$5.00/Gallon Gasoline?

Just when you thought things could not possibly get any worse, now the talking heads on TV this morning were talking about $5.00/gallon gasoline coming. No joke! They were all over the TV this morning saying $5.00/gallon gasoline is inevitable due to supply/demand pressures. They are probably right. No way supply can keep up with growing demand. The question is what price will cause people severly curtail driving and/or change to other cheaper alternatives? Get ready for European gasoline prices in the U.S. $5.00/gallon gasoline = good news for biofuels and the environment! Happy Earth Day!

Yay! Nothing like a good knock upside the head to stir things up! '83 MB 240D The revolution will not be televised.

Clearly, only a very few will change their ways for altruistic reasons, everyone else needs a financial incentive. If $5/gallon gas is what is needed to get people to start to conserve and stop driving vehicles that only get 12 MPG, then so be it. Todd

Bring it on! Two `96 VW TDI B4 variants, `87 MB 300TD `89 Ford F250 diesel, Kubota lawn tractor 25 Cylinders Kicking on the Sweet Sauce of the Soybean

Nice idea, $5 gasoline, to promote conservation. However, what kind of hit is our economy going to take? People will have less money left to spend on stuff they need and/or want.

good. need or want? There is a difference. ------------------------------------------------ 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 Verses 6-16

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Originally posted by forgivenjojo
good. need or want? There is a difference.

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Absolutely. I have been looking at a couple of places where people talk about fuel prices: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/21/feedback.gasprices/index.html http://www.virginiagasprices.com/Forum_MSG.aspx?master=1&category=1056&topic=141391&page_no=1&FAV=N or better yet, just browse the topics here: http://www.virginiagasprices.com/Forum_Topics.aspx?master=1&category=1056&page_no=1&FAV=N And to be honest I am kind of shocked. The amount of whining that is going on just amazes me. Are they in denial? Did they get blindsided by this (not that they should have - people have warned about this for years)? Or are they doing a poor job of differentiating between need/want? There are a couple of TDI owners over there, well, err, gloating I guess would be the right word. [:D] :wq

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Originally posted by Rock_nj They are probably right. No way supply can keep up with growing demand. The question is what price will cause people severly curtail driving and/or change to other cheaper alternatives?

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Well, I've long known mine. When gas prices go above $3/gallon, I am parking the car and getting back on the bike. I have two feet, two pedal-powered wheels, the opportunity to take a public transportation system (Which was causing scheduling conflicts previously, which is why I went back to the car. Bike more I guess!), and a 30 mile round trip commute to work just about anywhere. I'm fifteen miles from Clemson and fifteen~ish miles from Anderson, the only two places with actual businesses that I could work for. Commuting is a necessary evil for me, I hate it. It'll hurt putting my brand new darling to park, but on the other hand it'll only be until I can sell the Square and finance the diesel conversion of the Q. "Diesel Pirate of Pendleton!" '86.5 Quantum Syncro, presently gas @ 26-28 mpg 2.0L Audi I5 diesel to be transplanted... 30+mpg? Who knows!

For those who think $5.00/gallon gasoline is not possible, consider this: $50 oil = $2.00 gas $75 oil = $3.00 gas $100 oil = $4.00 gas $125 oil = $5.00 gas Is $125 oil $5.00 gas impossible to reach? No, the price of oil has increased 350% since the beginning of 2003. An increase to $125/barrel would not even be a 100% increase from current levels. It is entirely possible if supply shortfalls become severe due to production limitations, weather or war. Time to start thinking of alternatives, which is a good thing to think about on Earth Day!

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Originally posted by ericy
... The amount of whining that is going on just amazes me. Are they in denial? Did they get blindsided by this (not that they should have - people have warned about this for years)? Or are they doing a poor job of differentiating between need/want?

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These idiots have been asleep at the wheel all their lives and deserve just what they have sown. I have no pity on such fools. It`s called evolution, and they are the ones going down. Tough sh!t. Two `96 VW TDI B4 variants, `87 MB 300TD `89 Ford F250 diesel, Kubota lawn tractor 25 Cylinders Kicking on the Sweet Sauce of the Soybean

Just posted at one of those whiner sites... what fun! Two `96 VW TDI B4 variants, `87 MB 300TD `89 Ford F250 diesel, Kubota lawn tractor 25 Cylinders Kicking on the Sweet Sauce of the Soybean

Is it "whining" when you have to choose between buying the kids new clothes and putting gas in the car? Because that's the situation that the poor are facing with these prices. What about the retired on fixed incomes? The slow increase we've had over the past few years has been a gentle enough slope to push us into biofuels. A sharp spike, like what could happen if the Iran and Nigeria situations go farther south, would cause more harm than good. If venture capital for biodiesel refineries dries up, where are we? -- Jon

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If venture capital for biodiesel refineries dries up, where are we?

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europe?

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Is it "whining" when you have to choose between buying the kids new clothes and putting gas in the car?

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or buying a bicycle, or getting a bus pass, or carpooling... the slow increase has NOT been enough to push us into biofuels. more harm in the short run, more good in the long run. there was a pretty good chunk of my childhood that we didn't even have a car. i walked or rode my bike almost everywhere i went, if it was more than five or six miles i might walk or ride a bike to the bus stop. my mom still doesn't have a car and hasn't for more than half of my life. she's nearly 60 and walks to work every day, although she's been hinting at getting an electric scooter. people who complain about "not being able to afford driving to work" have not yet considered all of their options. and if you live 50 miles from where you work and your job doesn't pay you enough to drive there, it's time to a) find a better job b) find a closer job and/or c) get a smaller car or any of the other options mentioned above. so if it comes down to fill-up the tank, or new clothes for Jr., he gets the clothes, and i get the excercise, what's the problem? so to answer your question: yes, it's whining. callous though it may seem ******* constituency of one

Tough love, not being callous. I agree, we all should have seen this eventuality coming, young, old, rich, poor. People who have blindly supported our government's energy policies for decades and are now suffering due to their blind support and unsustainable lifestyles (how many of these people drive light trucks that get 15 MPGs to jobs that are 50 miles away?). Time for them to rethink their priorities. There are stories all over the place about people turning to pawn shops to raise cash for gas money. That is a sign that people were prepared for nothing. What will the situation be like when gasoline is $5.00/gallon?

Imagine if we stopped subsidising the oil industry with our tax dollars, what the cost would be? Just guess.

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Originally posted by cpm
Imagine if we stopped subsidising the oil industry with our tax dollars, what the cost would be? Just guess.

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Some estimate around $10.00/gallon is the true market price that gasoline would sell for if Uncle Sam wasn't subsidizing the industry with billions in taxpayer monies (which is why I laugh about the talk of free markets from oil supporters, there is no free market in oil). Real Cost of Oil Equates to $10 Gallon Gasoline Source: IAGS [Apr 02, 2006] SYNOPSIS: Milton Copulos, president of the National Defense Council Foundation and Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security tells Senate the 'hidden cost' premium for imported oil amounts to $825 billion. http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=11520&url=

I agree the true cost of gasoline is much higher than we pay at the pump. Please hear me before cutting my head off. I want this message to make it mainstream, but to do so will require some very careful planning. People, need to hear it from "their" trusted media sources. "The true cost of gas" should become our motto. ------------------------------------------------ 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 Verses 6-16

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Originally posted by forgivenjojo
I agree the true cost of gasoline is much higher than we pay at the pump. Please hear me before cutting my head off. I want this message to make it mainstream, but to do so will require some very careful planning. People, need to hear it from "their" trusted media sources. "The true cost of gas" should become our motto.

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100% agreement from me on this one. You can keep your head [:D]. :wq

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Originally posted by soypwrd
Just posted at one of those whiner sites... what fun! Two `96 VW TDI B4 variants, `87 MB 300TD `89 Ford F250 diesel, Kubota lawn tractor 25 Cylinders Kicking on the Sweet Sauce of the Soybean

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Heh. I found your posts, but people didn't seem to react very much. I just posted a longish thing over there: http://www.virginiagasprices.com/Forum_MSG.aspx?master=1&category=1056&topic=197539&page_no=1 I guess you would call it 'tough love'. Feel free to add to it and bump it up. :wq

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Originally posted by ericy
... Heh. I found your posts, but people didn't seem to react very much. :wq

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The first and most clear sign of addiction is denial, and the Amerikan public has taken the hook down the throat. They are so brain dead they can`t see their hand in front of their faces. This nation is in deep trouble, as witnessed by the insanity going on at that site. Two `96 VW TDI B4 variants, `87 MB 300TD `89 Ford F250 diesel, Kubota lawn tractor 25 Cylinders Kicking on the Sweet Sauce of the Soybean