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JohnnyCasaba
09-04-2005, 04:12 PM
Just curious what everyone is paying for gas around the country. First fill up today for me at the over $3.00 a gallon price (well I did buy gas in Ireland on a trip a few times, with the exchange rate and liter pricing, did not want to ruin my trip figuring out what I was paying, lol). Was $3.35 for 89 octane (in NJ, gas is usually .20 to .30 cents cheaper in NJ than in PA due to higher gas taxes), so what is everyone else paying?

bikeman
09-04-2005, 04:40 PM
Haven't filled up my wife's car in close to a month. I don't own one. We're not sweatin the cost of gas. :D

David

Quinn
09-04-2005, 05:46 PM
$3 for 89 in south Texas.

My mother-in-law has a cottage off the beach in a town a little north of Corpus Christi. We went to the beach today and it looked like any normal weekend during the school year, not the usual overload of a holiday weekend. Not even the normal summer weekend traffic. Restaurants that normally have an hour's wait or more on high season weekends were seating immediately. I had a plumbing issue friday afternoon and thought we were going to have to try to find a room somewere so I started to make calls. Not only were rooms availible but they were quoting off season rates. Usually, holiday weekends are all booked up months in advance.

Lou-the-dog
09-04-2005, 05:58 PM
$3.09 in western Iowa.

My wife and I observed that there does indeed seem to be less traffic on the roads. Not alot here to start with but even less than usual. If this lasts too long I am wondering if the U.S. will find itself facing an unexpected recession. At these rates my farming enterprise will face increased energy costs of $10K per year. That's 10K less that will go for equipment upgrades, personal expenditures etc. No doubt that folks will be tightening the belt to keep their budgets on an even keel.

Randy

tamuct
09-04-2005, 09:08 PM
$2.89 I Austin when I filled up my motorcycle yesterday.

For all the bellyaching people have been making over high gas prices, I've yet to see droves of people giving up their SUVs for carpooling and public transportation. I live very close to work and ride my motorcycle whenever possible. My wife uses most the most between us, and we try to make the most out of every trip to save on gas.

Katrina certainly doesn't help the cost of gas, as many refineries were shutdown because of the storm. The solution is rather easy, but not immediate. The US has not built a new refinery since the 70's. We need to drill for oil in ANWR (you know that ice covered parking lot in Alaska). Especially since a tiny section of that area was SPECIFICALLY set aside for oil drilling and exploration. We desperately need more refining capacity in the US. We are stretching our capacity so thin, that anything to interrupt the flow of gasoline from these refineries will cause prices to surge.

So, the next time you hear about high gas prices, be sure to thank your friendly neighboorhood environmental whacko.
<end rant>

gr1m
09-04-2005, 09:18 PM
$2.86 (do you guys count $2.86 9/10 as 2.86 or 2.87?) for 87-octane at my local costco :(

bikeman
09-05-2005, 03:25 AM
So, the next time you hear about high gas prices, be sure to thank your friendly neighboorhood environmental whacko.
<end rant>

You're welcome.

David

Quinn
09-05-2005, 04:24 AM
So, the next time you hear about high gas prices, be sure to thank your friendly neighboorhood environmental whacko.
<end rant>

My pleasure.

Maybe you should to read how little oil the oil companies say is truly in the ANWR. We need to work on alternative energy. ANWR would only delay that need by a few months acccording to the oil companies.

Do a search on peak oil for a real eye opener.

Remember too that we had artificially low oil prices for a decade as a thank you from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from Desert Storm.

Lou-the-dog
09-05-2005, 06:06 AM
We need to work on alternative energy..

Agreed. Alcohol distilled from corn is a viable alternative. It won't meet all the U.S. energy needs but is renewable, burns clean and definitely can be produced significantly cheaper than petro at the current prices.The by product of production makes an excellent animal feed. Bio-diesel produced from soybeans and other organic materials is a excellent product too. We are running a soy-diesel blend in our tractors now. The exhaust smells a little like deep-fat fried french fries at McDonalds. :D

Randy

Eddie Horton
09-05-2005, 06:48 AM
We're paying right at $3 for regular here in Birmingham.

bikeman
09-05-2005, 07:10 AM
Agreed. Alcohol distilled from corn is a viable alternative. It won't meet all the U.S. energy needs but is renewable, burns clean and definitely can be produced significantly cheaper than petro at the current prices :D
Randy

A start-up company just took over the old (fairly new really) Miller Brewery just north of here and is converting it to do exactly that. It does show some promise.

David

metalaaron
09-05-2005, 08:44 AM
it was $3.09 the other day. a single cab truck has its advantages. if you're going out with a group greater than two, you can't drive. the only thing i'm frustrated about is how much an airline ticket will cost near the end of this year when i plan to visit my dad. it looks like i'm going to pay over 2.5x what i paid in 2003.

so it appears that we may eventually put beer into our tanks just like doctor emmett brown did to the delorian? instead of low carb automotive grade beer we may find max life beer for those cars over 75k miles. :p

jermy4
09-05-2005, 10:46 AM
Gas is between $3 and $3.30 depending on which station you go to here. There are more trucks/vans/SUVs on the roads here than cars. At least that's what I have observed. I've been playing a fun game lately where I try to count the number of cars vs trucks/vans/SUVs and I would guess it is close to 40% cars to 60% vans/trucks/SUVs here.

I have 2 fairly fuel effecient cars in my garage (30+ MPG on the highway/25MPG around town). I drive my car to the train station (8 miles) and take the train to work and my girlfriend works 1 mile from the house. So gas prices have not hurt us that much. We usually gas up every 2 to 2.5 weeks.

I've also been shopping for a new Honda Accord. You would be surprised by how many people around my area are trading in trucks and SUVs for Civics. My local Honda dealer has zero Civics on their lot. The sales manager told me that the wholesalers will not even bid on trucks or SUVs right now because so many people are trading them in.

So I'm replacing my 5 year old car with a new Accord and I opted for the 4 cylinder since it gets a little bit more gas mileage and still has plenty of power for me. I pick up my new car tomorrow after work. Yippee, my first new car!!! :cool:

bikeman
09-05-2005, 12:50 PM
Yippee, my first new car!!! :cool:

Congrats. You're a hell of a lot smarter than I was with my first new one. A 1966 Buick Gran Sport (GS) with a 400 cubic inch, 325 hp engine. Less than 10 mpg and it could pass anything but a gas station.
What was I thinking? Oh, wait a minute. I wasn't.

David

metalaaron
09-05-2005, 01:05 PM
here's a fun site ...

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

jermy4
09-05-2005, 01:45 PM
Congrats. You're a hell of a lot smarter than I was with my first new one. A 1966 Buick Gran Sport (GS) with a 400 cubic inch, 325 hp engine. Less than 10 mpg and it could pass anything but a gas station.
What was I thinking? Oh, wait a minute. I wasn't.

David This will be my 5th car and it has the smallest engine and gets the best mileage out of all of them I have owned. I would really love to have a new GTO but I'll have to wait a few years for that :D

mattepntr
09-05-2005, 03:41 PM
So I'm replacing my 5 year old car with a new Accord and I opted for the 4 cylinder since it gets a little bit more gas mileage and still has plenty of power for me. I pick up my new car tomorrow after work. Yippee, my first new car!!! :cool:

I've got a 2003 Accord, and I gotta say it's a great car! I really like it.
I have the V6, and it gets great mileage, especially on the highway.
I was surprised to find that I can drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles
on one tank of gas- a distance of about 400 miles.

tamuct
09-05-2005, 08:11 PM
I've also been shopping for a new Honda Accord. You would be surprised by how many people around my area are trading in trucks and SUVs for Civics. My local Honda dealer has zero Civics on their lot. The sales manager told me that the wholesalers will not even bid on trucks or SUVs right now because so many people are trading them in.

I was talking to a buddy at work the other day about this same phenomenon, and we both had a laugh about how long it would take these people at current gas prices to break even from their switch.

Certainly if you are in the market for a new car, I would consider buying a car that gets better milage. But to take a fairly new SUV and pay thousands of dollars to trade for a small fuel-sipper doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me.

shane55
09-05-2005, 11:02 PM
Certainly if you are in the market for a new car, I would consider buying a car that gets better milage. But to take a fairly new SUV and pay thousands of dollars to trade for a small fuel-sipper doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me.

No fault with your fiscal logic, whatsoever.
The ONLY reasons to trade in a relatively 'new' large SUV for a small, fuel-efficient vehicle... are these, and they must be greater than one's 'dollar-sense'.
1) You care about our fuel dependancy.
2) You care about our air quality and general environment.

These won't put $$ back in your pocket fast enough over the life of the car to make it a smart money move, but they will (if done on a large-scale), help keep us from the will of the Saudi's and might (in the long run) help towards lowering the temperature in the Gulf and Oceans.

cheers

shane

curtis
09-06-2005, 11:29 AM
You guys are giving me a complex....

I just bought a V8 4Runner. The kids and I needed something more utlility friendly. The dealership and Toyota are offering some great deals on the V8's and the mileage rating is "only" 2mpg different.

I will let you know when I start screaming at the gas pump.

jermy4
09-06-2005, 11:55 AM
You guys are giving me a complex....

I just bought a V8 4Runner. The kids and I needed something more utlility friendly. The dealership and Toyota are offering some great deals on the V8's and the mileage rating is "only" 2mpg different.

I will let you know when I start screaming at the gas pump. There is nothing wrong with driving a SUV. Don't feel bad about it. Just don't bully cars around with it when you are driving :D

Honestly, if you have a valid reason (like kids) then more power to you. I happen to know lots of people who drive them just because it's trendy.

curtis
09-06-2005, 12:06 PM
Well...also...I couldn't look cool driving a mini-van! :D

shane55
09-06-2005, 01:37 PM
You gotta drive what you gotta drive.
The wife is a landscape designer. She drives around in a big Pickup. She needs it for her business. Gas prices here really hurt us.

There is a difference between need and excess... except when it comes to home-theater and sound! ;)
Cheers!

shane

Lou-the-dog
09-06-2005, 06:29 PM
Unfortunately the cost of the fuel going into our vehicles is only a portion of the increased costs we all face. Everything we consume will increase in cost due to fuel surcharges. Home heating and cooling costs will increase. Taxes will also increase due to increased costs to government services. Everything has an energy cost to it and it will eventually be passed on to the consumer.

Randy

tjennings
09-08-2005, 01:36 AM
A friend at work just told me his relatives in Georgia last week were paying around $5.90 / gallon! FIVE-NINETY! It cost his relatives $190 to fill up a pickup truck and a car for the week.

And Randy is right-on the price increases that are sure to follow - I don't think it will be long before postage is increased from 37 cents for example.

I rode my bicycle to work yesterday - 14 miles each way - need to conserve my $$ for 340m's all the way around + a 340c for my surround music! Plus I didn't have to worry about getting a workout in after I got home from work and I could immediately settle in at my home theater. :)

jermy4
09-08-2005, 03:35 AM
My new ride ...

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/05_Accord_01.JPG (http://www.theimagehosting.com)

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/05_Accord_02.JPG (http://www.theimagehosting.com)

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/05_Accord_03.JPG (http://www.theimagehosting.com)

tjennings
09-08-2005, 04:10 AM
Wow, gorgeous car! And most importantly - ITS FUEL EFFICIENT!!! :)

shane55
09-08-2005, 08:57 AM
Sweeeeeet! :D