Gas Prices!

[WRC]

Got this in my e-mail....... not a bad idea. http://www.race-dezert.com/wwwthreads/images/icons/smile.gif

Join the resistance!!!!


I hear we are going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the summer Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action.
Phillip Hollsworth, offered this good idea: This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May!
The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read it and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $1.97 for regular unleaded in some towns.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50- $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace....not sellers. With the price of
gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year, DON"T purchase ANY gasoline
from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.
But to have an impact, we need to reach literally million! s of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do!! Now, don't whimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again,all You have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all. (If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am... so trust me on this one.)

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!! I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on.
PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES
TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND
KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.


Sean</font color=red> (http://wrcss@hotmail.com><font)

[choppekx]

What gas stations do exxon and mobile own. I am sure they own parts of other companies especially since I rarely see exxon or mobiles anymore. Are they in with Shell, Cheveron-Texaco, Arco, Dimond, 76, . e.t.c.? I thought that I heard that exxon owned Cheveron, but I honestly have no idea.

Chris

[tkr]

I'm pretty sure Mobil and BP are the same.

Matt Nelson
Team Kwik Racing

[BradM]

BP/Amoco an Arco had a merger pending government approval due to a monopoly on the North Slope of Alaska at Prudhoe Bay if the deal went through. I believe Arco sold their interest on the slope to Marathon preserve the deal. Exxon/Mobil are the same. Chevron/Texaco are the same. I believe Shell was involved in a merger as well but I can't remember with whom.

All this crap about consumers manipulating the gas prices by boycots is BS. If you want to complain about the price of fuel start with the state of California. If our gasoline taxes weren't so exorbitant, our gas prices would be much lower.

[Kritter]

I may eat my words but gas will NOT go to 3 bucks a gallon this summer. Ask any legitimate economist.

Kris

"A signature always reveals a man's character -- and sometimes even his name. "

[JrSyko]

I agree Kris. No way will it go to three dollars a gallon. If it does, we will eat our words together!

[Waldo]

Gas has the possiblity to go even higher than that depending on the consumption of the consumer. Look what happened in the 70's (I was a mere toddler but still remember history), nobody saw it coming and it happened.

OPEC decided not to allow more production of oil even though consumption has gone up. This will and has affected the gas prices.

NEVER SAY NEVER!

BRAAAAAAAAP!

[BradM]

I don't buy into that philosophy. The strategists and economists have been claiming for over a year that there exists a huge surplus of oil and gas (natural gas) but no one can actually point it out or identify it. It has to do with proving their theories about the market fluctuations. I think it is all BS and now the reality is starting to sink in that there is no surplus. I know first hand that natural gas storage levels in the US are way down and oil is being produced as fast a economically feasible. What we really need is to open up offshore drilling again and to continue to pursue exploration in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. A compromise can be achieved where the resources can be exploited and the environment can be cared for at the same time. We have to cut our dependence on foriegn oil. Otherwise, the impending conflicts in the Mid East will just make things worse.

I don't see gas prices hitting $3 thi year but I think it will continue to rise for a while. I look for long term prices to stabilize at or near $2.

[JrSyko]

The price of gas is inelastic, however, at a certain point it fails to become economically feasible for the consumer (and I'm not talking about Joe Blow filling up his car, I'm talking about the airlines industry, the government, huge corporations with large fleets of cars) to use. At which point the government is forced to step in and either increase consumption of the U.S. reserves, or force some kind of deal with OPEC. Currently, three a gallon is not economically feasible for an economy in a recession as is ours. The airline industry would be crippled!

[Kritter]

From NYT

"The London benchmark Brent crude oil rose 58 cents to $23.91 a barrel Monday, while U.S. light, sweet crude jumped 48 cents to close at $24.32 a barrel. But gasoline inventories remain robust and above average, according to the American Petroleum Institute. John Felmy, chief economist for the Washington-based trade group, said the stockpiles of conventional -- versus special summer grade -- gasoline are at 117.4 million barrels, compared with the 113.4 million barrels the nation had on hand a year ago.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which produces 40 percent of the world's oil, began cutting crude-oil production in January. The 11-member cartel is scheduled to meet Friday in Vienna to discuss what to do about future production.

In the United States, the summer driving season officially begins in May, on Memorial Day weekend, and industry observers say prices are likely to level off before then because supply is expected to increase. Domestic refineries say they are gearing up production of special summer-grade gasoline that is used in many cities, including those in metro Detroit, between June and September.

"Once you get closer to the first week of May, refiners are building their stocks to meet the summer driving season," said Gheit. "So barring the derailment of the economy's recovery, I think the prices at the pump will stay close to their current levels.""

AS long as we don't piss of Sadam we should be ok.



Kris

"A signature always reveals a man's character -- and sometimes even his name. "

[BIG_FAT_LOSER]

I feel if the do go higher we'll be punching holes in alaska again.

<font color=red>PAT KAPKO</font color=red>
<font color=yellow>Self appointed King of ghetto fab</font color=yellow>

[martininsocal]

guys- you have to realize that opec is really $hit when it comes to production. just because they supply it doesn't mean they are the only ones with it! the U.S strategy for at least 3 decades(on the national level) has always been to use the other guys oil. we have reserves, untapped sources, etc...the only real problem is Billary Clinton sold some of those to private industry, but they still haven't tapped into them. mexico, south america, and russia can kick opecs ass in production if asked. even africa has been surveyed and found to have larger underground sources than the middle east. why do we use the middle east? it has been somewhat reliable, politcally stable, and they haven't tried to ripp anyone off. it has always been show. the oil crisis in the 70's? purely economical gain. we never even came close to running out of oil, even 30 years later! what it did was create the oppurtunity to open new fields for future use and remind opec that they weren't the only show in town. the latest is purely profiteers trying to capitalize on the mideast crisis. kinda like the electrical farce of last year.

another real issue is the environmentalists would rather see us all living in caves heating with methane gas(from our asses) than driving cars and using electric lights. hell, theycan't even support windmills in the banning pass area because they make noise and scare animals and kill birds that fly through them. i don't get it...

martin

If your gonna go, go BIG

[scott]

I think exxon is a part of chevron....but I think a better way for the consumer to get even is to....Buy stock in oil companies, when the prices go up so does the stock, stock goes down then you win at the pumps again.....A win/win situation....

[martininsocal]

scott- you have missed much of the supply/demand economics class. haven't you seen all the incremental increases in the per barrel price vs the huge increases in the at the pump cost? every time a barrel of crude goes up 1cent, you will see a 3-5 cent increase at the pump. its the IGM mentality(I got mine!) and they all use the excuse for profits. here is a true stories that will blow your mind.

a few years ago, there were 2 refinery fires in california, if this had happened anywhere else, it would be no biggie, but since california requires designer gas that no other states use, it is refined here. there would now be a shortage of gasoline in california and local prices(statewide) began about a 25-30 cent increase due to the shortage. what the wholesalers, retailers, and refiners didn't bother to tell you was they just increased the amount of MTBE they put in the gasoline to make up the difference from the actual loss of gas, and made profit on top of a bad situation. the best part is, this is when MTBE really came to the forefront as a carcinogen and was now being proposed for elimination from gas as an additive. more money and more cancer, even the doctors will get rich off this scheme!

it is all about profit. the petroleun industry has been looping the system since the days they bought up the red line and tore out all the trolley tracks from socal. can't sell gas to trolley riders, but you sure can sell gas, tires, and cars to folks that have to commute to work from the valley! the electric company learned the scam just recently and low and behold, we plenty of unscheduled repair shut downs, etc... last year. amazing what that can do to the spot market! and wasn't it amazing how the breakdowns went from one supplier to the next? what a coincidence. and why wasn't the state inspectors aloud in to check on repairs and damage when these occured? maybe it was because saddam husein was making baby food in those places!

martin

If your gonna go, go BIG

[martininsocal]

p.s. exxon owns mobil-they were suppose to phase out the mobil stations a few years back, but decided to keep them up and running for awhile after they had a minor mishap in alaska(i believe it occured in valdez) something about marketing and bad publicity! i know this for a fact. one of their mobil stationsClosed now) is leaking a plume of mtbe under my fire station and they had to drill test wells all over our lawn and wrecked the grass and test every week. so far, they denie any claims that the plume will ever surface.

If your gonna go, go BIG

[scott]

The supply and demand, dollars and cents per barrel increase......what does that have to do with you the consumer getting stock in the companies and making money on the stock when the prices are driven up... then when the stock goes down in price that means your gas is more in likely going down..
How are you losing ????? People ***** about $2.50 for a gallon of gas but yet everyone doesn't ***** about paying almost $4 a gallon for milk, or even better yet 32 oz. of water for close to $2 a bottle.....
Good thing we aren't using evian, or jerseymaid for fuel !!!!!!!

[Curtis Guise]

I have probably received 3 or 4 e-mails that are similar to that for the last year or two. Gas prices have never gone that high, and nobody ever boycotts the gas stations..... they just talk.... it's the american way.... :) its that simple

The corporate Chevron building near me now reads "ChevronTexaco" don't know about the others. Tesoro just bought the Ultramar refinery near me also.(we do their signs)


Curtis

[rdc]

I think the people who buy chevron don't care about paying too much for gas so you'll never get them to boycott. My parents buy chevron in their town, and it is always about 20 cents higher than the place across the street. Luckily where i'm at there is a 76 that is always about the same as the arco down the street, so that keeps me happy...but I'm paying $1.63 right now. a couple months after it was $0.99 that's just not cool.

[Waldo]

Scott, we don't need $4 milk or $2 bottled water to get to work and play. The U.S. NEEDS gasoline to survive economoically. We can live without milk or water economically. We could drink tap water. We choose to pay those prices. Just like we choose to pay for gas at a higher rate.

The damn oil companies always raise their prices just before summer and throughout the summer. It pisses me off SOOOOOOO much because being a teacher, I do most of my traveling during the summer months. Bastards!

BRAAAAAAAAP!

[martininsocal]

waldo is right, and i don't pay 4 bucks for milk- get a vons club card and get 2 gallons for 4 bucks. i also live where i don't have to buy bottled water, but you folks are paying through the nose for it!(arrowhead, big bear, etc...) show me one year where the gas companies didn't make a profit? just one. the only time oil stock drops is when they do something wrong(like spill a little oil in alaska and are found negligent) it is big business, always making a buck. the profits are garunteed. they turn money losing propositions into profits on the backs of consumers. doctors do it, electricicity companies do it, all business does it. they have something happen that would cost them money, they just pass it on to the consumer. some things the consumer has the ability to say no, not purchase, and the company has to eat the loss to stay in business, other things(neccessities)like gas, electricity, etc... just screw you to maintain profit margins, keep share holders happy, and create excuses for the cost uprise(middle east, drought, refinery fire, scheduled maintenance). remember the last draught? everyone was suppose to conserve water? we did it so well, that MWD got a request approved to increase water rates because everyone was using less and their profits were down! the only way to make something like this work is to go sole source for gas, everyone buys there, the other retailers start losing money, and they have to reduce prices or close the doors.

martin

If your gonna go, go BIG

[Tyson]

Though I don't have to fill my fridge up with 35 gallons of milk every week and a 1/2 either. There was an article on this in Maxim last year and it showed the cost (in gallons) a number of things to show how gas is really inexpensive, though it didn't take into effect the fact that Americans use gas more then any other type of energy source.

Tyson
YOTAPUNK</font color=red> (http://www.geocities.com/yotapunk>)

[Kritter]

Milk is a bad comparison because milk is regulated by the government to subsidize the farmers. Gas used to be regulated by government until some guy named Ronnie Reagan decided it should not be...oh Reagonomics, I may not remember those days but I still feel the effects.

Kris

"A signature always reveals a man's character -- and sometimes even his name. "

[CoiloverKid]

well, i'm on the inside of all this. as an family member of and an employee of ExxonMobil {same company, mobil bought exxon.mobil owns BP as well** its funny how you think the corporations are laughing at us for the idea of blaming them...they laugh because there's nothing they can possibly do! it's not the corporation, it's the DISTRIBUTORS and those subsidiaries who supply it to HABIB at the mobil mart on the corner. the increase in price is outrageous, from the crude to processed, all i'm saying is that what we pay publicly for gas, is like a big mac meal. what it is when we distribute is like buying a toy out of the quarter machine at K-mart. [i'm trying to use analogies, i can get in trouble for giving gross figures] But it is dissappointing to see the racing community turning on the company who cant do anything about the macroeconomic nightmare that's making prices so high. i mean if you think about it, many teams use mobil 1. the best GP team in the world and porshe works use MOBIL 1, just for example. Just remember, we're not the bad guys in all this, the distributors and vendors are the ones to be angry at, not the refineries and corporate offices.

http://www.subaru-sti.co.jp/event/snowdrive01/image/10.jpg the BEST winter sport..

[scott]

The bottom line is people pay high prices on milk, and water and nobody bitches, but as soon as gas goes up, out come the bitcher's.... Gas has been going up before summer for years, its not a surprise, everyone knows its coming, its just something to complain about. I think you have to accept it. Look at the people in Hawaii that have fuel shipped over to them and pay $2.40 to $2.70 a gallon constantly all year round and they don't *****, there pretty laid back about it. PEMEX in Mexico was more than us a few months back... It all regulates out... and I think water is more important to the world than fuel. Last time I checked the world wasn't 3 quarters fuel....

[jeff]

Haven't posted a book in awhile and felt like crap today... thought I'd write another novel.

I moved back to the mainland from Hawaii last year and gas was about the same price there as it was in Orange County. They have local days and Wednesday deal days that drop the price to a reasonable level. And it's Hawaii, not like you have very far to drive. Everybody thinks Hawaiians pay more for stuff... sure, maybe compared to someone living in Nebraska. If you've grown up living in SoCal the prices in Hawaii are about the same or less. I bought milk in Hawaii all the time - 2 for $5.00 at Safeway. The price a tourist pays for something is NOT what a local pays... kama'aina discount braddah!

Americans pay more for gas than someone down in Venezuela (they pay like $.50 cents a gallon) but less than someone in Hong Kong where gas is over $5.00 bucks a gallon. I've got family in Norway and they get raped not only at the pumps, but also at the dealerships. Try paying $80,000 USD for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. So before you cry too much just imagine spending $5.00 bucks a gallon to fill up your $65,000 F-150. Most of the bitching and moaning is done by people that are totally clueless as to why the price of gas goes up or down. It's not just the OPEC countries that screw the USA, it's the USA that screws the USA. Cut all taxes on gas and we'd all pay about $.40 cents a gallon less. California just passed a new law that requires more of the gas tax money to be spent on roads... well DUH!

Another thing we all need to remember is that inflation grows every year and if you go back to the 1950's they were paying around $1.90 a gallon in 2002 money. I paid $1.55 at a Chevron off the 60 freeway today and didn't think twice when I saw the price. That's $.45 cents cheaper than 50 years ago. Another reason gas prices are currently up, and Coiloverkid can probably confirm this, most refineries perform routine repair during the spring before the big summer push is on... this work reduces output and increases price. What do you want, refineries exploding on a regular basis? That'd just give them an excuse to jack the price up again.

Don't blame it on Reagan either. Republicans are all for and about reducing government regulation... if someone like Al Gore was president in the 80's you might not have ANY desert to ride in. What we need to do is get rid of the dependency on gasoline and other petroleum based fuels. It's 2002 and we still drive around in vehicles powered by grossly inefficient engines - is that our own fault for not demanding more from the engineers and from government? GM / FORD / DaimlerChrysler are all capable of building more fuel efficient engines right? Why don't they? There is a guy over on Maui that runs around in a modified car that runs on vegetable and coconut oil. Thing runs **** and you can fill it up with old McDonalds fry oil. Ask the petroleum companies how many patents they own and what those patents are... they shelf stuff that improves mileage and the Government doesn't even try to stop it. Screw the a-arm discussion, somebody come up with a new engine design.

The OPEC oil supply is a big scham that us peons can't do diddly about, but drilling in Alaska? If I lived in Alaska I wouldn't want the oil rigs in my yard anymore than the people in Long Beach or Huntington Beach want them. It's all fine and dandy until they drill in your yard. The guess on Alaskas Arctic Wild Life area supply is around 7 billion barrels... or 294 billion gallons of crude. Figure that only 50 percent of that can be refined into gas and you've got 147 billion gallons o' gasoline and diesel. That sounds all bitchin until you hear how much gas Americans use every year... 115 billion gallons. You could suck Alaska dry and maybe make a dent in OPECs pricing structure. The only people that would really make money on the deal are the petroleum companies.

Oh yeah, the primary gas reserves for the US are supposedly in underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico. They don't even hold enough to get the US past 60 days of average usage. They are used to help maintain a level price and in times of WAR. Clinton used the reserves a few years ago to help the petroleum companies supply fuel to heat homes... the catch was the petroleum companies had to give back what they took when they were more flush with crude. Here's a picture of it - the Bryan Mound storage site of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

http://www.performancelifts.com/images/gas-reserves.jpg

I suggest that before you point fingers at any one group you do some investigation and read up on what really affects the gas pricing. Boycotting the major refineries won't do diddly but if it makes you feel good go for it. I boycott Sizzler cuz I think their food sucks.

Aloha

[Tyson]

COMPLETELY OFF SUBJECT. . .but. . .
I Boycott Walmart because they pulled out the only drive in movie theater in Orange County before I was old enough to take a chick there (without my parents).

In memory of the old HWY 39 drive in http://www.race-dezert.com/wwwthreads/images/icons/frown.gif

Tyson
YOTAPUNK</font color=red> (http://www.geocities.com/yotapunk>)

[rdc]

Insead of complaining and sitting at your putter YOU got to do something elas and off set the difference by working just a little more (not charging more) a day for the money you need. I work for a magor industry "Gas refinery" they do get that laugh at you. Shell goes into Chevron, Texco goes into 76, 76 goes into Arco, Arco goes into Citgo.....they buy from each other wake up, get a bike or walk! Just ask someone who has stock in GAS! They can all most care less what they pay for GAS

[rdc]

This is the 3rd year I've gotten that email.
-Chris

2000 v6 4x4 TRD 5-Speed Tacoma

[WRC]

Well, now that everyone has put in their two cents on the subject I guess I’ll put in mine.

1) It’s not rocket science. Gas goes up in price during the “driving season” every year like clockwork. Demand goes up thus the price goes with it. It’s all about building all those nice new stations…. PROFIT BABY!

2) I don’t give a flying F#@* what they are paying in other countries. Just because their getting ripped off doesn’t make it OK in the US.

3) My bottom line is this. I get almost 30mpg in my WRX under cruising (normal) conditions so it doesn’t really hurt me at all. Its just the idea of what is going on and that is price gouging pure and simple.

Like I said, just my two cents.

Some race cars get 15mpg plus!
http://www.worldrally-online.com/NR/rdonlyres/enfpwuucfdutt3urqachugfci6csymnx4dqyggvaqq7sla5bhn h6mf6ldfvqt7mzwvhaxjulniysjp/pugbig.jpg

<font color=red>GOT MILK?</font color=red> http://www.race-dezert.com/wwwthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif

Sean</font color=red> (http://wrcss@hotmail.com><font)

[CoiloverKid]

like wattarush said, i own 100 shares of exxonmobil stock, as a benefit with the job. that's 86.42 a share last time i checked.

http://www.subaru-sti.co.jp/event/snowdrive01/image/10.jpg the BEST winter sport..

[ndvalium]

Was just checking what the oldest threads in this section were....Ironically over 6 years later, and the same debate carries on...