[Lava Lamp Freak]

The recent sharp drop in the global price of crude oil could mark the start of a massive sell-off that returns gasoline prices to lows not seen since the late 1990s — perhaps as low as $1.15 a gallon.

Wow, that would be a sight for sore eyes.

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Analyst predicts plunge in gas prices

[rickey939]

Not. going. to. happen.

[mitchell_pgh]

I don't see it happening either. The oil companies and foreign providers KNOW that we will pay $3 a gallon, so I don't see them dropping the price much if any.

[Dakar]

I'll be surprised if it goes under $2. And I say this even though its dropped about 60� for me in the past month.

[Cody Dawg]

When hell freezes over we'll see that.



I started a thread about the "coincidence" of gas prices dropping just at election time in the Political Lounge.

[xi_hyperon]

Yeah, I think the days of $1.15/gallon gas, and any type of oil gluts, are long gone. Whether we've hit peak oil yet or not, it's apparent that global demand is going up fast, and it seems that it will continue to do so.

[brassplayersrock²]

it'd be nice, i remember when i first got my car is was a 20 buck fill. now it's like a 28 buck fill

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

I don't see it happening either. The oil companies and foreign providers KNOW that we will pay $3 a gallon, so I don't see them dropping the price much if any.

It's already 2.19 here.

[besson3c]

I will sell you my gas for $1.15.

[torsoboy]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock

it'd be nice, i remember when i first got my car is was a 20 buck fill. now it's like a 28 buck fill

Are you 17 years old?

My car could fill up 3 years ago for $12, now it costs $30+

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally Posted by MacNStein

It's already 2.19 here.

I've got to get the f out of this city

[The Godfather]

The low, low price of gas today is hurting the prospect of selling more hybrid cars. OPEC is just trying to "Walmart" alternative energy sources out of the playing field.

[His Dudeness]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

I don't see it happening either. The oil companies and foreign providers KNOW that we will pay $3 a gallon, so I don't see them dropping the price much if any.

Is that why I just paid $2.26 here this morning?

[torsoboy]

Originally Posted by His Dudeness

Is that why I just paid $2.26 here this morning?

No, that is why I paid $2.89 for 85 octane yesterday.

[iREZ]

i think the fact that more people are being gas conscious the less suv's are being purchased which results in the average dude who had an suv before to buy half the amount of gas he used to but get just as far in his 4-6 cyl car. just my 2�.

[scottiB]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

I've got to get the f out of this city

In Rockville, I saw it was $2.59, and I thought I was doin' well. Sheesh.

[Scotttheking]

Originally Posted by Lava Lamp Freak

Wow, that would be a sight for sore eyes.

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Analyst predicts plunge in gas prices

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Please let gas stay at a high price. PLEASE.

[Dr Reducto]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

The low, low price of gas today is hurting the prospect of selling more hybrid cars. OPEC is just trying to "Walmart" alternative energy sources out of the playing field.

Low gas prices: Good for the majority of people, bad for environmentalists

[kupan787]

Originally Posted by torsoboy

No, that is why I paid $2.89 for 85 octane yesterday.

Gas prices have been falling here recently. I remember just a few weeks back it was at about $3.10, and now it is at $2.67 at Arco/BP (cash only) and $2.71 at Vallero (cash or credit).

I remember when I first started driving back in 1999, gas prices were $1.15 at a place called Rotten Robbie's, and about $1.20 everywhere else.

[Y3a]

In 1970 I paid 45 cents a gallon in Fairfax County, VA.
in 1973 I was paying 73 cents a gallon.
1n 1983 I was paying 1.79 a gallon.
1n 2004 I was paying 2.25.
I paid 2.59 today.

[baw]

Dropping like a rock here.

[placebo1969]

The west coast of the US usually has higher prices. For some reason, the Bellingham area is the worst in Washington. Regular has just recently gone under $3 a gallon. I use Premium, so I'm used to higher prices.

[Chuckit]

I'm still paying $3.19.

[Demonhood]

still $3.15 here. so i doubt it.

[Gossamer]

2.15 here in Ames. Here's hoping for another $1 a gallon drop, no matter how unlikely. I remember when I mowed lawns in '99, I could fill up my 2 gallon gas tank for less than $2. I balked at $1.60 a gallon. Even at $2 or $3 a gallon, though, we're getting a bargain compared to most of the world.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by Scotttheking

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Please let gas stay at a high price. PLEASE.

My thought exactly. I’m glad it’s about $6.80 per gallon here. People drive around enough with these prices; they’d be in their cars 24/7 if we got anything even remotely like $1.15 per gallon here!

[ink]

$2.79 in Salt Lake today.

Fortunately, I get 45mpg on my TDI Golf.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by ink

$2.79 in Salt Lake today.

Fortunately, I get 45mpg on my TDI Golf.

Is that $2.79 for diesel?

[CMYKid]

TDI= Diesel, yep.

It was under $2.00 here yesterday, now the lowest wiithin a couple miles of here is back up to $2.09

Supply and demand, kids.

[Y3a]

How much of that 'difference' is due to greedy politicians and their TAXES??

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Regular is $2.59 around the area I live in Nashville. There is still one place that thinks their gas is worth $2.99. According to a pricing web site, it is down to $2.30 once you get away from the city.

[ghporter]

I can see it going to a national average of about $2.00-higher in California-but not much lower than that. I'd LOVE it to happen, but I'm not going to bank on it.

[SirCastor]

*Whew* We're still at $2.85. Thank goodness. I wouldn't want to have spare money.

[porieux]

...

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by porieux

I would like to see gas prices continue to go up. It makes the people in SUVs even more laughable.

They certainly are the butt of the gas price joke. But the sad part is that they don't get it...

I still run into people - mostly women - who say they want an SUV because "it's safer" when they simply don't understand that SUVs aren't built to car safety standards, and that while a collision with a smaller vehicle results in more damage to the smaller vehicle, the occupants of that smaller vehicle have a better chance of surviving than the occupants of the SUV. So they're not only spending far more than necessary on gas, they're doing it because they don't understand the situation-or they bought a lie. Sad.

[itai195]

Originally Posted by Y3a

In 1970 I paid 45 cents a gallon in Fairfax County, VA.
in 1973 I was paying 73 cents a gallon.
1n 1983 I was paying 1.79 a gallon.
1n 2004 I was paying 2.25.
I paid 2.59 today.

According to my calculations $0.45 in 1970 is $2.36 in 2006 dollars. So $0.23 doesn't sound too awful.

I think we're still around $2.90 at the lowest out here though.

[Paco500]

Originally Posted by ghporter

They certainly are the butt of the gas price joke. But the sad part is that they don't get it...

I still run into people - mostly women - who say they want an SUV because "it's safer" when they simply don't understand that SUVs aren't built to car safety standards, and that while a collision with a smaller vehicle results in more damage to the smaller vehicle, the occupants of that smaller vehicle have a better chance of surviving than the occupants of the SUV. So they're not only spending far more than necessary on gas, they're doing it because they don't understand the situation-or they bought a lie. Sad.

How in the heck did ca$h hack Glenn's account?

But seriously folks, I'm paying just under £1/litre, or ~$8 a gallon here in the UK.

Stop whining.

[Chuckit]

How much do British folk make on average?

[Cody Dawg]

ghporter

They certainly are the butt of the gas price joke. But the sad part is that they don't get it...

I still run into people - mostly women - who say they want an SUV because "it's safer" when they simply don't understand that SUVs aren't built to car safety standards, and that while a collision with a smaller vehicle results in more damage to the smaller vehicle, the occupants of that smaller vehicle have a better chance of surviving than the occupants of the SUV. So they're not only spending far more than necessary on gas, they're doing it because they don't understand the situation-or they bought a lie. Sad.

ghporter, you're wrong - research proves it. I am safer in my SUV than in a car:

Problems With Trucks & SUVs - Representing the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, consumer activist Joan Claybrook presented the following information to the House of Representatives in 1996 and 1997: "Each year nearly 5,000 Americans die in truck crashes. According to the IIHS, in 1995, 98 percent of the people killed in two-vehicle crashes involving passenger cars and big trucks were occupants of the passenger vehicles. Since 1992, there have been more fatalities in collisions involving SUVs and cars than in car-to- car crashes, largely as a result of the disparity in vehicle weight (mass), height, and front-end aggressivity between SUVs and passenger cars. Of those persons fatally injured in SUV-car collisions, the vast majority, eighty per cent, were car occupants (see NHTSA report, 'Relationships Between Vehicle Size and Fatality Risk')."

From SafeCarGuide.com

I drive an SUV, however, because I have three children - with a baby on the way - and we're always hauling things places. I drive a Chevy Suburban and I love the fact that it's heavy. Also, my insurance company loves the Chevy Suburbans and my insurance for full coverage is a LOT less expensive than the same year car that we used to have. I was shocked by how much. I asked why. The answer Geico gave us was, "Most Chevy Suburban owners, we've found, do not get speeding tickets." That's true I bet. I do not hop on the gas and expect that truck to behave like a Saab, for example, my other vehicle. It's slow to go and steady and that's it. And I can see all around me and I know that if a car runs a red light and nails me/us that they're going to be on the losing end.

[Cody Dawg]

To give credit where credit is due, the same article states that though SUVs are safer, they are more prone to roll over or have handling accidents:

Four-wheel-drive pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are designed to be driven for work, hauling, and off-road purposes. They were not designed to be people movers, and don't handle nearly as well as passenger cars or minivans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that SUVs are four times more likely to roll over than passenger cars in high-speed maneuvers. In addition, some smaller top-heavy SUVs have rolled over in NHTSA side impact collision testing. SUV-to-car collisions are six times more likely to kill the occupants of the smaller vehicle when compared to a normal car-to-car collision. You may be safer inside an SUV, but you're at greater risk of killing others in the event of an accident.

I can see that an SUV would be at a greater risk of rollover. That's one of the reasons I drive slow and steady in that vehicle. It's huge and heavy and I'm always aware that it has limitations that a car does not in terms of stopping distance and handling.

However, I am a defensive driver and I am more afraid of someone hitting me than I am of myself hitting someone else and that's why I'd rather drive an SUV than a mini-van, for example...my vehicle is bigger and heavier and we are more likely to live in a collision.

[baw]

Kids will fit in a small car too.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by CMYKid

TDI= Diesel, yep.

It was under $2.00 here yesterday, now the lowest wiithin a couple miles of here is back up to $2.09

Supply and demand, kids.

Yeah, I know the TDI's a diesel, but I wondered what regular gas was in his area if it's $2.79 for diesel.

[itai195]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

ghporter, you're wrong - research proves it. I am safer in my SUV than in a car.

All that shows is, assuming you're safer in an SUV than in a car, the only reason is because SUVs are so dangerous for people driving cars. The highways would be safer for everyone were there fewer SUVs on the road. Instead we have this arms race mentality...

[Paco500]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

How much do British folk make on average?

Don't really have a feel for that yet- I've only been here a few months. I can say that were I making my UK salary in the US I would be very comfortable, but the high cost of living combined with high taxes pretty much obliterates my earnings.

I should not complain, I knew what I was getting in to when I moved over here- and I love it, but damn it's pricey.

[Cody Dawg]

It is very expensive there, yes. I was offered a job there but after figuring out what the cost of living was relative to what we have here, it was best to stay put.

With that much said, I love Great Britain.

[- - e r i k - -]

It's around $3.28 per gallon on the east coast of Australia (A$1.15/l)

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Paco500

How in the heck did ca$h hack Glenn's account?

But seriously folks, I'm paying just under £1/litre, or ~$8 a gallon here in the UK.

Stop whining.

Even ca$h can have ONE good idea...

Really, there's far too much misinformation about what those gas guzzlers are good for.

Of that £1/litre, how much is taxes? Here in Texas (every state has its own rate) we pay 20¢ per gallon to the state, and there's a Federal rate of about 18.4¢ per gallon for a grand total of about 38.4¢ per gallon. That's about 9.6¢ per litre...

[Cody Dawg]

Gas here is between $2.79 and $2.51 a gallon in the Palm Beach county Florida area.

[dreamryche]

$2.69-$2.79 in Buffalo. I highly doubt that the national average, let alone the local prices here, will drop below $2.

[The Godfather]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

ghporter, you're wrong - research proves it. I am safer in my SUV than in a car:

Problems With Trucks & SUVs - Representing the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, consumer activist Joan Claybrook presented the following information to the House of Representatives in 1996 and 1997: "Each year nearly 5,000 Americans die in truck crashes. According to the IIHS, in 1995, 98 percent of the people killed in two-vehicle crashes involving passenger cars and big trucks were occupants of the passenger vehicles. Since 1992, there have been more fatalities in collisions involving SUVs and cars than in car-to- car crashes, largely as a result of the disparity in vehicle weight (mass), height, and front-end aggressivity between SUVs and passenger cars. Of those persons fatally injured in SUV-car collisions, the vast majority, eighty per cent, were car occupants (see NHTSA report, 'Relationships Between Vehicle Size and Fatality Risk')."

^This may be evidence that SUVs become safer than cars by generating a disproportinate risk to cars. The study shows that if a car is crashed by another car, the chance of surviving is greater than if it were crashed by a SUV/truck.

I subscribe to the "arms race" metaphor, and would agree to the unilateral disarming of SUV owners.

Sad thing is that a mother that carries kids in a small car looks like a poor person.