "If it comes down to it," he says, "I'll definitely trade it in, but I want the most value for the car."

EDIT

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=5735

S Ebels

Prices here

Gas 87 octane $2.13, AHEM! diesel is "just" $1.81.

Spoke with the auto glass guy that replaced my windshield yesterday about his Sprinter. It was a 3/4 ton, short version and he carried a light load in it most days. (less than 1,000#) His first 25,000 miles averaged 24.3 MGP. I could live with that.

Diesel is here to stay this time.

Shelby

alternate to horse and buggy

Well at least a way to fight high gas prices in the winter!