Please read! Possible solution to raising gas prices

[jjw]

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 my town. 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 millions 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

youdon'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 I 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.

(Author Unknown)

[TheGeak]

ha!

[rickm]

Oh boy, not again.

[AA540]

In some areas the price is going up due to other reasons, it is called taxes and poor govt spending. In Virginia to make up for loss of Federal money the state is raising taxes. Here is a brief sample, cig tax 2.5 cents to 25c per pack, sales tax 4.5% to 5.5%, gas tax up 3c at the pump and 6% at the wholesale level. That means an extra 12-15cents at the pump. I just got my property tax assestment for my little 3bed 2bath shack, up 20% or about $500 a year, assesments go up about 15-20% a year. Does the govt adjust the tax rate, NO, they just spend more.

Try as you may you are not going to beat the gas price system, however, you can do things like. Plan your trips together, avoid rush hour traffic, keep your car maintained, etc.

End rant.

[TheGeak]

or buy one of those electric cars. Just wait till "greener" powered cars come out and catch on ...we'll watch OPEC and the majority of the middle eastern countries lose a lot of profitability and prominance. Hydrogen, Electric, Solar, anything but gasoline really will be the downfall of OPEC. Sure there will still be a large number old older vehicles still producing a NEED for gasoline, but i sure don't think that it will be enough to sustain an entire country let alone section of the world.

[rickm]

AA, Virginia had some of the lowest cig taxes, it's about time they raised them. Our property tax went up here in my part of NC, I used to pay 700, now it's well above 2k. I wish I saw what they were spending it on. :P

I'm with Geak on those electric cars. If I could get by with one now I'd consider one. I saw a few of them in AZ, I thought they were pretty cool. For the future I'm considering one of the imported models that gets 50mpg plus for an around the town vehicle, though when I move next I want to be close to town so I can ride my bike/take a bus to work.

$3.00/gallon gas would put the fear of God in a lot of people.

Now to get the state to use efficient vehicles. We had a suburban here, it's the primary vehicle for the person who drives about 700miles a week - solo. That 44 gallon tank gets pricey to fill. I guess when it's not your money you don't care.

[winfred]

or i could just drive mom's old turbo diesel volvo, 40+ mpg on the interstate 30+ in town and it aint slow, diesel $1.52, hmmmmm up the boost, add a intercooler and inject lp gas bwahahhahha

[TheGeak]

i can't say i'd blame them for bumping up gas prices once an alternative that was worked just as well was developed. For my next car i'm seriously considering getting a toyota Prius as my daily driver. 60mpg highway 75-80mpg city. can't beat that right now.

I think people are holding back from switching because of the lack of convience and lack of 'understanding' (not to mention how underpowered they can be) While i'd sure hate to have to shell out $3.00/gal to drive the M5 around, i'd do it, just more sparingly. How do you think they feel in Europe, they already pay about $4/gallon. (at least when i was in germany over new years that was average price)


*gets off his soapbox and returns to a normal life*

[Robert K]

If everyone were to boycott a couple of companies, but still buy the same amount of gas, the companies we were buying from would eventually run out. I don't really think every company has an infinite supply. It's got to go through a refinery, and there's only so many of them around. So eventually, the companies we didn't buy from would be the only ones who had gas. And you'd end up having to buy from them to let the other guys catch back up with supply.

A better idea might be to plan trips better and quit driving so much. I believe we Americans consume over half of the world's energy. Know why? Personal freedom! We drive what we want, when we want and as much as we want. Take a look on the road today at all the 15 mpg 2-3 ton, unnecessary sport utilities and pickups that are selling like hotcakes. If I were the oil companies, I'd be raising prices too. That's known as good business.

If you want to put them in their place, plan your trips better. Drive less. Carpool to work. Buy smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Personally, I don't think anyone will ever get enough Americans together to teach any big company a lesson, especially if it means driving less, which is probably the freedom we value most. It's a noble idea, but one that's a bit too hard to execute.

Grace and peace,

R Kieffer
1991 535i (sucking gas at a rate of 23 mpg on the hwy...ugh!!!)

[JohnC]

my girlfriend has a geo :) or suffer with my moms mercedes but those things dont use up that much gas, maybe because i havent broekn it yet.

[e34]

man today i saw a gas station in Malibu at $2.85 man thats allot like 1.56 was a great price but they are going too far. what they want to reach the $6 a gallon proce or something. Its just too much i may have to sell my e34 and get a motorcycle, they get atleast 40mpg.

[AllanS]

Right- in NY it's 30 cents per gallon for state tax and another 18 cents for local. It definately adds up. I'm not saying that the oil companies aren't partly to blame, but the taxes for gas are ridiculous. They also go for things other than making sure the roads are clean, which is a different story.

I guess we're sort of lucky in the states though... we could be in the UK, where 75% the price of gas is tax :P

[Loke]

Im not gonna start ranting about the average american here, so take this post as a friendly advice - and not a flaming towards you guys. Before you start going insane over your "high" gas prices - consider this:

Norway is one of the richest contries in the world. Last time I checked, we were number 3 or something - behind some oil-producing arabic contries. The reason why Norway is a rich country, is mainly due to two natural resources we control: fish and oil.

Youd expect an oil-producing country to have cheap gas, right? Wrong. You all complain when 1 US Gallon costs more than $2. Want to know what gas cost in Norway (applies to most european countries to some extent btw, but Norway is the "only" oil producing country here).

1 US gallon = 3.758 metric litre

$1 = ~7.2 NOK

For 1 metric litre gasoline, we typically pay ~9.5NOK. This would amount to:

(1 metric litre *9.5NOK * 3.758 metric litre) / 7.2 NOK = ~ $4.95 per US gallon

The average american doesnt pay **** for gas today. In fact, USA is one of the most environmental-UNfriendly countries in the world. (Think Mr. Bush and Kyoto-agreement).

The morale? Do yourselves a favour. Get rid of Mr. Bush and elect someone who can bring the US back on course to what it once was. And yes, I own a BMW 525iA and I do get to drive it, despite "insane" gas prices...

Cheers ;-)

[AA540]

Yes, I was only using that as an example. Virgina has a VERY strong cigrarette lobby in Richmond. The cig taxes are set by the commonwealth and the local counties have to do what the state tells them. All the states that nieghbor VA have cig taxes close to $1. My property taxes are 1.161 per $1000, that is on houses etc. And on top of that we have personal property tax on cars 4.57 per $1000, less 70% due to tax cuts. I have a simple 3bedroom house with 2 baths on a 10k sqft lot, my taxes last year were $3300, since my assestment went up 20%, my taxes go up 20% to close to $4k.

Between raising taxes, higher health costs, higher everything, my little raise at work for above average work I feel like I am slipping behind. I sure wish there is some relief in site.

Next time I move, I plan on being as close to work as possible, I like the new Toyota Prius. I've been following that vehicle for years, hats off to Toyota for a great feat of engineering. I wonder if they are still taking a loss on each vehicle sold.

AA

[AA540]

Yes, you are correct. We do have it nice here in the states as far as gas prices are concerned. And yes US stats are, population of 281mil out of 6.1billion for the world, yet we consume 25% of the worlds energy.

And yes I try to do my part to save. I dont mind paying a little more for energy efficient items such as refridgerators, CFL bulbs, dimmers, sensors, etc. dont mind taking public transportation on occasion to head to the city.

Waiting for November.

AA


http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/cc/CrunchTheNumbersIntermediateDec2002.pdf

[MO525]

Geo/Chevy 3 cyl., 5 speed Metro Hatchback.
Don't laugh.
This is my third one. I've owned them for years.
They get 40 MPG+ like clockwork and cost practically nothing to maintain/own.
Those new hybrids are RATED at 50 mpg plus but have you actually ever seen a magazine test that actually GOT that range? Not me.
The 40 MPG range is more like it.
$1900 Metro or $20,000 hybrid....Hmmm...let me think... DUH.

My wife drives our 525i.
I drive the Metro daily, saves a lot of wear and tear on the Bimmer.

Hey, you can pick up a Metro for under $2000 now.
At least until the fuel prices go nuts...then it's a different story.

Just my 2 cents. :)

[AZ_Jason_S]

Geo/Chevy 3 cyl., 5 speed Metro Hatchback.
Don't laugh.
This is my third one. I've owned them for years.
They get 40 MPG+ like clockwork and cost practically nothing to maintain/own.
Those new hybrids are RATED at 50 mpg plus but have you actually ever seen a magazine test that actually GOT that range? Not me.
The 40 MPG range is more like it.
$1900 Metro or $20,000 hybrid....Hmmm...let me think... DUH.

My wife drives our 525i.
I drive the Metro daily, saves a lot of wear and tear on the Bimmer.

Hey, you can pick up a Metro for under $2000 now.
At least until the fuel prices go nuts...then it's a different story.

Just my 2 cents. :)

Payin' for gas is worth not having to drive a Metro. More the power to you, I understand your logic. I guess its like my girlfriend says, "Not everyone is as cool as you" I take that as a compliment, but I am pretty sure she doesn't mean it that way. I guess I'm just not that humble. If I was going to get a fuel efficient vehicle that didn't have 2 wheels, it would still be German, it would have an engine in the back and it would be air-cooled. Oh yeah it would also be rear wheel drive.

[winfred]

one of these?
http://www.ultravwmagazine.com/quiet.html
13.40 in the 1/4 and i bet it still gets mileage

[AZ_Jason_S]

This is a car I built a couple of years ago. It wasn't 13 sec probabaly hi 14 sec. 1915cc with alot of cam and heads. It burned out in first, broke a little traction in 2nd, and sometimes even chirped 3rd. I snuck up on alot of "would be" fast cars with that thing.... Ain't nuthin like blowin' some rice-chump off with VW Bug.


http://members.cox.net/jasons7/bug18.jpg
http://members.cox.net/jasons7/bug15.JPG
http://members.cox.net/jasons7/bug19.jpg

[winfred]

i allways wanted to get a early bug or karman and install a bad ass rotary motor, mazda trix or racing beat sells a kit to connect a 12a or 13b rotary to a vw transaxle, i think a hot street port side draft webered 13b would be cool, about 175 - 200 hp. or if you wanna race, a peripheral port beast, nothing like 315 hp from a 80 cid normally asperated motor, not very streetable, idles around 3500 and don't make power till around 7000, but from there till 11k look out

[dave b]

I saw $2.67 for premium in Beverly Hills today, but that was less than 20 feet from Ferrari of Beverly Hills.

I try not to sweat gas prices too much, at least not enough to inconvenience myself. For me, it means filling up costs $34 (15 gallons @ 2.30 per) instead of $27. Do that 2.5 times a month and the increase runs me an extra $18 a month until the prices fall back down to around $1.75 a gallon. Definately not enough to make me cause myself any trouble. I just try to stay out of trouble with my woman, thus saving even more in roses and sorry gifts.

Now, Directtv trying to bang me out of another 10% will get me PO'd!

Besides, work back inflation a few years and you'll see that unlike everything else in the $$$ world, gas has actually not risen enough.

Or, to really protect yourself, just buy some gas stock. Take advantage of their profits. Do the same for everything that has prices that you complain about and you'll retire a happy man.

[MO525]

i allways wanted to get a early bug or karman and install a bad ass rotary motor, mazda trix or racing beat sells a kit to connect a 12a or 13b rotary to a vw transaxle, i think a hot street port side draft webered 13b would be cool, about 175 - 200 hp. or if you wanna race, a peripheral port beast, nothing like 315 hp from a 80 cid normally asperated motor, not very streetable, idles around 3500 and don't make power till around 7000, but from there till 11k look out

You guys can read my mind!
My first love is air-cooled VW's.
I attached a link to some pics of it.
I have a link on that page to pics of my next project: a Manx-Style Buggy.
It looks good parked next to the 525i....both products of the Mother Land.

HERE'S THE LINK, folks:

www.home.earthlink.net/~whwklw/

GREAT hearing positive notes on our beloved air-cools.
Thanks folks.

[AZ_Jason_S]

You guys can read my mind!
My first love is air-cooled VW's.
I attached a link to some pics of it.
I have a link on that page to pics of my next project: a Manx-Style Buggy.
It looks good parked next to the 525i....both products of the Mother Land.

www.earthlink.net/~whwklw/

GREAT hearing positive notes on our beloved air-cools.
Thanks folks.


Tried your link and couldn't get to it... But now I have found a new respect for you! My very first car was a bug, it sort of sold me on German cars. Right now I have 2 Porsche 914's. One I am building to sell, when its done, the other will be sort of a street/race car... My girlfriend wants a buggy so there may be one of those in my future, right now my time and resources are tied up...

[MO525]

Tried your link and couldn't get to it... But now I have found a new respect for you! My very first car was a bug, it sort of sold me on German cars. Right now I have 2 Porsche 914's. One I am building to sell, when its done, the other will be sort of a street/race car... My girlfriend wants a buggy so there may be one of those in my future, right now my time and resources are tied up...

Here is the correct link to my '66 Beetle and '65 Buggy:

www.home.earthlink.net/~whwklw/

[dan0235]

i know this thread finished over 2 yrs ago but now us brits are paying approx £5 a gall ($9.25), also BP (british petroleum) are announcing profits of millions plus, its a complete rip off. Its true we pay the most out of any european country in tax on fuel, where does it go????????
we tried boycoting fuel a few yrs ago, every one played along, we had drivers refusing to deliver, car sharing, fuel sharing and even 'drive slow' during rush hr, no-one complained.
this went on for about a week, fuel prices went down (except for some greedy gas station owners who jumped on the 'supply and demand' bandwagon, and pushed their prices up)
Fuel prices have crept up again, the government blame it on the price of a barrel of oil, from our 'friends' in the middle east (easy to blame someone 1000 miles away, also to stir up hatred!!)
just out of interest, How much is it a gallon everywhere else in the world?
lets get this debate up and running again

[fujioko]

My '92 FXi got 50 to 53 MPG. I Put a trailer hitch on it to tow my 14 foot boat. Drove it for 230K then it fell apart. Engine still ran! Of course this is a BMW forum..

[fujioko]

The Metro also came with cup holders......

[Traian]

I'll bite. I think oil-rich countries in the the Middle East have played their cards very well, especially the Saudis. It's not their doing that's causing high prices, and they also haven't reduced supply or done something funny like that to increase prices even further. In fact, they've promised to increase supply, not enough to ruin a good thing I suppose, but enough that it seems, at least to me, completely unreasonable to blame OPEC and other producers for high gas prices. Okay rant over.

Also, I enjoy that big flat useless wood console more than a cup holder :) Looks cool.

[ThoreauHD]

E85 ethanol would be the best way to give the market competition. To retrofit your car, it's about 400 bucks. On new cars it's 100 bucks. The price per gallon is 2.50 in current quantities, which used to be too much. Now it's looking like quite the bargain. The price will probably drop once folks start using ethanol. The name of the car type is called a "flex-fuel" car. We would be able to supply the 15% of gas needed for the fuel domestically. The ethanol we can get from north American farmers and also south american sugar cane growers(and the sugar cane islands).

Also, we won't be giving money to wahhabi muslems bent on killing or enslaving non-muslms(dhimmis- that's you Wally!). Those folks are also called Saudi's and Iranians, among others.

So, the retrofit is just a new fuel line with an adapter thingy. The station doesn't need to change anything to pump it. They just need to have demand for it.

And you will be using sugar cane, corn, biomass produced ethanol. Also, you get better miles per gallon with the stuff. Some say 15% better. It also burns cleaner than petrol only fuel. I'm sure that it's not all roses, but it seems the best step to take next for the civilized world. There may be some timing and maintenance issues, due to the rate of combustion, but I don't know. All I know is that folks are using it elsewhere with fewer resources to produce ethanol than we have.

It's an intermediary step, but it's a step that'll make us self-sufficient. With this method we would be able to have a renewable energy source for the next 5 centuries. I doubt we'll need it that long, but it's there.

[Incantation]

this is hillarious

[granit_silber]

Im not gonna start ranting about the average american here, so take this post as a friendly advice - and not a flaming towards you guys. Before you start going insane over your "high" gas prices - consider this:

Norway is one of the richest contries in the world. Last time I checked, we were number 3 or something - behind some oil-producing arabic contries. The reason why Norway is a rich country, is mainly due to two natural resources we control: fish and oil.

Youd expect an oil-producing country to have cheap gas, right? Wrong. You all complain when 1 US Gallon costs more than $2. Want to know what gas cost in Norway (applies to most european countries to some extent btw, but Norway is the "only" oil producing country here).

1 US gallon = 3.758 metric litre

$1 = ~7.2 NOK

For 1 metric litre gasoline, we typically pay ~9.5NOK. This would amount to:

(1 metric litre *9.5NOK * 3.758 metric litre) / 7.2 NOK = ~ $4.95 per US gallon

The average american doesnt pay **** for gas today. In fact, USA is one of the most environmental-UNfriendly countries in the world. (Think Mr. Bush and Kyoto-agreement).

The morale? Do yourselves a favour. Get rid of Mr. Bush and elect someone who can bring the US back on course to what it once was. And yes, I own a BMW 525iA and I do get to drive it, despite "insane" gas prices...

Cheers ;-)
Guest,

We DON'T pay for our social programs through a gas tax. You do. $3.00 per gallon is a 300% increase in the cost of fuel from just a few years ago. I agree that we as a country use way too much of the world's resources and that we need to monitor our useage. But comparing prices between two nations with different governing ideologies and different views on how to fund their respective societies isn't possible. It's apples and oranges. However, I am glad that I'm not paying $5 a gallon.
-ashley

[borderchris]

San Diego, California. 05-05-06. 1 gallon premium at Shell. $3.69. Try $4.00 a gallon in a few weeks.

[ThoreauHD]

They will raise the price until the market can no longer bear it. I'm guessing 8 dollars a gallon would collapse the existing economy. People would realize that it will never be the same again.

At 5 dollars a gallon, if you don't have a hybrid car, you can't afford gas. I guess folks won't have to wait 5 years to recoup their investment in hybrids now. 50-65 miles per gallon is starting to look like a necessity. But Lord help me if I'm going to be caught in one of those 1.5 seat british Mr. Bean cars.

I hope they still make bicycle tires in America. We're gonna be needing them.

[winfred]

and ill be a biodiesel making mother****er, under a buck a gallon if you get your waste cooking oil for free


At 5 dollars a gallon, if you don't have a hybrid car, you can't afford gas

[piman]

We have had a good deal too long. We are paying what we should. Dont you remember grampa tell us how movies cost 5 cents and ****. Deal with the real deal. Instead of complaining about the fuel, figure out how to make an extra buck in day to day life. The ends justify...............

[mdlv4bb]

On the Military bases in Germany we are at 3 dollars a gallon. Gas on the economy is almost 6 dollars a gallon and has been the two years we have been here. We got lost last summer and almost ran out of gas on the Autobahn so we had to fill up at an Autobahn gas station. Over 100 dollars to fill up a Honda Civic, THANK GOD I was not driving the BMW that trip. :)

[Barry]

Emerging markets,India and China are demanding much more fuel...
Bad Ol` G Bush and his army are trying to keep the grip on the oil they currently have...

Thats the reasons for the pricing....Im afraid America has a real bad image abroad...

See me get banned from a car forum for politics...

Our own prices have just gone up by about 8%....dollar a liter...

[ryan roopnarine]

the simple answer to rising gas prices? just piss into your gas tank twice a week (but don't over do it) to top it off. that's what i do, and i'm none the worse off MPG wise for it.

[Rustam]

I saw $2.67 for premium in Beverly Hills today, but that was less than 20 feet from Ferrari of Beverly Hills.

I try not to sweat gas prices too much, at least not enough to inconvenience myself. For me, it means filling up costs $34 (15 gallons @ 2.30 per) instead of $27.

Not sure what youre saying there.
But - $2.67 for agallon of Premium gas is extremely cheap for NYC - prices are from $3.10 - $3.60 from 87 to 93 depending on place...

[Rustam]

the simple answer to rising gas prices? just piss into your gas tank twice a week (but don't over do it) to top it off. that's what i do, and i'm none the worse off MPG wise for it.

ah, yeah, BMW's run exclusively on gas, or diesel fuel... (some on hydrogen)