$5 Gas in 2012?

[rwh11385]

buck sixty NO, less than 2.75 yeah very doable

But there are two huge problems:

1) You can't complain about the economy and gas prices at the same time, like joshh does. A growing economy = more people in the world who can afford to drive (or eat more protein), and thus ups the demand, and hence price. (Unless, of course, you're supporting alternative sources / efficiency - then you can grow the economy without bloating oil demand, but Catch-22 is that most people don't invest in that without high prices)

2) $2.75 gas at the pump is correlated with an oil barrel price that is unprofitable to fuss with oil sands. (basically, Newt was full of shit)
[edit: Yes - similar numbers as you replied with - some say as high as $70 needed to make oil sands worth it, but also read $65... and looking at historic $2.77 ~= $63/barrel]

[mrsleeve]

buck sixty NO, less than 2.75 yeah very doable

[rwh11385]

Quoted for when the price goes back down as it did at the beginning of 2009.

You can hope all you want for $1.60 gas again... but at the end of the day you'll still be blaming someone else for your problems instead of doing something proactive about it.

[gwb72tii]

Did you not take Econ 101, like ever?

see, this is how you win debates

[joshh]

WHAT NUMBERS WOULD YOU LIKE?!? Did you NOT expect them to recover to where they were in 2008? Why does it matter that prices have been stable at this price longer than in 2008 - do you think they are going to go down anytime soon?? And why would you ever?? [Eventually they will proceed to go up as global demand continues to grow, until alternatives start to cut more into transportation use through higher adoption]

Did you not take Econ 101, like ever? Do you just walk into a store and say "this is bullshit, I don't like these prices!"? People other places in the world pay more. And it's not like the world is shrinking - more and more and more people are getting cars and have access to energy.

If people need to get around, it's called a) legs b) bike c) bus. Americans only complain because they were so spoiled and lived it up with gas guzzling SUVs for so long, they came to expect it... felt entitled.

edit: YOU HAVE FOUR YEARS TO SAVE UP AND BUY A Civic VX, 1st Gen Insight, or another cheap high mpg car in preparation for gasoline's rebound!!! No one has any room to complain really.

Quoted for when the price goes back down as it did at the beginning of 2009.

[nando]

I still see SUVs, hummers (H2, and even H1) and gigantic trucks with one person in them, and no cargo, every day. So, I don't think people are starving because gas is expensive.

oh yeah, gas consumption in the US has been on the decline since 2008.

[rwh11385]

No the price isn't *as high* as 2008. But it's stayed high twice as long (and still stays high now) as 2008. It didn't peak like 2008.
Stability, yes if you think stably high is a good thing.

Feb08-Oct08 prices never went below 3.11. And they peaked at 4.12. Average=Approx-3.61 over 8 months.

Feb2011-current prices have not gone below 3.11 per gallon. Average=Appox-3.53 over 16 months.

You can argue all you like. Those are not good numbers for people trying to get around in a down economy.

WHAT NUMBERS WOULD YOU LIKE?!? Did you NOT expect them to recover to where they were in 2008? Why does it matter that prices have been stable at this price longer than in 2008 - do you think they are going to go down anytime soon?? And why would you ever?? [Eventually they will proceed to go up as global demand continues to grow, until alternatives start to cut more into transportation use through higher adoption]

Did you not take Econ 101, like ever? Do you just walk into a store and say "this is bullshit, I don't like these prices!"? People other places in the world pay more. And it's not like the world is shrinking - more and more and more people are getting cars and have access to energy.

If people need to get around, it's called a) legs b) bike c) bus. Americans only complain because they were so spoiled and lived it up with gas guzzling SUVs for so long, they came to expect it... felt entitled.

edit: YOU HAVE FOUR YEARS TO SAVE UP AND BUY A Civic VX, 1st Gen Insight, or another cheap high mpg car in preparation for gasoline's rebound!!! No one has any room to complain really.

[joshh]

Higher than what? The momentary crash in price during the global recession?

It's good to have it find stability and is still lower than 2008

No the price isn't *as high* as 2008. But it's stayed high twice as long (and still stays high now) as 2008. It didn't peak like 2008.
Stability, yes if you think stably high is a good thing.

Feb08-Oct08 prices never went below 3.11. And they peaked at 4.12. Average=Approx-3.61 over 8 months.

Feb2011-current prices have not gone below 3.11 per gallon. Average=Appox-3.53 over 16 months.

You can argue all you like. Those are not good numbers for people trying to get around in a down economy.

[nando]

yeah, even if I got 30mpg, it would only save me $50 a month, maybe. and I don't really have time to maintain another car.

[Kershaw]

my $1300 eta paid for itself in 7 months of driving. my gas bill on the rx8 was about $400/month. went to about $150. insurance stayed the same since the rx8 went to a weekend car. and then the insurance company gave me $3100 for the eta when an old man totalled it. (only had it for 7 months.)

i'd love to have your commute. i fill up once a week in my ix. twice if im driving the 8.

[nando]

nah. I only drive 5 miles per day or so. Even only getting 17-20mpg, I only fill up twice a month.

it would take several years to pay off a car I'd be willing to drive with gas savings.

[Kershaw]

holy shit nando. thats crazy. gas prices like those are the reason i started buying e30s. my rx8 gets 17-19mpg on 93. it got pricey. i really enjoyed my eta for that reason. not sure what im doing with an ix now though.

have you considered an eta or 318? those prices are really steep.

[z31maniac]

Ouch. I think I paid $3.11 yesterday to fill up my truck.

[nando]

fuck you all


granted, it's 92 octane, top-tier non-ethanol gas, but that's actually about 6 cents below it's peak from a couple weeks ago. the problems we have up here are twofold:

-gas is like $6-7 a gallon up in canada. People literally cross the border just to buy gas here because it's so much cheaper. that drives our prices up.
-there was a pretty major fire at one of the local refineries. they've been shut down for an extended period and are just now getting back up to speed. it also happened around the same time as planned maintenance at other refineries. Supplies of refined products on the west coast are at their lowest in 20 years.

it appears to have peaked, but I have to laugh at people complaining about $4 gas. :p

I'm pretty sure in this little corner of the US, we have some of the highest gas prices other than hawaii and maybe alaska. But, it's always been that way - I remember going to tennesse/georgia, and gas was like 90 cents a gallon, and it was about $1.50 here. I blame Bush. :p

[M-technik-3]

We finally got some relief locally. 3.65 for 87 in my area drive two towns over it's 3.55.

I like the dollar comments as oil is traded in dollars not euro.