Gas Prices up to what?

[Randy Denzer]

I know this picture is an issue of spacing but is it a sign of things to come.. This was in Burnet, Texas the other day. Prices are up to $3.79 per gallon here in the Austin, Area... I wish I knew where the CEO of Eexon lives so I could send him a letter of thanks! I am sure he has the money for great security buy now!

[Dan Cook]

I'd rather be paying that $3.59 than the $3.99 here.

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

Well, you are still lucky. Here in Estonia, people pay over $6 per gallon.

[Marc Rémillard]

Same here in canada.. more than 6

[Bernard Hulshof]

Well, you are still lucky. Here in Estonia, people pay over $6 per gallon.

Well, then you're lucky too Tarmo, ahum.
We currently have to pay about $7.37 per gallon in the Netherlands :eek:

[Randy Denzer]

Yea, But we make the go juice right here in Texas!

[APritchard]

I hear you Dan.

You guys in Texas and the rest of the plains states have it lucky, as they're almost always at least 30 cents under the tax heavy Illinois prices. It's always refreshing to leave the state this time of year and fill up for "cheap" out there.

Just look at the difference crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri.

http://illinoisgasprices.com/price_by_county.aspx

I'm moving to Wyoming.

[Joel Wright]

I paid $3.99 yesterday for premium here in Illinois. Highest I've ever paid. Next week I'll likely be shelling out over $4/gal.

These high gas prices are kind of a pain to pay for, but I can easily budget another $20 a week or so for it. What's really frustrating though is the way it's inflating all other prices. Food, etc. I must have slept through the part in economics that talked about the ripple effect high gas prices have. I never knew it would have such a large impact on everything else the way it has.

The last few years the highest gas prices of the year seemed to happen in May or June, so hopefully they'll begin dropping by mid-summer. That's about anyones guess at this point though lol.

[Jason Foster]

Yeah...the price is up....even a little lower than I predicted, but close. I budgeted for $3.80 to chase this year (although I have yet to go out to the plains).

If (for whatever reason) I decide not to venture out this year before my cut-off time (about May 30th). Then I'm going to throw my money back into the market and hope for some good hurricanes this year. For me that means good weather to intercept, and fuels stocks will go up, and I can make much more money. Let the weather pay me!

Another note (and it's not a personal thing), but I'm sick of hearing about the price of fuel in Europe. They don't have same economy we do, with a much higher tax rate/percentage. Plus, Europe is small, and what is the average driver in Europe driving....maybe like 5000 miles per year. For me the unit price is one thing, but let's look at what the percentage is for spending on fuel compared to income and other expenses is on an annual basis. I don't see Europe dishing out a lot for healthcare costs, or education (college), housing, food, etc. I don't see a huge infrastructure they have to support (again, compare land size). Yes, they pay a lot for gas, and maybe we here in the United States don't have it quite right either.....but lets stop comparing apples to oranges.

[Dave Gallaher]

What's really frustrating though is the way it's inflating all other prices. Food, etc. I must have slept through the part in economics that talked about the ripple effect high gas prices have. I never knew it would have such a large impact on everything else the way it has.

Those who remember the gas 'shortage' of the 1970s will recall how everything else rose in price--up until now, that had been the single most inflationary event of my lifetime, but that was just a warmup--they are going for the throat these days.

[D. Hayes]

Shoot and the kids these days think I'm old when I tell them I remember dad filling up at 69¢ a gallon and then the gas attendant checked the oil and cleaned the windows. Heck I'm only 34. You folks over in Europe seem to always be paying insane prices. Might help if you had a oil field or two in your back yard. From what I understand we have tons of oil here we just rather run everyone else out before we touch our supplies.

[Dennis Sherrod]

Shoot and the kids these days think I'm old when I tell them I remember dad filling up at 69¢ a gallon and then the gas attendant checked the oil and cleaned the windows. Heck I'm only 34. You folks over in Europe seem to always be paying insane prices. Might help if you had a oil field or two in your back yard. From what I understand we have tons of oil here we just rather run everyone else out before we touch our supplies.

Same here. I remember the 25 to 27 cent a gallon gas and working at the gas station cleaning the windshield, checking oil and tire pressure. I would fill up my gas guzzling hot rod for about $5.00 and my boss always gave us a discount and deducted the amount for the gas directly from our paychecks. But, also, I was only making $1.75 hour doing that and driving a wrecker for him too. As I have said before, looking back, the price of gas has really gone up very little over the past 35 years.
And, I have numerous times paid the $4.50 - $6.00 per gallon prices in other various parts of the world over the past 15 years. I remember thinking our turn is coming in the U.S. where we would be paying the same prices. I don't really like it, but I can't say I am surprised at all.

[Shane Adams]

What's really frustrating though is the way it's inflating all other prices. Food, etc. I must have slept through the part in economics that talked about the ripple effect high gas prices have. I never knew it would have such a large impact on everything else the way it has.

Actually that's probably the most glaringly-obvious ripple effect of the economy; trucks and trains and ships are how we get everything. If the price of distribution skyrockets, it's only natural the price of products follows suit. It's kinda like the way it works in the opposite direction, when a manufacturer/supplier gets a great deal and then in turn, passes this down to the customer.

Of course unless you're an oil company, then you just keep it all for yourself.

[Jeremy Ludin]

When I graduated H.S. in '99, I remember paying $0.99/gal. I'm going to be forced to sell the Vette and trade in the truck for a freaking 4 cylinder piece of crap before long, otherwise I can forget about any mile-munching chase in the future. Currently paying $3.79 for unleaded plus here, but it seems to rise about 10 cents every damn week. Gotta love it!

[J Kinkaid]

I paid $3.99 yesterday for premium here in Illinois. Highest I've ever paid. Next week I'll likely be shelling out over $4/gal.




Buying premium gas is a waste of your money. It doesn't give you better gas mileage or make your car run any better. I feel that gas prices are about to level off and then we will get a cat4/ 5 cane in the GOM and then see $6 a gallon gas :eek: heck even a small tropical storm in the gulf of mexico I bet that they would jack up the prices to $4.40 ish range.

1993 $ 0.97 a gallon
2001 gas was $1.21 a gallon
2008 $3.58 a gallon

[Jason Harris]

High gas prices are not going away any time soon. Don't forget the weakening dollar equates to higher prices too. Plus, there's always a crank up for the summer driving season. And then there's the whole "peak oil" matter about how the supplies are just not going to be there as demand increases, and increases, and increases. And even with recent buzz over ethanol, Brazil and more domestic drilling, apparently that won't do much for the long term either. Time for mandatory improvements with mpg perhaps? How about solar panels on every roof too? Nothing much happening that I can see except a lot of money to be made still with oil. A LOT. Check out stocks like HP, RIG, DO, NE.

When we get crude to $200 by 2010, the estimate is $6 a gallon. Probably stop at $150 for a bit along the way in 2009. Heck, maybe even 2008, since we already made $126.

[Dan Cook]

Well, you are still lucky. Here in Estonia, people pay over $6 per gallon.

You have more taxes on fuel then we do, hence higher prices.

[Robert Dewey]

You have more taxes on fuel then we do, hence higher prices.

Either way, that's money leaving the pocket.

Kind of makes me question whether or not to pursue the 2009 Camaro...

[Robert Edmonds]

Sorry a litte off topic: I've been thinking of a scooter, I figure if prices stay around $3-4 dollars a gallon it would pay for its self in a ~4 years, even when factoring in insurance. If gas goes up, maybe 2-3 years.. More and more, 80mpg sounds better for little runs to the grocery store.

[Greg McLaughlin]

J Kincaid mentioned the premium myth. Here is an article from the Quiktrip Corp about that myth. Its pretty cool how a convenient store company will tell you the truth about premium gas. Its not like they would make more money if people bought premium.

http://www.quiktrip.com/gasoline/myth.asp

I just bought a 03' 4runner for storm chasing and it costs over $70 to fill it up. I am still happy I bought the 4runner though. Its a sweet chase vehicle, but I must admit I am having to adjust to 20mpg vs. 33mpg I used to get in my old Hyundai Elantra.

[Mike Peregrine]

Quiktrip is the best gas station on the planet, in my opinion. Their prices are not inflated, their product is awesome (never a ping from it), and they have everything you need in one spot. The only trouble with them is they are so wildly popular that people in KC do not get their gas anywhere else, so even though there are a lot of them, they are constantly packed. I end up getting gas at Costco too, just because there is what amounts to a good break for members.

A bike really isn't a bad idea ...

I have heard that property values in city centers are on the rise now due to fuel. Suburban homes, already feeling the crunch from a bad housing market, are now devaluing due to commute distance. I'm glad I bought the place I did now ... it's literally five minutes from downtown.

[Randy Denzer]

Sorry a litte off topic: I've been thinking of a scooter, I figure if prices stay around $3-4 dollars a gallon it would pay for its self in a ~4 years, even when factoring in insurance. If gas goes up, maybe 2-3 years.. More and more, 80mpg sounds better for little runs to the grocery store.

I will buy a 12 pack of the beer of choice for the first chaser to post a video of a CHASER on a scooter in a hail storm!! Remember that a 12 pack of beer is NOT worth dying over!!!! I need to be able to see a computer getting data!

This is a challange!!!

[Joel Wright]

Buying premium gas is a waste of your money. It doesn't give you better gas mileage or make your car run any better...


Actually the LS2 motor in my GTO specifically requires 93 octane. It will run on a lower grade, but the computer will adjust the timing to prevent pinging. I bought it when gas prices were considerably less than what they are now. It still gets better mileage than what my V6 Ranger achieved. As long as I can afford to drive the damn thing, I'm keeping it.

[Matthew Fischer]

I don't know, i as just in AR, TN and MS this weekend. Prices down there are 40 cents cheaper then here in chicago area! Its all about taxes on the gas! That counts for some of the price!

[D. Hayes]

A while back a few of my online friends did some checks with difference in premium vs unleaded. They actually got better gas mileage with the premium with the 04+ ford F150's. So price wise they broke a bit better than even in miles per dollar. That being said, I run a performance tuner in my F150 so I have to run the good stuff. Seriously speaking, the price difference between the grades isn't that bad, maybe $4 more for my truck. And $4 isn't anything when it cost almost $100 to fill up from empty.

[Mark Farnik]

I am beginning to seriously consider purchasing an older 4 cylinder, 5 speed econo car, i.e. Corolla, Civic, Sentra etc. here in the next few weeks for my long distance chases. Here is my reasoning behind that.
My daily driver and current chase vehicle is a 1998 Subaru Forester, which I bought in February. With a 4 cylinder and 4 speed auto it's getting 25 mpg on long highway trips, which is pretty good considering it's an AWD suv. It costs me right around $50 to fill up the 16 gallon tank at $3.55 a gallon (currently the average price here in eastern Colorado/western Kansas, give or take five cents) and with a typical range in the 300 to 350 mile range, a typical 900 mile chase will cost me right around $150 in gas, or $75 if somebody rides along with me.
Now, if I picked up an old 4 cylinder 5 speed Civic, for example, I could get an older one in relatively decent shape for well under $2k. I would only take out liability on it, which would be dirt cheap for a 10+ year old economy car, even with me being an 18 year old male driver. And where its so old, if it gets beat up by hail, oh well, who cares.
If I was getting 35 mpg with that, figuring a 350 mile range on a 10 gallon tank, I would only be shelling out $35 per fillup instead of $50, and a typical 900 mile chase would set me back a 'mere' $105, or $52 if someone rides with me and we split costs, an average savings of $45 for solo chases and $23 for non-solo chases.
If I chased solo five times and non-solo five times the rest of this chase season (say from today to September), if I was driving my Forester @ 25mpg, it would cost me $750 and $375 in gas, respectivley, for a total of $1,125 in gas.
If I was driving the example Civic @ 35 mpg, it would cost me $525 and $260, respectively, for a total of $785 in gas, resulting in a not insignificant $340 in savings over driving the Forester. If I give $2k for the car, the car will have paid for between 7/8ths and 1/4th of itself in one chase season, and if gas stays in the general neighborhood of $3.50 to $4.00 for the next few years, it will have completely paid for itself in fuel savings in 6 chase seasons. However, in the unfortunate likelihood that gas goes higher than that, the car could very well pay for itself in fuel savings in as little as 3 chase seasons.:eek:
Not to mention I will be putting significantly less wear and tear on my Forester, which I've already put 6,000 miles on in he 3 months I've owned it:o

It really is a very practical proposition when you think about it. The trick is to find one that's been very well maintenanced - otherwise, the costs of keeping it on the road may vastly outweigh the fuel savings. I'm scouring Craigslist like a hawk, taking my time looking for the proverbial little old lady who can't drive her immaculately maintained old 4 cylinder Corolla/Civic/Cavalier anymore and wants it out of her driveway for a song...:D

[Chris Allington]

I wouldn't recommend a Sentra... I have one and it seems to be built pretty crappily and I have had a few problems. Not with chasing jsut maintenence issues here and there. I do get fairly decent mileage when things are in working order but as you say I would think unless it was EXTREMELY well maintained the maintenence cost would outweigh the fuel savings.

[Dave Gallaher]

A bike really isn't a bad idea.

I bought a one-owner 1988 Honda Shadow VT1100C back in 2002. Granted, an 1100 isn't the most economical displacement (and it does require premium gas), but the bike will get between 40-50mpg if I lay off the throttle. I use it around town a bunch when weather permits and my working van isn't required; a couple of different-sized backpacks are perfect for light shopping and errand running. Breaking it down, I can make about 100 miles on $10 worth of premium, while the van would require about $36 worth of regular for the same distance.

Now if I can just get the other drivers to see it a little better...