Gas Prices

[woodsman]

Lower mainland BC- $0.99 L for reg .////// Washington State $2.95 gal USA$$

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

Wouldn't complain, dearest American friends (you lucky buggers....)

Here, lost track of the exact /gal price but it cost between $70~75 to fill up the 986. I get the feeling that its double than in the USA :/

$30 gets me about half a tank usually. And you can't really depend on low gas prices because of the speculative way its traded.

Increasing the taxes on gas is just a bad idea. Six months from now there could be a war in the middle east and the speculators will drive prices through the roof again.

[Porsche9]

14 gallons usually fills her up and at today's price that's about $31. Cheap!

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

$30 gets me about half a tank usually. And you can't really depend on low gas prices because of the speculative way its traded.

Increasing the taxes on gas is just a bad idea. Six months from now there could be a war in the middle east and the speculators will drive prices through the roof again.

Higher gas taxes have worked just fine here in Canada. It costs us a bit more to fill up our car, but most of that money goes to keeping our bridges and roads in decent repair. Unfortunately, the money has to come from somewhere, so why not at least charge the people that use the roads/bridges through either a better toll system or gas taxes.

[tomonomics]

"Increasing the taxes on gas is just a bad idea. Six months from now there could be a war in the middle east and the speculators will drive prices through the roof again. "

There appear to be four wars already going on in the Middle East. What's another two or three? And for the record, the US is the largest producer of oil right now. The main reason oil is down, from what I understand, is that demand is not increasing as expected, and OPEC isn't colluding to raise the price (perhaps purposely?).

If gas goes back to $4 per supply/demand, it's still a good idea that we get an extra dime (or more!) per gallon that stays in the US, regardless of where it's produced/imported.

While I am not a proponent of higher taxes in general, the use tax on petroleum is way too low here. And before you say "higher gas = higher costs for everything", please tell me why airline fares, produce, and everything else we buy hasn't decreased by 50% over the last two years??? I am still paying $400 plus for a fuel surcharge on every flight I take to Europe (and when I get there, I pay higher petrol costs, and drive around in a a five speed VW Golf, not an SUV).

I'm not suggesting that we go from 40 cents to two dollars in tax per gallon. But a dime or a quarter now will barely be felt short term, and pay much greater dividends in the future.

-T

[Fintro11]

1.10 in Nanaimo for reg

My wife has native status so if we fill up on a gas station on reserve land i get tax free a nice little bonus

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

Wouldn't complain, dearest American friends (you lucky buggers....)

Here, lost track of the exact /gal price but it cost between $70~75 to fill up the 986. I get the feeling that its double than in the USA :/

True, but you have noodles

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Giller

Higher gas taxes have worked just fine here in Canada. It costs us a bit more to fill up our car, but most of that money goes to keeping our bridges and roads in decent repair. Unfortunately, the money has to come from somewhere, so why not at least charge the people that use the roads/bridges through either a better toll system or gas taxes.

The Canadian consumer's mindset is entirely different to the American. When gas goes near $4 American wallets and pocketbooks stay closed. Since the financial crisis in 2009 we saw it replay time and time again. The economy would start to build some momentum and fuel costs rising would douse a cold bucket right onto the consumer, quickly. Americans have a great sensitivity to pricey fill ups. It affects all the spending that comes after driving off from the gas station. Gas prices were anchored into a very low range for an eternity before the rise of emerging markets created an expectation of greater demand. We got used to low fuel prices and when in a very short time gas jumped 30-40% it sent shivers down all our spines. Stagnant wages for over a decade means we simply don't handle abrupt changes, for the worse, in personal finance well. Taxes on gas works in continents that are used to high taxes, this isn't one them.

You can make a compelling case for greater investment on infrastructure, but opting to raise revenue from a consumer-sore spot is counterproductive. A flat national sales tax, closing corporate tax loopholes, maybe even the Buffett Rule, would all contribute towards that infrastructure without cooling consumer spending. And consumer spending is the make or break in lifting GDP.

[notech]

Guys I was lead to believe gas prices were always cheaper in US,
I am filling with 98 octane:
Gibraltar 1.05£ / L (1.63$)
Spain 1.39€ / L (1.70$)

or you referring to gallons?

[Timco]

Originally Posted by notech

Guys I was lead to believe gas prices were always cheaper in US,
I am filling with 98 octane:
Gibraltar 1.05£ / L (1.63$)
Spain 1.39€ / L (1.70$)

or you referring to gallons?

Only foreigners use the metric system.....

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Timco

Only foreigners use the metric system.....

Those Americans always like to be unique, eh?

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

The Canadian consumer's mindset is entirely different to the American. When gas goes near $4 American wallets and pocketbooks stay closed. Since the financial crisis in 2009 we saw it replay time and time again. The economy would start to build some momentum and fuel costs rising would douse a cold bucket right onto the consumer, quickly. Americans have a great sensitivity to pricey fill ups. It affects all the spending that comes after driving off from the gas station. Gas prices were anchored into a very low range for an eternity before the rise of emerging markets created an expectation of greater demand. We got used to low fuel prices and when in a very short time gas jumped 30-40% it sent shivers down all our spines. Stagnant wages for over a decade means we simply don't handle abrupt changes, for the worse, in personal finance well. Taxes on gas works in continents that are used to high taxes, this isn't one them.

You can make a compelling case for greater investment on infrastructure, but opting to raise revenue from a consumer-sore spot is counterproductive. A flat national sales tax, closing corporate tax loopholes, maybe even the Buffett Rule, would all contribute towards that infrastructure without cooling consumer spending. And consumer spending is the make or break in lifting GDP.

Bearing all that in mind - the price of gas as of a few months ago was extremely high - and in 2013 was about $3.50/gallon, slightly down from 2012. In all that, the US economy continued to grow and become dominate again in the world. So in the past few years, the price of gas has gone way up - but so has the US economy. A small increase to gas taxes would still keep the price under this magical $4, but also, the recent evidence shows that gas prices are not affecting consumer spending...at least not anymore.

[Slate 01]

Originally Posted by Giller

Bearing all that in mind - the price of gas as of a few months ago was extremely high - and in 2013 was about $3.50/gallon, slightly down from 2012. In all that, the US economy continued to grow and become dominate again in the world. So in the past few years, the price of gas has gone way up - but so has the US economy. A small increase to gas taxes would still keep the price under this magical $4, but also, the recent evidence shows that gas prices are not affecting consumer spending...at least not anymore.

The US economy has continued to go up? What planet has that occurred on? Wow. Please read my moniker at the bottom

[Joe B]

$ 2.99/gal. for diesel in Tucson (not for the Boxster !).

Someone please explain for me why diesel has become more expensive than premium in the last 10 years or so. It should be cheaper than regular!

[mavis.d]

Apparently less refining capacity and greater demand

[Porsche9]

Originally Posted by Slate 01

The US economy has continued to go up? What planet has that occurred on? Wow. Please read my moniker at the bottom

This mornings new reports indicated a 5% GDP growth in Q3. Pretty heady but we still have a ways to go to get out of the deep hole we were in.

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by Joe B

$ 2.99/gal. for diesel in Tucson (not for the Boxster !).



Someone please explain for me why diesel has become more expensive than premium in the last 10 years or so. It should be cheaper than regular!

To my knowledge it is because in America diesel isn't thought of Jetta fuel, rather peterbuilt fuel. The tax on diesel is much higher because the vehicles that use it are much heavier and account for more damage to infrastructure. To my knowledge that is, and what do I know.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Slate 01

The US economy has continued to go up? What planet has that occurred on? Wow. Please read my moniker at the bottom

Well we have recovered from -4% GDP growth rates in 2009 but we're still below the post war average of ~3.25%. And the first quarter of 2014 saw the first -2.0 decline since the crisis. Third quarter was 2.7% to the plus side but still it's a sensitive seesaw where fuel prices play a dominant role.

[boxster6354]

So back on topic.........

Houston area:


:dance:

[Perfectlap]

Gas in NJ was $2.00 exactly 10 years ago. I remember selling a previous car to a gentleman and when he picked it up I filled the tank for him. It was a small 10 gallon tank, gave the attendant $20 and remembered saying to myself it's just the Boxster now, no more cheap regular gas!
What else is still the same price it was $10 years ago? That should tell you this isn't going to last very long.