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His Dudeness · Feb 26, 2007, 03:59 AM

What the hell is going on here? The gas station just down the street from me, hell ALL the gas stations, raised the price of gas by almost a dime this weekend! How the **** do they do that when gas comes from a barrel of oil, which is traded on the market, and that market is closed on the weekend???????? Mad

I just reported them on this website:

DOE's Gas Price Watch Hotline - Web Form

Plus I sent an email to the link on the site as well. This is getting way the **** out of control!

Big Mac · Feb 26, 2007, 04:08 AM

Last week gas prices rose to a year high of $61, I believe. Gas stations are getting ahead of the price increase. And if things heat up with Iran, oil and gas will head north.

Jawbone54 · Feb 26, 2007, 11:47 AM

More than a dime, in my area. Up to $2.19 (yes, I know this isn't as high as most places) after last week's $2.03.

olePigeon · Feb 26, 2007, 11:50 AM

Tipped past $3/gallon for unleaded by me. It was $2.81 a couple weeks ago.

flabasha · Feb 26, 2007, 12:09 PM

It's hilarious how much of a bald-faced scam gas pricing is right now. The price of oil hit it's lowest point in five years a month or two ago. Price at the pump? 2.50. Price it was five years ago? 1.25.

They've figured out that people will pay 3.00 a gallon, so they'll now try and keep the price around that no matter what the cost of crude oil is.

Oddly enough, Exxon Mobil just posted the biggest quarterly profit in the history of business in the United States. What a strange coincidence.

mac128k-1984 · Feb 26, 2007, 12:11 PM

Its a scam, as we continue to edge our way closer to memorial day gas is going to continue to climb. If wasn't a scam how come Exxon and the like had made outlandish, outrageous profits last year. It will be back over 3 dollars a gallon shortly.

mindwaves · Feb 26, 2007, 12:29 PM

Yeah, it's getting pricey again. I remembered when oil prices dropped to around $58 per barrel and the price of gas in my area stayed around the if price of oil was around $65 per barrel. No changes in the price of gas....all profits for the oil companies....

OldManMac · Feb 26, 2007, 12:39 PM

I filled up Saturday, @ $2.38/gallon. That's in metro Detroit. On Jan. 17, I paid $1.82, at the same station, which is usually one of the lower priced ones around here. There's a simple answer; summer is coming and the robber barons know they have us over the "barrell." As long as we continue to waste gas by driving over the speed limits, among other things, nothing will change.

Eug · Feb 26, 2007, 12:52 PM

Also in Ontario, there is a gas shortage, because of some problems at an Imperial oil refinery.

But I concur with the Europeans. Americans (and Canadians) complain far too much about the price of gasoline. It's MUCH higher in most other places in the world.

And no, North American companies don't set the price of oil. It's tightly controlled in large part by the OPEC countries.

olePigeon · Feb 26, 2007, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

And no, North American companies don't set the price of oil. It's tightly controlled in large part by the OPEC countries.

OPEC sets the price per barrel and the amount of production. That doesn't keep Exxon from price gouging after the fact.

Jawbone54 · Feb 26, 2007, 01:14 PM

What's sad is that there is very little we can do about it.

One day gas strikes, for instance, are ridiculous. The next day everyone just buys more to make up for a day of no gas, and the OPEC just laughs it up. I swear if my city wasn't so spread out, I'd ride a bike during the Spring and Fall.

Big Mac · Feb 26, 2007, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by flabasha

It's hilarious how much of a bald-faced scam gas pricing is right now. The price of oil hit it's lowest point in five years a month or two ago. Price at the pump? 2.50. Price it was five years ago? 1.25.

Take a look at this monthly chart of Light Sweet Crude. This month it had dipped to a low of $50, whereas in January 2002 it was at a low of $20. That's a 60% difference.

flabasha · Feb 26, 2007, 06:22 PM

Okay, three years, not five (mid 2004). Point remains the same.

el chupacabra · Feb 26, 2007, 07:19 PM

When more people drive Suvs it drives up the demand and drives up the price.

His Dudeness · Feb 27, 2007, 03:44 AM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Take a look at this monthly chart of Light Sweet Crude. This month it had dipped to a low of $50, whereas in January 2002 it was at a low of $20. That's a 60% difference.

Strange, because the population of car-driving Americans hasn't gone up 60%...

His Dudeness · Feb 27, 2007, 03:45 AM

Originally Posted by el chupacabra

When more people drive Suvs it drives up the demand and drives up the price.

Please don't start. There are suv's that get better gas mileage than some cars, and the other way around. So it's not the suv's fault. ie, a Hyndai Tuscon gets better gas mileage than a Charger SRT-8, and the Hyundai is an SUV.

Dakar² · Feb 27, 2007, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Take a look at this monthly chart of Light Sweet Crude. This month it had dipped to a low of $50, whereas in January 2002 it was at a low of $20. That's a 60% difference.

It's too bad that doesn't track how gas prices fluctuated in response.

screamingFit · Feb 28, 2007, 03:11 AM

As long as people pay it, they have no reason NOT to raise prices to make a bigger profit, as long as the law allows them to do so.

Thankfully, I only have to fill up every other week as I don't drive much and my car gets almost 50MPG. To get to that frequency, I moved closer to work and plan my driving to get everything done in one shot instead of multiple trips and to closer destinations. It was a conscience decision to change things this way - which included moving from the sticks into the city.

That being said, once it warms up around here I'll be taking the bus and riding my bike to work.