Oh puleez. Say you drive 200 miles a week or say 10 gallons of gas. That's an increased cost of $1.60 a week or about $7 a month. Is that really a big dent compared to the interest rate increase many in California will experience on their half million dollar ARM?

 

OK team - time to do a reality check. Let's say you drive 2 gallons worth a day. That means if gas goes up **$1** a gallon you're now paying about $60 a month more in gas or $720 a year.

Now $720 a year is not chump change, but compared to health insurance, rent or mortgages, FOOD, heck even CAR PAYMENTS, it's peanuts.

A block of CHEESE costs as much as two gallons of gas.

Get a grip everyone!

 

Bit has a point, guys. When you see, several years down the road, what the enormously growing demand in China and India, the world's two most populous countries, does to gas prices a couple of years down the road, you're going to be wishing for the "good old days " of 2005-2006....Katrina excepted, of course.

 

A hybrid 450h or rx400h would be good right now with all these gas prices

 

You guys are lucky with those gasprises. Here in Norway, Europe we pay 3 times as much as you for a gallon of premium. That`s much considering that Norway is one of the biggest oilproducing countries in the world, and the richest country in the world
We also have one of the most expencive cars in Europe. Take a IS 250 with premium pack.
that would cost me nearly 100 000 $ That`s why I cant afford a Lexus. But one day.....

 

That's because you guys, like most people in Western Europe, have a government that screws you left and right with taxes......both on gasoline and new cars. Start electing new, more conservative governments over there and you will not have that problem as much......Margaret Thatcher, for example, when she was the British Prime Minister, did a lot to hold down taxation.
But .....here in America, while not at the sky-high rate in Europe, we have taxes, too, on new and used vehicles and gasoline...the Federal Gas-Guzzler tax on some low-mileage new vehicles, a Federal luxury tax on very high-priced vehicles, state taxes on both new and used cars at the time of purchase, personal property taxes in some areas based on the car's assessed value, state and county licensing and registration fees ( which are really taxes ), safety and emissions inspection fees ( another form of tax ), and, of course, taxes on gasoline at all three levels....Federal, state, and local.

 

Rationalize it as you will. The bottom line is that we have unlimited demand for a natural resource with a finite supply. In most instances, price increases for goods and services are often accompanied by greater value. If they are not, it is called inflation, paying more for a fixed unit of product with no extra benefit. So I watched a seven percent increase go in overnight and I reaped no extra value other than redistributing to quite a few people a greater percentage of the wealth I have accumulated. When I started the thread I never recommended or encouraged anyone to sign a suicide pact because the price of gas went up 16 cents a gallon in 24 hours and yes, it will not markedly affect my standard of living. If you are content with not only the price of gas but the total lack of stability in pricing, I am happy for you. But I just spent five days with a 750iL and got 15mpg for the brief time I had it and it was just one more reason why I am not the slightest bit interested in buying one of those things to have for the next five years or so.

The price of gas is not affecting my use of my car, yet, but I have to say that it is starting to get to be a bigger factor in what I replace my current vehicles with. If mmarshall is right and goodness knows the tiny minds on things like CNBC are masters at assigning illogical and often irrelevant causes to events, I really am having a harder time rolling over and playing dead when someone in the oil supply chain figures they are justified in taking even $1 more from per tankful out of my pocket because of some guys stroke in the mideast. I was more interested in seeing if this price increase happened anywhere else rather than how many people think gasoline price increases are a non event for economies either personal or global.

As for European gas prices, it is not an "us versus them" for the residents of those countries. They have put their governments in to represent them and they feel the best way to raise money is to put outrageous taxes on gasoline. Gasoline doesn't cost anymore in Europe than it does in the US, the Europeans just tax it more. After having gone to the auto show, I really am taken with the SRT8s but having 5% of the sticker price go to the common good of my fellow citizens in the US in a gas guzzler tax is pretty hard to swallow. I prefer to have slightly more stability in my income and outgo and my opinion is that we have had a relatively stable period for gas prices and that is coming to a very quick end. Makes you wonder how much longer the Germans are going to be stuffing all that hp into their cars? The performance is spectacular. So is the gas consumption. For a country who prides themselves on their level of engineering, there seems to be a good disconnect going on in the reality of the world they are selling their cars into. Also makes you wonder what we will be paying for a gallon of gas in three or five years?

 

very well said

 

I appreciate that, thanks. After having gone to the SJ auto show this week, my sense is that I am in somewhat of a state of "disarray" on cars. I fully understand the reason for the gas guzzler tax on the SRT8s but the US auto industry has finally made a world class competitive car and what do we do? We put a tax on it equal to 5% of the sticker price (roughly $2K on a $40K car). That seems ridiculous but we, the American car buying public, have not shown a great deal of sense in car buying as it relates to an energy policy. I love performance but it is depressing to me how close we are getting to the awful mileage that we had in the 60s with new cars in order to get the performance we desire.

The car makers are porking up the models, and Lexus is just as guilty as the Germans IMO, and weight is the enemy of performance. But stuffing 400+hp in cars and getting the inevitable barely double digit mileage seems like a big step backwards. And when you consider that we have empowered an industry to put their hands in our pockets and take what they want, when want, it makes me unsettled. The increase in gas price is not affecting the typical Lexus or bimmer or merc owner anywhere near as much as the less fortunate among us but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. I was just amazed that gas went up 7% in one day for no real reason. It does not make me feel the slightest bit content with divorcing my automotive choices from the ability of the oil companies to legally rob me.

Enough ranting. Unfortunately it sounds we in NoCal aren't alone and quite a few people also got hit big time this week (Yes, I consider a 7% price increase from morning to afternoon a big time hit. If it happened in my business from one of my vendors, I would be a very upset camper.). Unfortunately when I get to the auto show and try to factor in mileage, it is pretty depressing. I am not convinced that hybrids are the solution. They are too expensive for the mileage gain and in all honesty, Lexus suspensions are not good enough to encourage throwing a couple hundred pounds of batteries and motors on them.

 

I'm assuming you must have some interest in any one of the oil companys either stock or you either work for them. Because you seem OK with the amounts of money these oil companys are charging customers. The increase in the price per gallons may be peanuts but these oil companys are making way too much money. We have laws here in America for selling products such as price gouching of products. As for services you can charge as little or as much as you want.

 

If gas mileage is the reason you wouldn't get a 750iL I suspect you weren't really in the market for one to begin with. I suspect MOST people who buy that kind of car couldn't car less about gas mileage or gas prices. Remember they also sell fairly well in Europe with gas prices 3x more, so it's just not very relevant to the typical buyer of that kind of vehicle.

Not at all. BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW make MANY models with excellent fuel economy (usually diesels). If you want above average power in a heavy vehicle, you get sucky gas mileage - it's not complicated. If mileage is a concern to you, you'll have to look at a lighter or lower power vehicle or both. Hybrids aren't the answer (expensive, complicated, limited fuel economy improvement except in city traffic where a full blown electric would be a better solution anyway).

More!

 

Nope.

You know why they're making so much money? Because they can't spend the darned profits adding refineries or looking for new oil! But markets are self-correcting unless sanctioned by government. If an oil company begins to charge too much for oil or gasoline relative to other companies, it will lose market share. There's a reason some people buy 'Race' or 'Hess' or other 'cheap' gas, and there's a reason I won't EVER put it in my car. Different strokes.

Oh and if you don't like big profits by oil companies, do you also object to Microsoft's, Wal*Mart's, pharmaceutical companies', and GE's profits? How about Starbucks? How about Formula-1? Or how about real estate speculators? They're making obscene profits adding no value to the economy. How about realtors in hot markets? They can make millions for relatively little work.

Or how about JEWELERS and the diamond and gold trades? A TOTALLY FAKE MARKET, built on hype. Or how about perfume? Pennies to make - tens or hundreds of dollars price!

 

You're either giving your money to the car manufacturers for the increased vehicle cost or you're giving the money to the oil companies for the increased gas cost. Somehow, paying $45k for a hybrid doesn't seem like a way to save any money.

It does suck that prices have jumped a little (about $0.20/gal in the Chicago burbs) but we reeeeally don't have it that bad. Europe pays like $5-6/gallon.

 

I agree. Hybrids have been overhyped...diesels offer roughly the same fuel economy with much less complexity.....though they generally don't run as clean as hybrids. Part of the problem in the past has been the unwillingness of auto manufacturers to offer the same diesel engines here that they do in Europe.....which may change later this year with the advent of low-sulfur diesel fuel here in the U.S. ( finally ).

 

What about a diesel hybrid? Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? If Toyota could build one it probably could get 100/mpg.