High Gasoline Prices Getting to You???????

hobbyfarm · Sep 1, 2005

You want to know what really sucks?

When gas was $0.89.9/gal the mileage stipend we got from the college (apparently set by the state?) was $0.325/mile.
Then, they "did us the favor" of raising it to $0.345/mile.

Now, as of 9/1/05, they've done us the "favor" of raising it to a whopping $0.35/mile.
With $3.00/gal gas and my 12mpg pickup. This really ***(how can it do both you ask? who knows.).

RobertN · Sep 1, 2005

I'm not standing up for the CEO's, but this is a double edged sword of sorts. Why do people start business? To make money. Heck, it's the "American Way". You don't start a business to not make money... That's what those guys are doing. That's what most businesses strive to do. What do investors want to see? A business making profits and returns on stock investments.

That's what they are doing. Do I like the fact that they are making a lot of money, a lot of times at my expesne? NO! Do I want my business to make money? Yes I do. We're getting there, although our Mom and Pop gig will never make big bucks.

I think it is sort of, it's good to see a business make money. As they grow, you want to see that. But... As they get bigger and bigger, it gets to a point where they are a giant, and now you don't want to see it, 'cause they're getting too big for thier britches. Now we kinda liked them better when they were that small to medium sized business.

RobertN · Sep 1, 2005

Interesting... My HOG gets better mileage than your GSXR. I would not have expected that at first. Didn't expect it to be lots better, but figured a little higher...

You ought to sell that gas guzzler and get a Harley, so you can get some real gas mileage /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif </font><font color="blue" class="small">( No one made you buy a GSXR getting 40, but you look cool. )</font> /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

On technology... So, I NEED a truck for work, and get less than spectacular mileage. I could get better mileage with a better designed engine/drivetrain, but that's too hard for the companies to make change.

I want to trade up to something with better mileage, and less emmisions, but I can't because they won't make one because it's too hard.

I guess I could equate this to my water heater. It was a little older and less efficient. I upgraded to a newer more efficient one that works better and saves money in the long run.

OOPS! I can't do that with my truck even if I wanted to, because it is too hard for the manufacturer to do that. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

gsxr1100 · Sep 1, 2005

I would hope your hog gets better since I am not going as slow as a hog either! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

my speed goes from 40mpg to over your HOG's max too.

Water tanks etc only save money over the longer term. Example, my furnace is 94% clean. If I paid full retail like a nit-wit, it would take years to break even. I got it at cost and will break even in a about 2 years.

Most of the higher items are NOT worth the money unless you "die" in the home and you are 55 years old now!

slowrev · Sep 1, 2005

Some people actually need a truck, Probably 1/3 of the truck owners do no need a truck, it is just cool.....

Same with the big guzzler SUV's. Probably only 10% of the owners actually need the 4wd and size/power combo. A mini van getting twice the mileage would fill in most owners needs. Again it is just cool.....

A dodge SW with a guzzlin Hemi...Just cool, no ohter real use...

Cool seems to be wasteful and expensive....

Ben

EastTexFrank · Sep 1, 2005

Bird, I only know how it is with 2 stations around here but I assume others will be the same. The oil company owns the station but leases it to the individual. They do not stipulate what that individual charges for the gas at the pump. They leave it to the individual to know what the local market will bear.

It's not that I mean to get beligerant, it's just that I get a little tired with oil company "bashing" all the time. That's OK because I feel the same way about Democrat and Republican "bashing" too.

For some reason people refuse to understand that $65/barrel is what the oil companies PAY for the oil and they, for the most part, pay it to countries and organisations like OPEC. OPEC's cost of production is something like $4/barrel so who is gouging who. The oil companies are going to pay what they have to in order to get the stuff and they are going to make their profit on top of that because they are not charities. You can't even blame OPEC. If the world is willing to pay 20 times what it costs to produce, why should they refuse to take it?

Ultimately the only answer is in the hands of the consumer ... perhaps. If we cut back on the amount of oil we import, any slack in the market will be taken up elsewhere in the world or by OPEC cutting back on production so the price to the American consumer won't change. As a country, we have no control over how much oil is produced and no control over the price we pay for it and now that OPEC has seen that $65/barrel oil hasn't sent the world economies into recession and thus reducing demand, they have no incentive to lower the price. It's just like my local gas station owner, they'll charge what the market will stand.

slowrev · Sep 1, 2005

leave it to the individual to know what the local market will bear.
//

another way of saying that is how much can you rip someone off before they quit dealing with you or come after you . This is especially true when dealing in stuff like medical care and medicines, gas, electricity, water, heating oil, etc...

Non essiential stuff like ceiling fans or barbie dolls, well the law of supply and demand seems to work there.

But with oil, electricity, and medical care it seems as if the law is we have all the supply so we can demand what we want.

Ben

RobertN · Sep 1, 2005

Yes. I grew up in Jeeps, and we went off-road and used it. I see sooo many 4x4's now that do not make it any further off-road than thier front lawn to wash it... Of course, this is not so bad a thing; if all the folks took thier 4x4's off road, our forests and deserts would really be torn up...

The Hemi, I do not get either. They put them in trucks, but from what I see, it is not as much a "truck" engine as earlier engines.

I use my truck, otherwise I would down size. In fact, in about 30 minutes I have to go pick up a couple yards of gravel....