High gas prices got you down?

F1nut

All the oil companies are posting RECORD profits, not record sales, record PROFITS and they have the nerve to charge the consumer even more. FU*K them, the horse they rode in on and the colonel who sent them.

Bush needs to grow some big brass ones and I voted for the pathetic POS.

marker

bobman1235 wrote:

You're kidding right?

I'll just point to the Snopes article debunking this ridiculousness and back away slowly.

Yep! That was it exactly. I remember the part about the "retired Coke executive" coming up with the idea now.

marker

F1nut wrote:

All the oil companies are posting RECORD profits, not record sales, record PROFITS and they have the nerve to charge the consumer even more. FU*K them, the horse they rode in on and the colonel who sent them.

Bush needs to grow some big brass ones and I voted for the pathetic POS.

I could not possibly agree with you more here on all points Jesse.

Toxis

Bush is a business man, not a president. It was his daddy who got him where he is today, not him. By far the worst president I've had the misfortune to know.

brettw22

So he makes as bad a businessman as he does a politician? Seems about right.....

thehaens@cox.net

petrym wrote:

At least we're not paying the $6-7 a gallon that Europe's paying right now. Of course, Venezuelans are paying less than 20 cents a gallon...

True, the Europeans are paying a lot more for fuel. But I would bet that they are still paying less on a monthly basis than the average American. The cars over there are a lot more fuel efficient than ours. The average car in Europe gets over 40 mpg...and I bet they don't commute 100 miles per day either. And it gets better in Europe, according to the European Auto Manuf Assoc. recent agreement. By 2012, the average light pass vehicle must get 48 mpg or better.....

It would be nice if the US would mandate a proposal as this...

Scott

ohskigod

Those are valid points sure. I think we should drill in Anwr, I think we need to up refinery capability. etc. But dont think for a minute that the oil company mergers had nothing to do with this. It makes price structuring a cake walk. There profits didnt shoot up like the space shuttle into orbit because of magic. Thos companies need to be split up, plain and simple, no windfall tax. more companies, more competition. Its been done before.

oil is pretty much close to a monopoly now with all the recent gas company mergers. split em back up. (of course, those mergers should have never been approved anyway).

ohskigod

Toxis wrote:

Bush is a business man, not a president. It was his daddy who got him where he is today, not him. By far the worst president I've had the misfortune to know.

Guess you werent alive during the Carter administration.
If people want to hate Bush, hey, thats cool. Lord knows there is many things I blame him for. Hating the president is a god given right we enjoy. Its when they say he was the worst president in history is when I get my panties in a bunch.

My parents told me horror stories about the Carter years and how much he sucked. Pretty much the worst leader who ever existed. my parents were pretty left leaning too, so it wansnt like they were Reaganites telling me this.

aaharvel

Exxon- 36billion profit last year.
Their CEO accepted a 400million retirement package.

(I'm asking myself, as most American workers- "What the f--k is a retirement package?")

aaharvel

i'm also happy to see Bush relaxing environmental restrictions (as of yesterday) in hopes of taming the rising gas prices. That's a good move.

brettw22

The problem is that he's not doing it to help the public.........it's 100% all about his continually plunging polling numbers.

ohskigod

that's every politician in the planet dude, fundemental flaw of democracy, people doing the right things for the right reasons have a bigger chance of getting voted out of office. to me, I blame the public at large for that. But thats another topic

petrym

thehaens@cox.ne wrote:

The cars over there are a lot more fuel efficient than ours. The average car in Europe gets over 40 mpg...and I bet they don't commute 100 miles per day either. And it gets better in Europe, according to the European Auto Manuf Assoc. recent agreement. By 2012, the average light pass vehicle must get 48 mpg or better.....

It would be nice if the US would mandate a proposal as this...

Scott

I believe that 40% of cars sold in Europe are diesels (some 30% more energy per gallon than gasoline), that and they don't have vehicles called Hummers and Subdivisions.

If (when) gas prices keep increasing, most of the large vehicles will go away and people will drive more fuel efficient cars, that's simple economics. The whole SUV craze was fueled by cheap gas prices since they fall under the less fuel efficient CAFE rules of a truck. Have you tried buying a used SUV lately? They are wicked cheap due raised gas prices.

I'm with you on this one Scott, our gov't needs to mandate higher mileage standards and rework the entire CAFE method of classifying vehicles for mileage targets. The auto makers have found and exploited every loophole to bypass CAFE for profits.

petrym

F1nut wrote:

All the oil companies are posting RECORD profits, not record sales, record PROFITS and they have the nerve to charge the consumer even more. FU*K them, the horse they rode in on and the colonel who sent them.

Bush needs to grow some big brass ones and I voted for the pathetic POS.

Why does everybody blame the President for gas prices? He has nothing to do with it.

Prices are determined by supply, demand, and current world politics! Iran's continued belligerence of its nuclear program, threat of disruptions of Niger’s supply due to internal conflict, stretched refining capacity here in the States, and the start of summer vacation are what’s driving prices up.

thehaens@cox.net

petrym wrote:

I believe that 40% of cars sold in Europe are diesels (some 30% more energy per gallon than gasoline), that and they don't have vehicles called Hummers and Subdivisions.

If (when) gas prices keep increasing, most of the large vehicles will go away and people will drive more fuel efficient cars, that's simple economics. The whole SUV craze was fueled by cheap gas prices since they fall under the less fuel efficient CAFE rules of a truck. Have you tried buying a used SUV lately? They are wicked cheap due raised gas prices.

I'm with you on this one Scott, our gov't needs to mandate higher mileage standards and rework the entire CAFE method of classifying vehicles for mileage targets. The auto makers have found and exploited every loophole to bypass CAFE for profits.

You are right, actually according to the site I was at earlier over 55% of all cars sold outside of the US are diesel powered. I was looking at audidiesel.com and some of the Audi's that are modified are getting over 60mpg. The thing is I don't know if the US would implement and grasp diesel power as the norm. It would effect the bottom line in taxable dollars. I have to believe that big business and our Govt. really doesn't want to see a vast improvement in fuel economy in our vehicles. But hopefully the demand from consumers will outway reasoning in this. I know for one that as soon as my vehicles are up on lease, I am heading to Arizona to lease some Diesel powered Volkswagens, Passat and Jetta. Unfortunately Cali doesn't sell any of the Diesel powered Volks or Mercedes due to emission laws here.

Scott

F1nut

petrym wrote:

Why does everybody blame the President for gas prices? He has nothing to do with it.

Prices are determined by supply, demand, and current world politics! Iran's continued belligerence of its nuclear program, threat of disruptions of Niger’s supply due to internal conflict, stretched refining capacity here in the States, and the start of summer vacation are what’s driving prices up.

You've bought the oil company BS hook, line and sinker. As for the President, he's an oil man, you figure it out.

George Grand

We have been going through this **** for 30 years now. Shortages, embargoes, etc., etc. 30 freakin' years, and the answer we get THIS WEEK is that we have to lessen OUR dependance on foreign oil. Well, if nobody offers me alternative choices of energy and fuel over those 30 years, how am "I" supposed to lessen MY dependance on foreign oil?

Somebody, somewhere, is seeing that the party is just about over, and they're going to try and get every nickel you have that isn't already going toward frivolous expenditures like food and health care.

We have a National Energy Policy that was crafted behind closed doors between the vice-president and the energy companies. Why are we calling it a National Energy Policy? The people of this NATION had no say in it, nor are we priviledged enough to even know WHAT IT IS! Which somehow brings to mind that great line from Otter to Flounder..... "You f*cked up. You trusted us."

aaharvel

brettw22 wrote:

The problem is that he's not doing it to help the public.........it's 100% all about his continually plunging polling numbers.

so true, but if lowers prices, I'm all for it.
What plunging polling numbers? 32% what?
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nN24277708

polkatese

So, let me understand this, why does he needs to "reshuffle" his team, when his polling number is down? Why can he be like a japanese samurai and commit harakiri if he acknowledge that he is a failure?

Afterall, replacing Scott with John ain't gonna do anything to his polling number.

marker

ohskigod wrote:

Those are valid points sure. I think we should drill in Anwr, I think we need to up refinery capability. etc. But dont think for a minute that the oil company mergers had nothing to do with this. It makes price structuring a cake walk. There profits didnt shoot up like the space shuttle into orbit because of magic. Thos companies need to be split up, plain and simple, no windfall tax. more companies, more competition. Its been done before.

oil is pretty much close to a monopoly now with all the recent gas company mergers. split em back up. (of course, those mergers should have never been approved anyway).

In fact, the Exxon/Mobil merger basically put Rockefeller's Standard Oil back together that the Govt. originally split up almost 100 years ago due to it being a monopoly.

Just like AT&T buying back some of the baby Bells originally spun off from it.

mhardy6647

(Mark affects his Andy Rooney voice...)
You know what gets me? In the mid-1970's (and I was there, sonny), when the first 'energy crunch' hit and gas was scarce (and sort of expensive), folks abandoned their Detroit-sourced lead sleds rapidly and bought Mini-Cooper clones (i.e., small FWD hatchbacks). I remember a family in suburban Baltimore who bought TWO VW Rabbits in 1974 in one fell swoop. Detroit had even downsized their big iron (cars, that is) by 1977.

Fast-forward to 2006. I don't see that happening. In fact, I've seen a couple of new H3's appear at work in the past few months. I heard a Toyota radio ad extolling the hybrid Highlander thus: "The performance of a V-8 with a V-6" (not a word about economy, or emissions).

I don't think it's just the Government and Big Oil that's pushing gas guzzling as an American lifestyle. We ourselves seem to be doing it. :-( I think it's part of the last, great flame-out of the American dream (which -- if so -- sucks, at least for our children).

As an aside: I remember when gas crossed the $1 per gallon barrier in the 1970's, and the mechanical gas pumps stoped at $0.999. They reset the price to the half-gallon price, and we paid double what the pump read. Ahh, memories! :-)

PhantomOG

why is gasoline in the US so much cheaper than it is overseas like in Europe?

at least that's what I've read. is it just taxes?

aaharvel

taxes yes, the primary reason. 3x higher in Europe i believe.
Also look at the fact that gas is sold in liters over in europe, not gallons- so the price increase isn't as apparent. Also, given the dollar vs. euro, countries overseas have had to adjust to higher prices on everything for years now. Not so over here.

PhantomOG

so people in Europe buy cars that are more efficient (they are available here as well), and they live closer to work so they don't drive as far or they take mass transportation, all the while paying more for the same gas that we are complaining about rising in price over time by less than inflation...

and all this means our president is a POS??

bobman1235

mhardy6647 wrote:

I don't think it's just the Government and Big Oil that's pushing gas guzzling as an American lifestyle. We ourselves seem to be doing it. I think it's part of the last, great flame-out of the American dream (which -- if so -- sucks, at least for our children).

So... Americans not buying fuel-efficient cars is the end of the "American Dream"... how? Talk about two things that are completely unrelated. The "American Dream" is supposed to be that anyone, no matter whta their status in life, can become a success (read : rich) with a little hard work. How that relates to people driving gas guzzlers despite a rise in gas prices.... I can't even begin to fathom.

okiepolkie

I am not aware what part of this is truth, but european governments subsidize public transportation, while the US gov helps somewhat subsize our fuel for personal transportation.

Another reason I've heard for high fuel prices in Europe is that the US is the one that sells the oil to them. It goes from the source into US hands, then is sold to EU countries.

Again, I don't know if either of those is true, but I remember the info from somewhere.

pmckeealaska

First thing, when adjusted for inflation, gas prices are cheaper than they were in 1979. If gas prices back then were in todays dollars, a barrel of oil would have been at about $98, as opposed to the $72 its at now. Americans are spoiled rotten when it comes to the price we pay for energy. Also, car companies and the government refuse to do anything about increasing fuel efficiency. Instead of the government subsidizing big oil for billions of dollars, they should be investing in alternative energy research at that level, not the $200 million dollar level that Bush is spending now. He and the rest of the government are not truly interested in doing anything about this.

Also, one last thing....I will do anything I can as an individual to keep the oil companies out of ANWR. Greedy ****, the lot of them. Stay out of my backyard....at least the last 5 percent of the Alaska North Slope that they cant drill now. ANWR oil isnt going to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and I wish folks in the administration would stop lying about the fact. Just my 2 cents.

jdhdiggs

The mergers aren't a big deal, in fact they are helping keep the price of gas DOWN believe it or not. Not saying that this won't change, but it is helping at present One example of a similar industry as far as "Duopolies" or "Oligopolies" go: Computers. Whether you're talking AMD and Intel or Nvidia and ATYT, they hate eachother and compete so hard that they drive down their margins. Oil margins are much lower than that...

The companies are making record profits on record revenues. Don't like it, don't buy it.

Jesse, I thought you'd be smarter than that. Letting the libs blind your thinking with idiot rhetoric. If you want to get pissed, have your state take off the $0.50/gallon tax for doing nothing and the fed's $0.18/gallon tax. Wammo, gas down to $2.40. You're all getting way too bent out of shap on Exxon's $0.16 profit for actually doing the work.

As for the Venezula comment, yes it is state run. Kind of like a monopoly? This business relies on scale for being cheap. Additionally, since Ven is self sufficient, they do not have to deal with ROW prices and can keep it cheap. They are charging at cost to bring it up and refine it. If it were run by Exxon, with the same price structuring as they use in the US, it would be costing them a whopping $0.22/gallon.

Bush is an oil man which is why he hasn't done anything because he knew there is nothing he can do. The only things they can do short term is ease restrictions on mixes, release some of the strategic oil reserves (dumb in a time of war), and remove taxes. Long term? Release environmental regs on drilling, build more nuclear plants, build more refineries, and invade Canada.

mhardy6647

it's part of the last, great flame-out

That's why I said part... the subtext of the American dream is that life can always get a little better, but I don't think that's going to be true for the next generation. The middle class is being squeezed out of existence, housing costs are outrageous, etc. I agree that gas guzzlers are a tiny piece of the dream (McMansions seem to be a bigger piece), but the 'more is more' mentality of America's days are numbered -- at least in America (I fear).

soiset

I parked the V8 truck, and took the bus to work today. It was rather pleasant, actually.