Are they ever going to go down? this is staring to really get to me and I dont even drive my truck everyday since I have a co truck. Why is it that the gas will start to drop by a few cents and then BAM!!! it goes higher then where it was at. Is it because of our govenment? Is it because Bush has a personal intrest in oil WTF I keep seeing the American working man and woman getting screwed. I'm not just talking gasoline but diesel as well , we are all feeling the pinch, should the gov open the reserves? something should be done but what. I'm not buying this BS about summer blends and winter blend fuel crap It's just a shame it has to be like this and we have to sit and take it sorry for the rant but it really ****es me off ,

 

cc322

I briefly worked in the oil industry right after I retired from the Army.

I made parts that the big companies like Exxon, BP, and Shell demanded have a life expectancy of more than 50 years.

Some of the blow out preventers I made where extreemly big ticket items.

We have many technical meetings with the big oil scientists. Along the way a vice chairman or two would poke their head in and check us out.

I asked five different people who I thought would be in positions to KNOW.

"Why do you need the extended life spans on some of these parts, isn't the oil supply getting straind and about to crap out?"

In one way or another each one of them laughed at me and indicated that they expected their great grand children to be getting oil out of the ground for many many years. One top level BP fellow looked right at me and said "This planet is no where near being tapped out!"

The longer the USA pays $1.75 or higher the less likely it will drop more than a few token cents in the next few years.

This is my observation from the last 35 years of driving. The Arab oil embargo of the mid 70s doubled the price and after the oil flowed freely at half the $$ per barrel price did we see and equivelent drop at the pump? .. nope just about a dime less and over the years they have kept creeping it up.

The government is NOT in the Oil business but they are keenly aware that Oil runs our economy.

You ever stop to consider how many million gallons in interstate heavy trucking. Every day!

You ever seen one of those maps of the US when there are some drastic problem with the weather and notice how many airplane icons are in the sky at any given moment?

For the last three years almost every piece of rolling stock the Army and Marine Corps has is on the road. Yep every Military post I go to the motor pools are empty!

And even with two dollar a gallon gas and diesel we 165 million automobile and truck drivers are zooming all over town like little ants going here and there and a LOT of us choose to drive Great BIG gas GUZZELING monstor trucks and SUVs with nothing better to do than go get a beer and hang out at the ball game. 362HP to haul my 208lb butt to the hardware store!

No sir, I bet the government is looking out here and grinning like big cats... because they snuck in a tax on gasoline that is calculated as a % of the total sale. The more it costs.. and the more we will buy the more money the government is going to take in to feed their pet pork projects to get thier local votes so thety can return each year to the power, influence, and parties!

Damn aint capitalism cool!

Stationed in Germany and I have been back there recently. They sell gasoilne by the liter (takes about 3.8L to make a Gal) The equivelent price in dollars was about $1.38 pre liter last time I was over there.

To contrast this the last time I was in Daharan Saudi Arabia I filled up my rental Pajero with 21 gallons for $3.57 you got it... I paid 17cents per gallon!

 

I never expect the price to go down. Even if the cost goes way down, I am sure taxes will be raised on it enough to bring the price back up. People who use there vehicles for work have no choice, you have to pay. However, I have really curbed my pleasure driving. My Mustang has not been driven since July, mainly because of the gas price. I just stay at home.

 

Fredvon4, I heard years ago part of the high cost problem, especially here in CA., was that there are many, many different blends of fuel nation wide. If one refinery goes down, another out of state refinery would have to gear up to make another blend. If there was one blend nationwide, prices would be cheaper. Any thoughts?

 

All around cost of living made it very clear to me that my Army retirement would not pay the bills.

Got off my butt and went back to work full time.

Teamed up with three friends and cashed out our meger 401s to start a company.

Part of my Government job has ne traveling all over the uSA and over seas and I see very full resturants, mals, wall mart parking lots and a bunch of construction everywhere.

NAFTA is a good idea and typical political screw up managing it. Out sourcing help desk services is not a major porblem but outsourcing manufacturing IS. Fortunatly the trade deflict caused us to raise import taxes high enough to bully Toyota, Nissan, Cannon, and a bunch of other major manufactures to open factories here in the US.

The writting has been on the wall since the 1970s about our shifting economy. If you need a job they are there, you need to be multi talented, network, and be willing to move.

I can't get competent computer operators. The home builders in my area have plenty of labor but there is skilled worker shortage. The medical industrie is litteraly going out to small towns in vans and abducting LPN and RNs with signing bonuses and paid moves. Voc tech shcools all have waiting lists to get in. The government is hiring.

What I am saying is my perspective is that the economy is smoking right along.

So in time we will all adjust to the increases in costs that the fuel costs will eventually drive up. Did you hear thet Post office petitioning to rais rates.. yep fuel and labor cost increases require rate change. Same in airline industrie, and prices in grocery stors have to reflect added trucking costs..Fuel again!

So I say get out there and drive while it is cheap! The big oil and the Government have hit on a winning process and I asure you if you don't like these 2005 prices you won't like the 2010 price on it either.

 

Some interesting info/opinions Fredvon. Stuff I hadn't considered before.

But I agree with you about the economy-there are scattered dark spots, but overall it's booming. Every construction contractor in the area is backed up for weeks and months and the mall parking lot is packed 7 days a week.

 

The oil companies are screwing us.

BP, Exxon and the rest of them have record profits for fiscal year 2004.

They have no justification for the prices they are gouging us with at the pumps other than we are nothing more to them than sheep who will sit back and do nothing.

Tony

 

Tony

Yes they do have justification....THEY are in busines to make MONEY! We do NOT want government involved in this. This is a pure supply and demand process working exactly as it is designed to.

Does any one here have any idea WHY they don't build any more refineries...any one hazard a guess?

 

That would relax the supply restrictions on processed gas lowering price to the consumer and cutting the oil company's profit.

 

I don't want the Goverment involved either. That would only increase the prices.

What I would like is an alternative to fossil fuel. Or at the very least, increase its efficiency by about 500% without negating performance.

With the technology and great minds of this world our largest vehicles should be getting 100+mpg.

Tony

 

Yes the oil companies even used the metric conversion in Canada to hit us with a 20 % increase with out many people even realizing it had happened. In Canada we used to have the Imperial Gal which is 20% bigger than the US gal. 1 US GAL = 3.78 litres.............. 1 Imperial Gal = 4.5 litres
An imperial Quart was 20 % larger in Volume than a Litre but guess what, when we went metric the price of a smaller litre stayed the same price as our Imperial quart.
My old gassers used to take 4 quarts on an oil change, they now took 5 litres.
Right now in BC gas is selling at 86 cents a litre. 3.78 x .86 = $3.25 Can per US Gal or about $ 2.60 US ( this is approx. exchange rate )
Most Canadians in border towns still fill up in the US and the Canadian - US rate exchange has made Border shopping a major business.
That's my math lesson for the day, Wrench.

 

i'm buying oil co. stock

 

i can put race gas in my mustang for about the same price it cost to fill up my truck.