Gas Prices Rising

[c1ue]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

Perhaps they will wise up in the next $0.20 cents or so. Then get dumb again later in the year.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4593[/ATTACH]

Looks like EJ's PCO oil price graph - just on a shorter time scale.

Coincidence, or similar factors writ small into the refinery industry?

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

That X1 is ugly.
The 3 series are nice. I went with a used 528 and regret it. On paper, the gas mileage versus cost for a new 3 series did not seem worth. It drives me nuts every day that I get under 20 miles per gallon, however. I did not factor that into my equation... the emotional price. But, a Prius cannot climb a hill worth a lick.
My friend has a 335d ... it gets amazing mileage and is powerful.

I love the 335d, that is also the car EJ has.

I had my car in the shop for a few days and asked my guy at the dealership to let me drive the 335d. It got great gas mileage compared to my gas 328. It was also much faster and sounded great.

I would buy a used 335d if I could find one.

My boss just switched from a 750i to an X5. I asked him if he got the diesel version (one of my good friends has the X5 diesel and it's fantastic) and he said "why would I get a diesel, they sound horrible and they smell bad"

I told him he was showing his age (65).

[DSpencer]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/06/news...my/gas-prices/

And yet I bet it won't stop people driving their gas guzzling SUVs.

What makes you so angry about other people spending their money on gasoline?

[BadJuju]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

Because it just doesn't make sense in the face of PCO.

[DSpencer]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

Me too, but it isn't going to happen. A little bit of leadership would help but I don't have much hope for that either.

What do you mean by "a little bit of leadership"?


There always seems to be an exaggerated emphasis on fuel economy from a financial standpoint. They say the avg person drives about 12,000 miles per year. At 25mpg that is 480 gallons of gas. Even at 5 dollars per gallon that is $2,400. If they bought a car that go 35mpg instead, they would spend $1,714 per year. So they save $700 a year, which isn't bad, but how much does it cost to get that extra 10mpg without sacrificing on other aspects of the car that are important such as capacity, safety, etc?

I can't help but laugh at the thread in general:

"Man gas prices are high, people need to get efficient cars to save money on gas"
"Yeah, I might buy a new BMW"
"I'm thinking an Audi"
"Or maybe Mercedes"

I realize I'm cherry picking and there are some cheaper options discussed as well. I also understand that if you want a nice car, it doesn't hurt to save on gas. It just seems funny to think about someone buying a 60,000 luxury car to save on gas money.

As EJ said in a recent article, the real money/oil saver is the vehicle that gets used for decades.

[globaleconomicollaps]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

Perhaps they will wise up in the next $0.20 cents or so. Then get dumb again later in the year.

I'm looking at the oil to gasoline relationship. this is oil and gas normalized to 1/1/2000

The gas price is not keeping pace with the oil price rise. Possible explanations might be:
a) The difference is being made up by selling refined oil products like plastics, drugs, hydrogenated vegetable oil substitute etc.
b) Export gas is way more expensive than domestic (why?).
c) Oil companies are taking a bath. If so, we might expect the gap to close up at some point. There might be a big shake out followed by consolidation and price hikes.

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

What do you mean by "a little bit of leadership"?


There always seems to be an exaggerated emphasis on fuel economy from a financial standpoint. They say the avg person drives about 12,000 miles per year. At 25mpg that is 480 gallons of gas. Even at 5 dollars per gallon that is $2,400. If they bought a car that go 35mpg instead, they would spend $1,714 per year. So they save $700 a year, which isn't bad, but how much does it cost to get that extra 10mpg without sacrificing on other aspects of the car that are important such as capacity, safety, etc?

I can't help but laugh at the thread in general:

"Man gas prices are high, people need to get efficient cars to save money on gas"
"Yeah, I might buy a new BMW"
"I'm thinking an Audi"
"Or maybe Mercedes"

I realize I'm cherry picking and there are some cheaper options discussed as well. I also understand that if you want a nice car, it doesn't hurt to save on gas. It just seems funny to think about someone buying a 60,000 luxury car to save on gas money.

As EJ said in a recent article, the real money/oil saver is the vehicle that gets used for decades.

I agree Spencer. I would like to purchase a mini cooper diesel or a smartcar BUT the social society hit I would take outweighs the marginal increase I get in MPG compared to a diesel 3 series.

Those are the facts in my case. I understand it is psychological and a social construct but that is the only reason I havent switched to those cars yet.

I poll female friends all the time "what do they think about a guy driving a smart car or mini cooper?"

The answer is overwhelmingly negative. Now you can always say those arent the women that you want to be romantically involved with due to their response but society is about perception.

I would rather not be perceived as homosexual or weak due to the vehicle that I drive (no offense to anyone who is homosexual, nothing against it and frankly dont care but I wish not to be perceived as such in the first minute I meet someone).

Just trying to have an honest conversation pertaining to how people are thinking. I have said many times I wish I lived in Europe because they seem to not have those social stigmas around cars.

[BadJuju]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

I used to drive around a scooter. As long as you present yourself well and are confident about things, it doesn't really hamper things too much with regards to women. You just have to control that perception in other ways.

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

I used to drive around a scooter. As long as you present yourself well and are confident about things, it doesn't really hamper things too much with regards to women. You just have to control that perception in other ways.

Sorry JuJu, didn't mean to imply that I have a concern with attracting women. I don't at all and meet women on a constant basis.

Although it is not a big deal, homosexual men already hit on me enough because I am young, clean cut and in shape and adding one of those vehicles won't help that where I live.

There is also the added factor that here in Texas it seems like 65% of all vehicles are large pickup trucks and SUVs. Doesnt bode well for a mini cooper in a crash.

I can't wait for the day when most cars are the size of a mini cooper like in Europe.

[BadJuju]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

Me too, brother PoZ, me too!

[lektrode]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

I'm looking at the oil to gasoline relationship. this is oil and gas normalized to 1/1/2000
The gas price is not keeping pace with the oil price rise. Possible explanations might be:
a) The difference is being made up by selling refined oil products like plastics, drugs, hydrogenated vegetable oil substitute etc.
b) Export gas is way more expensive than domestic (why?).
c) Oil companies are taking a bath. If so, we might expect the gap to close up at some point. There might be a big shake out followed by consolidation and price hikes.

methinks its just early in the season - dont fret, i'm willing to bet that unless we get a repeat - in may or so - of the pattern of the whitehouse mumbling about a 'release from the reserve' (just as plans for the summer drive-athon season start to get made)
that we will see much higher prices perty quick - the evidence of that is this:

TOP Oil Market News: Brent Rises; U.S. Gasoline Prices Increase

Oil Exports Trim U.S. Deficit as Fuel Gap Shrinks: Economy (2)

Record petroleum exports helped shrink the U.S. trade deficit in December to the smallest in almost three years as America moved closer to energy self- sufficiency, a goal the nation has been pursuing since the 1973 Arab oil embargo.

and thats why we're exporting so much of it, all of a sudden????
only in orwell-land (or oil-well land) would that make sense....

and this collection of lil industry tidbits (and no GRG, i am most certainly NOT an oil industry basher ;)
tends to suggest that any day now we're going to be reading about 'shortages' ???

uh huh.... anybody else sense pattern here?

Valero Port Arthur Refinery Reports Unit Upset

Valero Energy Corp. reported a unit upset due to a “broken bleeder valve” at the 310,000-barrel-a- day Port Arthur, Texas, refinery
Marathon Garyville Refinery Reports Flaring in Louisiana

Marathon Petroleum Corp. reported flaring at its 460,000- barrel-a-day Garyville refinery in Louisiana, according to a filing with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
U.S. Gasoline Rises to $3.5918/Gallon in Lundberg Survey (1)
The average price for regular gasoline at U.S. pumps rose 24.75 cents a gallon in the past two weeks to $3.5918 a gallon, according to Lundberg Survey Inc.
REFINERIES Map global refinery outages

Exxon Mobil Reports Emissions at Baytown, Texas, Refinery

A storage vessel floating roof landed on supporting legs, resulting in emissions at Exxon Mobil’s refinery in Baytown, Texas, co. says in a regulatory filing to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Flint Hills Minnesota Refinery Releases Hydrogen Sulfide

A compressor at the Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount, Minn., released hydrogen sulfide yesterday at 2 p.m. local time.
Valero Reports Flaring at Corpus Christi Refinery Due to Work

Refinery’s West plant in Texas is performing planned maintenance over the weekend, Valero Energy said in notice to the local emergency planning committee.
Tesoro Reported ‘Major Unit’ Startup at Golden Eagle Refinery

Refinery in Northern California may flare gases as unit starts, Tesoro Corp. said in notice to Contra Costa County regulators.
Western Refining El Paso Plant to Begin Work Next Week

El Paso refinery in Texas to begin work on north side of plant Feb. 11, Gary Hanson, spokesman for Western Refining Inc., said by e-mail.
PDVSA Says It Controls Failure at Puerto La Cruz Refinery

Co. controlled incident at heating unit at 12:30 p.m. local time.
MORE: Phillips 66 Reports Flaring at Los Angeles Refinery
Phillips 66 not performing planned maintenance at Los Angeles refinery, Rich Johnson, Co. spokesman, said by e-mail.
Los Angeles Gasoline Weakens as BP, Tesoro Plan Unit Startups

Spot gasoline in Los Angeles dropped against futures as BP Plc and Tesoro Corp. were said to be preparing for the restart of production units at their refineries in Southern California.
OTHER OIL MARKET NEWS

Japan Not Seeking Emergency Access to Saudi Oil, Minister Says

Japan isn’t seeking an agreement with Saudi Arabia to raise production if it makes an emergency request for oil supply, Japanese Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters in Abu Dhabi today.

[wayiwalk]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

I agree Spencer. I would like to purchase a mini cooper diesel or a smartcar BUT the social society hit I would take outweighs the marginal increase I get in MPG compared to a diesel 3 series.

Those are the facts in my case. I understand it is psychological and a social construct but that is the only reason I havent switched to those cars yet.

I poll female friends all the time "what do they think about a guy driving a smart car or mini cooper?"

The answer is overwhelmingly negative. Now you can always say those arent the women that you want to be romantically involved with due to their response but society is about perception.

I would rather not be perceived as homosexual or weak due to the vehicle that I drive (no offense to anyone who is homosexual, nothing against it and frankly dont care but I wish not to be perceived as such in the first minute I meet someone).

Just trying to have an honest conversation pertaining to how people are thinking. I have said many times I wish I lived in Europe because they seem to not have those social stigmas around cars.

You've got to hang around more engineers....they (male and female) are more objective about such things.


And, with tongue firmly in cheek, I can say I have never had a sexy car in my life, and managed to win the heart of one of the best prospects on campus 30 years ago, when said campus had a male to female ratio of 3:1, and I'm fairly ugly and troll like....but did get the trophy wife (ok, second place trophy wife) and she's given me 4 trophy kids (ok, second place trophy kids).....but the car you drive has nothing to do with it.

[charliebrown]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

actually my wife dated me because i drove a small car. she thought, ah a guy who's not into his car, maybe he will pay more attention to me.
maybe your fishing in the wrong pond POZ

[lektrode]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

...... It just seems funny to think about someone buying a 60,000 luxury car to save on gas money.

As EJ said in a recent article, the real money/oil saver is the vehicle that gets used for decades.

my 'investment' of $1400 in 2004, for a 1993 chevy cavalier, that gets 30mpg like clockwork - i figger is yielding something on the order of 10grand/year about now - and thats IRR, btw ;) vs say a spankin new Prius...

[ProdigyofZen]

Re: Gas Prices Rising

You've got to hang around more engineers....they (male and female) are more objective about such things.


And, with tongue firmly in cheek, I can say I have never had a sexy car in my life, and managed to win the heart of one of the best prospects on campus 30 years ago, when said campus had a male to female ratio of 3:1, and I'm fairly ugly and troll like....but did get the trophy wife (ok, second place trophy wife) and she's given me 4 trophy kids (ok, second place trophy kids).....but the car you drive has nothing to do with it.

Hahaha good info I am glad you prospered in your personal relationships !. Yes I know it has nothing to do with the car I drive, I was trying to qualify my statements in the original post that it doesnt but perception is a powerful thing for 98% of people.

Even as objective as I try to be on EVERYTHING I am sure I have been persuaded by perception before. I can imagine for most people it is even more difficult.