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Price gouging at the pump

blt2ride

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2005
2,333
0
Chatsworth
I know there has been a lot of posts about the price of gas, but I figured I would share what I saw today. I saw 87 octane fuel for $3.25 a gallon. This is the first time I have seen 87 over $3 a gallon, it would cost $55 to fill up my little 4 cyl truck...
 

chicodude

The Spooninator
Mar 28, 2004
1,054
2
Paradise
Yea, Well its crap, Everyone knows it's crap, and the oil companies are making huge profits and we can't do crap about it (With bush in office) Besides riding everywhere (Which isn't a bad idea, But not always possible)


And I have a feeling we are gonna get assraped by katrina so they now have an excuse to jack up prices more
 

reflux

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2002
4,617
2
G14 Classified
Changleen said:
Cleared $70 per barrel. Ho lee she at.
Not that we can speak for you New Zealanders, but everything is going to be perfectly fine in the US. The Bush Administration is working hard to make sure prices don't surge any further than they already have...
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,335
2,448
Hypernormality
It's going up another 5c a litre here 'by the end of the week'. It's still managable here, it's not taking a huge chunk out of my spending money or anything. Mind you I only commute 40Km a day, I think trucking companies are feeling it more.

We've only had 1 serious rise (premium went from $1.29 to $1.45 (I think) per Litre), but already the government is discussing contingencies for future rises and people are organising carpools and stuff. I think that's a pretty cool attitude.
 

hooples3

Fuggetaboutit!
Mar 14, 2005
5,245
0
Brooklyn
the estimate by everyone not buying gas for one day the companies will lose 40 billion dollars..... that would be a great way to show them that we are in charge and they cant just contorl us like that... that amount of money is enough to bankrupt a company .. and thats just one day
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
blt2ride said:
I know there has been a lot of posts about the price of gas, but I figured I would share what I saw today. I saw 87 octane fuel for $3.25 a gallon. This is the first time I have seen 87 over $3 a gallon, it would cost $55 to fill up my little 4 cyl truck...
if this continues (and i can't see why it won't), a decent amount of americans will start joining the legions of commuters around the world and carpool or share rides...
 

MMike

A fowl peckerwood.
Sep 5, 2001
18,207
105
just sittin' here drinkin' scotch
narlus said:
if this continues (and i can't see why it won't), a decent amount of americans will start joining the legions of commuters around the world and carpool or share rides...

JUDAS!!! How dare you utter such words!!!!!!!!!! You sir get one of these: :nuts:
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
hooples3 said:
the estimate by everyone not buying gas for one day the companies will lose 40 billion dollars..... that would be a great way to show them that we are in charge and they cant just contorl us like that... that amount of money is enough to bankrupt a company .. and thats just one day
uh, but then everyone will fill up the next day, and that 40 billion will flow right back into the coffers. try again.
 

Spitfired

Monkey
Jun 18, 2004
489
0
Rochester, NY
hooples3 said:
the estimate by everyone not buying gas for one day the companies will lose 40 billion dollars..... that would be a great way to show them that we are in charge and they cant just contorl us like that... that amount of money is enough to bankrupt a company .. and thats just one day
Isn't this just another one of those "world jump day" chain mail things? Obviously it's not going to work.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Sure oil companies are raking in the dough, now, but where was all the pity for them when oil was $12 a barrel and gas was below a $1.00 3 or so years ago?
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
23
SF, CA
N8 said:
Sure oil companies are raking in the dough, now, but where was all the pity for them when oil was $12 a barrel and gas was below a $1.00 3 or so years ago?
Never any pity for an industry that has a nearly inelastic demand and sets their own prices. It's called a monopoly (for OPEC), and if they were too stupid to use it properly 3 years ago, it doesn't mean I'm going to excuse them for abusing it right now.
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
It is a joke, however my wife works for Chevron and her profit sharing was unbelievable last year. So a message here people..........................When you get reamed for gas, buy Chevron and help out our family:thumb::D
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Brian HCM#1 said:
It is a joke, however my wife works for Chevron and her profit sharing was unbelievable last year. So a message here people..........................When you get reamed for gas, buy Chevron and help out our family:thumb::D

I have a number of good friends who work for ChevronTexaco and they are happy, happy except when it comes time to fill up the H2.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
robdamanii said:
One of those little hybrid civics are looking pretty goddamned good right about now...

My wife's 2005 Toyota Celica gets 32-35 mpg and she can haul two MTB's on the cargo area with the back seat folded down... she's lovin' it!
 

Raaar

Monkey
Sep 13, 2004
121
0
Yea, it sucks...but do you ever look around and feel like we are getting what we deserve? I mean, I hate it as much as anyone but our country has known for decades that there would eventually be consequneces for our ever-increasing oil dependancy.
I mean, really, I look around sometimes and am embarressed by our nations spoiled, wasteful lifestyle (myself included). We have not demanded that our government develop mas-transit systems, car-pool programs, etc. We are perfectly happy to shell out our cash to the auto industry for bigger, more powerful vehicles (because we NEED them to run little Timmy & Janey all over hell & back). Now many of us point the finger at "W" and his tie ins w/ the oil companies, or at the oil comapnies, or at China for increasing there demand for oil....we point the finger everywhere but at ourselves. IMO, the ugly truth is that we have become a fat, spoiled nation that has enslaved itself to the oil companies, fast food, and Wal-Mart. The oil companies have "got us" and they know it. It's our own damn fault, as a nation, for being short sighted.
 

ncrider

Turbo Monkey
Aug 15, 2004
1,564
0
Los Angeles
ohio said:
Never any pity for an industry that has a nearly inelastic demand and sets their own prices. It's called a monopoly (for OPEC), and if they were too stupid to use it properly 3 years ago, it doesn't mean I'm going to excuse them for abusing it right now.
Actually it's an Oligolpoly, which has had great succes in contolling all it's members in the last few years, thus raising oil prices.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
ncrider said:
Actually it's an Oligolpoly, which has had great succes in contolling all it's members in the last few years, thus raising oil prices.

The increased demand for oil is causing the price to rise.
 

ncrider

Turbo Monkey
Aug 15, 2004
1,564
0
Los Angeles
N8 said:
The increased demand for oil is causing the price to rise.
Oh come on now N8. I wouldn't expect to read such short sightedness from you. Yes demand is increasing and Katrina will cause prices to rise as well because it has reduced US supply. However, to say demand increasing is the sole reason would be false. OPEC has begun artificially raising prices as well. No question about it that OPEC is doing so becuase they know the US and many other key nations are dependent on supply, but also because there reserves are becoming relatively more depleted (still the majority of oil though). This gives the OPEC members the incentive to actively cooperate and raise prices. Demand is only one of the variables at play here.
 

Discostu

Monkey
Nov 15, 2003
524
0
People need to realize we're running out of gas. Its not an unlimited resource. If this price gouging doesn't cause a dramatic change in energy usage in this country then it will only change when we are completely out of oil and screwed.

For now, somehow our 1988-1989 Saab 9000's are consistently getting 34 MPG with between 165k and 240k on them.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
Discostu said:
People need to realize we're running out of gas. Its not an unlimited resource. If this price gouging doesn't cause a dramatic change in energy usage in this country then it will only change when we are completely out of oil and screwed.
Technically we've been running out of oil since the moment oil was discovered....... :rolleyes:

I think that the U.S. will see a gradual reduction in the use of oil as the price continues its upwards spiral. We'll never actually run out of oil - it'll get so prohibitively expensive that nobody will use it.

Humans are incredibly adaptive creatures. There is nothing which I can see which won't result in our adapting to the realities of scarce oil.
 

Discostu

Monkey
Nov 15, 2003
524
0
SkaredShtles said:
Technically we've been running out of oil since the moment oil was discovered....... :rolleyes:.
Well my point is people blame one administration or the other for oil shortages/high gas prices, but no matter who is in charge, they can't do anything about the fact that there is a finite amount of oil. Sure politics can be responsible for short term price shifts, but the overall trend is that prices will continue to go up until like you said gas is prohibitively expensive (at this point for all practical purposes we've run out).
 

ncrider

Turbo Monkey
Aug 15, 2004
1,564
0
Los Angeles
SkaredShtles said:
it'll get so prohibitively expensive that nobody will use it.
.

:stupid:
Que the invasion of the super hydro and electric cars, increased public transportation and a movement of people to the cities that already have excellent established public transportation.
 

Bullitrider

Monkey
Apr 17, 2004
577
0
Seattle
Did anyone see the slide show on MSN yesterday about what the oil industry(mainly Shell) is doing to Nigeria? It made me feel sleazy. No wonder they always try to scam us...it's payback.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
People do realize that we use in oil to make plastics as well? At least I hope so. This doesn't have to do with only gas prices and transportation.
 

chicodude

The Spooninator
Mar 28, 2004
1,054
2
Paradise
Inclag said:
People do realize that we use in oil to make plastics as well? At least I hope so. This doesn't have to do with only gas prices and transportation.

The can make plastics out of other stuff too....Corn.
 

Curb Hucker

I am an idiot
Feb 4, 2004
3,661
0
Sleeping in my Kenworth
I hate this bullsh1t, today I needed to fill up the Rover, so i went to shell which has the cheapest gas in town. I payed $67.84 for 20.4gal of gas. And the saddest part of it all is that I will only get 255mi out of that tank. :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: Damn our stupid government for not allowing the 5sp TDI or TD5 Diesel Discoveries to be brought to the states :mumble: :mumble: :mumble:
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
23
SF, CA
Curb Hucker said:
I hate this bullsh1t, today I needed to fill up the Rover, so i went to shell which has the cheapest gas in town. I payed $67.84 for 20.4gal of gas. And the saddest part of it all is that I will only get 255mi out of that tank. :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: :dead: Damn our stupid government for not allowing the 5sp TDI or TD5 Diesel Discoveries to be brought to the states :mumble: :mumble: :mumble:
You drive a Land (range?) Rover and you're bitching about $60 in gas?