5 dollar gas...are we ready?

[SteveP]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

This is why I am bringing 2008 up in this conversation. There were huge cutbacks at my company starting in Q4 08, which continued to Q2 09 which eventually landed me in the unemployment line.

Same here -- I've been full-time unemployed since Jan. 09 and these past few months have been the worst, with no help from the price at the pumps around here.
Both of our cars run on 93 octane, which is running right around $4 per gallon.

The Feds are predicting an average gasoline cost of 3.86 over the summer for whats it worth, the media is hyping 5 buck a gallon gas.

What irritates me is that in 08 the media was screaming about rising gas prices and how they were all the fault of the Bush administration. Today -- stone silence from the media, even though prices have soared past those in 08.

Go figure!

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

As a Jeep Wrangler owner, NO I AM NOT.

This is just another sign that Twitch Boy Cannot Have Nice Things.

 

[joecct]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

It's not Libya, it's the dollar that is dropping against other world currencies. Five years ago or so, the Loonie was $0.65 US, now it is $1.04. Gold has gone through the roof. Those Arab shieks can't buy the same amount of Mercedes with a barrel of oil than they used to. So, the price goes up because they need to keep the Mercedes plants open.

I don't have it handy but can somebody look up the historical price of oil / oz. of gold? I wonder if it a flat curve?

So Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, and other ilks of the Federal Government, what are you going to do to restore the vitality of the $??

 

[Kepler]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

It's not Libya, it's the dollar that is dropping against other world currencies. Five years ago or so, the Loonie was $0.65 US, now it is $1.04. Gold has gone through the roof. Those Arab shieks can't buy the same amount of Mercedes with a barrel of oil than they used to. So, the price goes up because they need to keep the Mercedes plants open.

I don't have it handy but can somebody look up the historical price of oil / oz. of gold? I wonder if it a flat curve?

Not far off:

I assume they are both getting more expensive to exploit by about the same rate as well. Although nobody* talks about "peak gold."

* Edit: I stand corrected. Of course -- since there is NOTHING that nobody talks about. (Caveat: this appears to be from a gold bug site and so the Fruitcake Ratio is likely quite high.)

 

[bronconick]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

I'm eagerly awaiting "Peak Fruitcake", because no one wants that crap.

 

[joecct]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

I wonder if we sent that to Congress and the US Treasury a lightbulb or two may go off.

Nope, not a chance.

BTW, does the price of oil follow the price of gold or is it the other way around??

 

[The Rube]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

As a Jeep Wrangler owner, NO I AM NOT.

This is just another sign that Twitch Boy Cannot Have Nice Things.

As a Jeep Wrangler owner, I DON'T CARE.

Why? I've lived within about 12 miles of my workplace since about '97, including a 2-3 years where I was 2 miles from my workplace. I'll be honest, it was a factor in buying my gas-guzzler in '01 (it's a '99 Wrangler; currently a hair under 80K on it).

On average, I probably go through 1/2 to 2/3 a tank a week, depending on what I do on the weekend.

 

[Patman]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

Go figure!

Those same people also talked about how moral $8-10 gas would be for society.... they honestly think it'll make us better people. And then you wonder why I think they're totalitarian goose steppers.

edit: the funny thing is, I want to dumpload a ton of $$$ on one of these nice shiny new hybrids even if gas costs $1/gal. We're dealing with the same crew of morons who are dumping the electric lightbulb because their culture has taught them through their wizardry (I'd have a hard time calling it "science"... "sorcery" is more like it... sorta how numerology is to math) that its wrong. But no, their culture has divined them a truth, and dammit, they're going to believe. Gotta wonder if they're going to bring out a statue of a cow onto the national mall soon. We're going to moralize ourselves into the poorhouse but somehow making a balanced budget makes you devil incarnate. I thought being put in the poorhouse for the whims of man was an evil thing. That's what I"m told about all the evil rich people who are bankrupting me. So, you somehow become less evil when you make $75K in the 'burbs and want to take me to the same poor house. I have two choice words for that... and neither of them are printable.

 

[brookyone]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

As a Jeep Wrangler owner, I DON'T CARE.

Why? I've lived within about 12 miles of my workplace since about '97, including a 2-3 years where I was 2 miles from my workplace. I'll be honest, it was a factor in buying my gas-guzzler in '01 (it's a '99 Wrangler; currently a hair under 80K on it).

On average, I probably go through 1/2 to 2/3 a tank a week, depending on what I do on the weekend.

As a Jeep Wrangler owner, NO I AM NOT.

This is just another sign that Twitch Boy Cannot Have Nice Things.

I've owned a couple Wranglers and liked them a lot. All had the old 4.0 straight six, now defunct. While they weren't gas sippers by any means, I wouldn't characterize them as gas hogs either. Now I'm in a Dodge pick-up with a V8 that's getting very painful to operate and I'm definitely looking to get into something a great deal more economical. Even seriously considering some compact or sub compact little four cylinder cars...which until now, was a possibility I would have never entertained. Right now I'd take the Wrangler MPG over what I get with the truck in a flash.

 

[The Rube]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

I get about 14-15 mpg with the top up. Top down? You're looking at 10-12, at best.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

And companies will again have to cut back on wages or eliminate positions to "save" money to pay for the increase in gas.

The good news is the current CBA for my Union and my Company doesn't expire until 2012. The bad news is the current CBA for my Union and my Company expires in 2012.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

I've owned a couple Wranglers and liked them a lot. All had the old 4.0 straight six, now defunct. While they weren't gas sippers by any means, I wouldn't characterize them as gas hogs either. Now I'm in a Dodge pick-up with a V8 that's getting very painful to operate and I'm definitely looking to get into something a great deal more economical. Even seriously considering some compact or sub compact little four cylinder cars...which until now, was a possibility I would have never entertained. Right now I'd take the Wrangler MPG over what I get with the truck in a flash.

I have the newer model with the Chrysler *coughminivan* V6. Bumped up the tires from 225 streets to 265 AT's. Returns about 14 MPG, mostly city. 12 in winter when it's cold or if I have it in 4WD. I think it has one or two more MPG to give once it warms up as well. I also live relatively close to work, so I guess I should quit my complaining - I go through about a half tank a week, and put in $30 at the halfway point. Not a huge deal in the long run for me, but still sucks *** day to day.

As for the subcompacts...hoo boy. I drove one of them as a rental a while back. Hyundai Accent, to be specific. I thought I was driving one of those plastic red Fisher-Price pedal cars. The entire thing is plastic and feels brittle, like one false move and it's going to shatter into a million pieces. Even the start-up bonger is designed for maximum humiliation. It has a cutesy little "ding-dong-ding-dong" like a kid playing a toy xylophone. If I were test driving it, I would have stopped the test on the spot as soon as I started it up and heard that. I wouldn't care if they ran on unicorn farts and Obama's tears. They're a disgrace to the automotive community.

If 15 MPG is the price I have to pay to never turn the key on one of those again, I'll pay it with a smile on my face. I LOVE my Jeep. It's mine (the largest purchase I've ever made by myself,) it gets me to work in a blizzard, it's unique as heck, and it's flat-out FUN to drive. I have a shiat-eating grin on my face every time I hit some rough terrain and go bouncing around like a pinball, or park on top of a 2-foot ice berm for no other reason than I feel like it. You only get one life. ONE. You have to make the absolute most of it and enjoy it while you can. The Jeep helps me do that. I'm not going to live in misery just because the economy says I should.

(If you REALLY want a subcompact, that's why God made Mini Coopers.)

 

[walrus]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

I have the newer model with the Chrysler *coughminivan* V6. Bumped up the tires from 225 streets to 265 AT's. Returns about 14 MPG, mostly city. 12 in winter when it's cold or if I have it in 4WD. )

You're kidding me? I can get that in a freighted one ton GMC PU with a 6 liter, automatic and 4.10 gears

 

[unofan]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

Those same people also talked about how moral $8-10 gas would be for society.... they honestly think it'll make us better people. And then you wonder why I think they're totalitarian goose steppers.

edit: the funny thing is, I want to dumpload a ton of $$$ on one of these nice shiny new hybrids even if gas costs $1/gal. We're dealing with the same crew of morons who are dumping the electric lightbulb because their culture has taught them through their wizardry (I'd have a hard time calling it "science"... "sorcery" is more like it... sorta how numerology is to math) that its wrong. But no, their culture has divined them a truth, and dammit, they're going to believe. Gotta wonder if they're going to bring out a statue of a cow onto the national mall soon. We're going to moralize ourselves into the poorhouse but somehow making a balanced budget makes you devil incarnate. I thought being put in the poorhouse for the whims of man was an evil thing. That's what I"m told about all the evil rich people who are bankrupting me. So, you somehow become less evil when you make $75K in the 'burbs and want to take me to the same poor house. I have two choice words for that... and neither of them are printable.

I wonder if we sent that to Congress and the US Treasury a lightbulb or two may go off.

Nope, not a chance.

BTW, does the price of oil follow the price of gold or is it the other way around??

It's not Libya, it's the dollar that is dropping against other world currencies. Five years ago or so, the Loonie was $0.65 US, now it is $1.04. Gold has gone through the roof. Those Arab shieks can't buy the same amount of Mercedes with a barrel of oil than they used to. So, the price goes up because they need to keep the Mercedes plants open.

I don't have it handy but can somebody look up the historical price of oil / oz. of gold? I wonder if it a flat curve?

So Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, and other ilks of the Federal Government, what are you going to do to restore the vitality of the $??

Same here -- I've been full-time unemployed since Jan. 09 and these past few months have been the worst, with no help from the price at the pumps around here.
Both of our cars run on 93 octane, which is running right around $4 per gallon.



What irritates me is that in 08 the media was screaming about rising gas prices and how they were all the fault of the Bush administration. Today -- stone silence from the media, even though prices have soared past those in 08.

Go figure!

Wow, the butthurt in this thread is laughable.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

Wow, the butthurt in this thread is laughable.

There are probably 25,000 Hummers in NoVa with "Taxed Enough!" bumper stickers (generally crowded out by NRA, Palin, and Marriage = One Man + One Woman stickers, and maybe a borderline racist anti-Obama sticker just for kicks). These are not people I will be sad to see weeping.

They could have tried to put a tax on gas to pay for the wars back in 2003 to put their money where their mouths were. But no. Always the easy way with that crowd: all hat and no cattle.

 

[amherstblackbear]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

(If you REALLY want a subcompact, that's why God made Mini Coopers.)

You're not kidding. I thought they were all hype. Then, a few years ago, I drove one. If you don't have a big dumb grin on your face when you're behind the wheel of one of those things, you might just be dead.

Not sure if it's the best choice for the upper peninsula, though...

 

[bigmrg74]

You're not kidding. I thought they were all hype. Then, a few years ago, I drove one. If you don't have a big dumb grin on your face when you're behind the wheel of one of those things, you might just be dead.

Not sure if it's the best choice for the upper peninsula, though...

Why not? They're probably about light enough to pull them behind a snowmobile if you had to.

 

[The Rube]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

I like Mini Coopers, but if I'm going to way overpay for a vehicle because of the name, I'll stick with my Wrangler. Even before it was fixed up, it somehow was still worth almost $7K. On trade-in value. Now that it's fixed? Close to 10K. I have no clue how.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

I like Mini Coopers, but if I'm going to way overpay for a vehicle because of the name, I'll stick with my Wrangler. Even before it was fixed up, it somehow was still worth almost $7K. On trade-in value. Now that it's fixed? Close to 10K. I have no clue how.

Yup, Wranglers are one of the slowest depreciating vehicles on the market. (Ironically enough, so is the Mini Cooper )

When I went shopping for mine, I was seeing '05s and '06s with 40K on the clock going for $19K. My '10 new was $23K. I could probably get $20K for it right now.

A trade-in for the '12 is actually a viable option for me.

 

[The Rube]

Re: 5 dollar gas...are we ready?

Yup, Wranglers are one of the slowest depreciating vehicles on the market. (Ironically enough, so is the Mini Cooper )

When I went shopping for mine, I was seeing '05s and '06s with 40K on the clock going for $19K. My '10 new was $23K. I could probably get $20K for it right now.

A trade-in for the '12 is actually a viable option for me.

I paid about $18K for mine, in '01. It was a '99 with 17K miles on it.