i dont understand why everyone is crying as if we have had some kind of astronomical rise in gas prices. where do you expect them to be? nobody was complaining when they were a dollar less than they are now so lets say they were.

$1/gallon x 10 gallons= $10 bux per visit worst case scenario

=30-50 bux more per month

unless you drive for a living and fill up more than 5 times a month its not that big of a deal and certainly not the PERSONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS people are making it out to be. its only an economic crisis for the trucking industry

5/30/2006 5:05:07 PM

and thus any industry that ships products. it not only increases the price of gas, but increases the prices of everything as a result (manufactured goods, plane tickets, etc)

5/30/2006 5:06:17 PM

paying more today than you did yesterday = bitching.

5/30/2006 5:07:34 PM

^^^i can see the oil companies have you brainwashed!

[Edited on May 30, 2006 at 5:07 PM. Reason : asdf]

5/30/2006 5:07:39 PM

yeah i definitely watched something on cnbc that was talking about how the high gas prices are causing all goods to rise cause it takes more money to ship those goods

i think they called it inflation or something, IDK

5/30/2006 5:09:40 PM

hambrosia definitely read my last post in this thread

[Edited on May 30, 2006 at 5:15 PM. Reason : .]

5/30/2006 5:15:43 PM

When your pay increases in single digit percentages, but the cost of everything else (fuel, healthcare, education, homes, energy) increases by double digit percentages annually, its a no brainer that the middle class is increasingly being pushed towards being the poor.

5/30/2006 5:16:38 PM

Aw hell. Everybody in this country is spoiled goddam rotten.

There was a time when owning an automobile was part of the great American dream and something that many folks aspired to, but never actually accomplished.

Now we own multiple cars per family. We burn ungodly amounts of fossil fuels.

Other people in the world are still riding a fucking bike to work, or maybe a motorcycle, or riding a fucking bus with a bunch of other stinky people.

I don't know about most of you, but I spend between 300 and 400 dolla a month on fuel. I love having a truck like I do, but it has made me acutely aware that what I drive and being able to drive is a privilege, not a right.

5/30/2006 5:22:45 PM

^I have an e-crush on this man.

5/30/2006 5:25:34 PM

^^have you read the rest of the thread?

no one in this thread has complained about gas prices being too expensive


^you're an idiot

[Edited on May 30, 2006 at 5:26 PM. Reason : sdfads]

5/30/2006 5:25:36 PM

if we didnt have multiple cars per family americas production would probably not be as high as it is today

5/30/2006 5:31:53 PM

^ good point.

5/30/2006 6:51:09 PM

^^^I think it was a preemptive strike, and a damn good one at that.

5/30/2006 7:02:34 PM

well smart ass, you need multiple cars per family when everyone has to be different places at the same time! We have 1 car per person in my family, then me and my dad have our toy in the garage that gets driven every once and a while on weekends now.

5/30/2006 7:39:04 PM

you guys are all right but im talking about how you hear the average person saying "i dont know how im gonna keep filling my tank up wiht the way gas is sooo rediculous these days"

5/30/2006 8:26:25 PM

that's because people used to not consider fuel as a "bill" now they have to, and it's not in their budget...

my wife and I spend:

me: $25-30 every week and a half to two weeks

wifey: $~35 every week

$60 + $150= ~$210 a month in traveling expenses...thats how much it is costing us to go to and from work..thats a big chunk of change at this age when you don't have mumsy and daddy to help out

5/30/2006 8:41:09 PM

maybe you should stop using 93formula

5/30/2006 8:55:04 PM

hcnguyen, do you not realize that the price of EVERYTHING goes up eventually when gas prices are high?

5/30/2006 8:57:36 PM

Quote :

"maybe you should stop using 93formula"

no, we only use the 87 octane...and ironically, i put my 93 firebird formula (which took the high octane) on the market when the "expensive stuff" hit $1.65 a gallon i thought, "dang, i can't afford this shit" and by the time i sold the car, i was paying close to $1.80 for regular for my other car

5/30/2006 9:11:40 PM

i know that everything goes up but im talking about people complaining about DRIVING prices and doing alot less driving. like i said in the start, youre only spending 30-50 more a month than if gas was 1.70

5/30/2006 9:46:16 PM

^actually, i dont' think that my example is much different than the average, and we're spending about $78 a month more (assuming we're paying $2.70 now) than if it were $1.70....

people drive longer to work so they could buy bigger, cheaper houses farther from the city, gas prices add up, it is a pain

$78 is more than my power bill a month, fuck, with an extra $78 a month i could get my digital cable back AND crank the AC up

5/30/2006 9:50:40 PM

but really how much is 39 dollars (79/2) 40 bucks is nothing for anyone to cry about and you seem to be on the high end.

another thing is people who are picky about which station they go to or angry about 89 or 93.
10 cents a gallon is like 1 dollar more per tank. 4 dollars a month. so premium is no more than 8 bucks more a month(10 if you have an above avg tank). 8 bucks a month is really saving money considering you save the life of your engine and burn the gas cleaner and slightly more efficiently.

and if you own a big suv its your own fault

[Edited on May 30, 2006 at 9:57 PM. Reason : c2oh]

5/30/2006 9:56:46 PM

$39 a piece isn't really accurate because my work is only 5 miles a way, so my car barely gets driven, but i would imagine the average person is spednign $60-70 more a month now that they would if gas was a dollar cheaper...

you're also assuming people are only putting in 10 gallons at a time...my wifes car has a 14 gallon tank and we normally put in 12.5-13 gals at a time, even though it gets 27-37 mpg...basically, if you're assuming the average fill up size is much smaller than it really is, then your argument is flawed fromt he beginning


and if $40 a month isnt' a problem for you...let me give you my name and address and i'd gladly accept a $40 check each month from you

5/30/2006 10:05:04 PM

but you're not giving the money away. 40 dollars for something that is more valuable than 40 dollars to you is not bad. if your car broke down and you needed to spend 40 dollars to get it back running you would do it in a heartbeat.

5/30/2006 10:08:47 PM

actually, not in a heartbeat, i'd bitch and moan for a day or so....then i'd try to figure out if i could ghetto rig it so it could still run, and if that didnt' work, then i might fork over the $40

my point is, the vast majority of americans never put fuel costs into their budget, whether it's written out or just mental, so when they figure out how much they are spending, they feel it is outrageous. YES, it is really just a small increase in what they were paying a year or so ago, but when i first got my license, gas was almost $2 a gallon cheaper (it was right at $1, compared to $3 a few months ago) and a lot of people remember that and are mostly upset about that...if gas was $1, i'd be saving about $140 a month

5/30/2006 10:18:15 PM

lets say the cable company jacked up your cable prices so you paid an extra 40 bucks a month
or your cell phone company jacked up your cell phone bill so you paid an extra 40 bucks a month

or and extra 40 bucks for rent... yeah, it's worth bitching about.

5/30/2006 10:27:24 PM

i've kept accurate gas usage records back to 2003, and I can honestly say that my habits had not changed and I was driving about the same amount per year:

2003: $1.503/gallon average, $0.096/mile, spent $1396 in gas (started keeping track Feb 13th)
2004: $1.760/gallon average, $0.108/mile, spent $1759 in gas
2005: $2.169/gallon average, $0.135/mile, spent $1830 in gas
2006: $2.402/gallon average, $0.158/mile, spent $955 in gas (in fairness I started towing the boat every few weeks, stopped keeping track on April 22nd as I sold this vehicle)

so gas on average increased $1/gallon over 3 years, and it cost me $0.062/mile more. This was in a 2003 ford explorer with a V-8 and 4wd getting on average 15-16 miles per gallon.

honestly with the exception of the time frame where it was over 3.39 after katrina gas really isn't that bad, hell it was below $2/gallon last winter and all through last spring. What is interesting is why it isn't still there, what has changed since november 05 when it was less than $2 to now when it's about 2.60ish...

just some factual perspective...

5/30/2006 10:45:38 PM

why not use 93 octane now? the price difference between regular and premium is still only 10 cents per gallon which is a lot less, now that gas it $3/gallon, percentage wise, than it was let's say when gas was $1.00

5/31/2006 5:38:26 PM

I buy at least two 15 gallon tanks a week.
So, that's roughly $30/week difference between $2.00 and $3.00/gallon gas.
Which is roughly $120/month.
And that's my minimum.
I'll always need an extra tank at least once a month.
Raising the number to $135/month.
Or, $1620/year.
Keep in mind...This is a low estimate. I'm positive it is actually much higher.

I could buy a lot of goods with $1620 per year.
I could make an extra mortgage payment with $1620/year.
I could invest an extra $1620/year.

And that's just one vehicle.
I didn't even include the jet ski or the boat because those are pretty frivolous.

My roommate owns a business and is on the road most of the day in a fullsize Chevy pickup. He uses a more gas than I do.

So, for my household, a $1/gallon increase adds up to several thousand dollars per year.

And that's just one household with two people and no kids.

Add to that the previously mentioned fact that the price of goods will go up as a result of this.
Goods = ^, Cost of living = ^, Salaries = same.
It's a no-brainer that this will affect people.

I don't bitch about it because I can afford my lifestyle, but if I can see the plight of people that are living close to their means. What if I couldn't afford to lose an extra house payment every year? I don't understand why it is so difficult to grasp the effect a $1 increase in gas has on our economy.

5/31/2006 6:16:28 PM

Quote :

"why not use 93 octane now? the price difference between regular and premium is still only 10 cents per gallon which is a lot less, now that gas it $3/gallon, percentage wise, than it was let's say when gas was $1.00"

some vehicles actually run worse on higher octane, i was told many times by different mechanics that you should put in what the manufacturer recommends no higher. However on the TSX they say you should run 93, the dealer's head mechanic said that 89 will work, but to run a tank of 93 in it once a month or so.. or on long trips to run it good. But I know that I was told by quite a few ford mechanics to not run over 87 on my old explorer.

5/31/2006 6:32:41 PM

my manual says 87 will work, but I get pinging if I dont run 93.

5/31/2006 7:24:58 PM

Quote :

"why not use 93 octane now? the price difference between regular and premium is still only 10 cents per gallon which is a lot less, now that gas it $3/gallon, percentage wise, than it was let's say when gas was $1.00"

Uh, last time I checked, the difference between regular and premium is 20 cents per gallon..

5/31/2006 10:48:01 PM

Here's a good website with regards to gas prices in Raleigh:

http://www.raleighgasprices.com

5/31/2006 10:53:45 PM

you fall in the driver occupation then. i know it hurts that industry bad. i dont know what else you could be doing to use 30 gallons a week. i commute ncstate-knightdale every day and deliver pizzas 3-4 nights a week and still only use about 2 10 gallon tanks a week.

6/1/2006 12:58:12 AM

$2.66 at Sam's today

6/1/2006 1:07:06 AM

Just wait until a tropical storm(yes, just a tropical storm) heads to the gulf....that is all it will take....

6/1/2006 1:30:28 AM

I'm not bitching about gas prices...yet. Where I'm moving everyone has gas heating because it is more efficient, and was cheaper when it was put in. An extra $50 a month isn't a problem until you add in the winter gas heating bill of over $200 to all the normal utilities. Add to that the increase in inflation caused by rising gas prices, which has made rent rise by 5% ($35 on a $700 apartment) and the price of groceries has gone up with rising gas prices, and you are really probably looking at a total economic impact of ~$200 a month. I'm an engineer and will be just fine, but an extra $200 a month in bills could definately be considered a personal economic crisis. Rather than bitching about the rising cost of driving, the news probably ought to be bitching about the sharp rise in the cost of living as a whole. It would get to the root of the problem instead of making us sound like a bunch of stupid whiny gas guzzling SUV drivers.

6/1/2006 9:37:21 AM

Quote :

"Rather than bitching about the rising cost of driving, the news probably ought to be bitching about the sharp rise in the cost of living as a whole. It would get to the root of the problem instead of making us sound like a bunch of stupid whiny gas guzzling SUV drivers."

Um, exactly how would bitching 'get to the root of the problem?'

Last time i checked, bitching accomplished nothing.

[Edited on June 1, 2006 at 9:45 AM. Reason : afs]

6/1/2006 9:45:26 AM

^ I mean bring awareness to the real problem instead of blaming it on the oil companies. Then maybe something productive would happen.

6/1/2006 10:00:56 AM

All I have to say is that I am glad it was around $1 when I was in college. I definitely couldn't have afforded to drive if it was more than that!

6/1/2006 1:53:10 PM