Gas Prices

[BIGJake111]

Any thoughts from others on the gap from regular to premium? It seems wider now that regular is so cheap.

[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 :/

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Porsche9]

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

[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

[kk2002s]

Here in NJ 93 oct. is running mid $2.00's. Certainly better than the $3.85 I paid in the spring
The speculation association to oil kinda kills the supply and demand capitalism mentality. Why conserve if gas prices still go up?
Higher fuel costs effect so many things here in the US due to Freight cost, farming cost, ect.
Higher fuel costs do drive better fuel efficient cars and that's not such a bad thing
Problem with US fuel tax, government spends it on everything except what it's for - Maintaining the infrastructure. Currently the DOT is broke and can't fix what is broken

To the majority of consumers, If I have to drive 200 miles/week well I have to buy 200 miles of gas regardless of $$ and there aren't many alternatives

Well that's my 2 cents or .008 gals
Up from .0052 gal in the spring

[Fintro11]

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 :/

Same here in Canada, even with tax free gas it ends up being 55 - 60 to fill her up

[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

[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?

[mavis.d]

Apparently less refining capacity and greater demand

[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.

[BIGJake111]

So will the prices stay? Or is this just the eye of the storm?

[kk2002s]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

So will the prices stay? Or is this just the eye of the storm?

The more realistic question is how long will prices remain at these lows
At some point speculators are going to start buying low and that will drive up speculated oil prices
Or OPEC will either slow down production or there will be rumors of it and that will drive up speculated oil prices

The eye of storm is if we don't treat oil as the diminishing and environmentally harmful (when burned) resource that it is.
Higher prices keep us honest about using it and drives the industries dependent on it to develop more efficient methods of using it

It's the profiteers of oil profit margins and governments that can't redirect their taxes to alternatives that is going to help speed up the storm

Can I get an Amen

[Giller]

Originally Posted by kk2002s

The more realistic question is how long will prices remain at these lows
At some point speculators are going to start buying low and that will drive up speculated oil prices
Or OPEC will either slow down production or there will be rumors of it and that will drive up speculated oil prices

The eye of storm is if we don't treat oil as the diminishing and environmentally harmful (when burned) resource that it is.
Higher prices keep us honest about using it and drives the industries dependent on it to develop more efficient methods of using it

It's the profiteers of oil profit margins and governments that can't redirect their taxes to alternatives that is going to help speed up the storm

Can I get an Amen

One thing about OPEC - they do not have the same power they once had. With the amount of oil being produced by non-opec countries (Notably the US and Canada), it has taken away opecs clout. As well - demand in the past number of years has continued to drop in relation to production. If this continues....prices should remain fairly steady.

The challenge of course is it costs a lot more to produce and get oil in the US and Canada. With low oil prices, it's not as profitable in the US and Canada to get the oil from the ground, so they will slow production, which will raise prices (less supply = higher prices). It's a tough cycle.