Gas Prices
 

Can't believe that I just filled up at Costco for $2.21 for super. About $30 for a fill up. Crazy.

What are you paying to fill up?

$2.36 at Costco here in Northern Colorado.

We don't bother with the Costco thing, and reg is 2.50 or so. It was a full $30 less to fill my wife's Touareg.

Gas is what it is. I'm glad when it's cheaper but it doesn't influence my driving or spending habits. I just pay what they charge. I refuse to search out $.02/gallon difference in gas savings.

In my section of eastern PA, we are at $2.63 for 87 octane & $2.93 for 93 Octane. I've heard speculation of regular reaching $1.79 by summer.

It would be nice.

$1.99 for 87 here ;)

$2.06 for 87 here in s.c. Paid $2.70 for 93 today though. Seems like a bigger markup than usual.

$2.80 for 91 in So. Cal. but I think the price is going up quite a bit come Jan. 1st. I've heard up to 80 cents a gallon more to knock out this global warming thing. I guess if nobody drives in California that will end it for the rest of the world. Thank us Californians later this winter when you're shoveling off your driveway so you can go to work.

1.94 for regular.

Huh? Born and raised in SoCal. I have no idea what you are talking about.

$1.90ish in DFW. One city (Keller) has it $1.65 for reg, $1.99 for 93 premium. Wonder how long it will last.

About 2.50 for 91.

Lucky bu**ers

Shell 93 £1.10 litre = $6.46 US gal, $103.36 for 16 gals
Shell Nitro 99 £1.17 litre = $6.89 gal, $110.24 for 16 gals
That's about £70 in real money for 300 miles ;)

Mavis: That's mostly your government's taxation scheme, right?

Everyone in the USA.... I live in Houston, TX and have neighbors and clients who work for oil and gas companies. This cheap barrel pricing due to OPEC is gonna hurt our economy here quite soon and layoffs are already occurring and a lot more to follow on January 2 after the holidays.

I don't mind paying $30 more for a tank of fuel to be honest with you all.

It will definitely hurt our big oil producing states. In many ways the oil production boom in our country is what has forced the prices down so much. Overall the net for the US and most of the world is that lower oil prices is good for the economy and bad for countries that do not have our best interests.

It's definitely going to hurt your local economy but it's going to literally help everyone else's. Starting with the holiday shopping season which would have otherwise been a wash out.
I'm not sure how this affects home heating but if it's less money out of winter weather states' pockets that will have a knock-on effect come spring as far as consumer confidence. But in the end this is all just temporary because bearish speculators will get bullish again sooner or later and we'll be right back at $100 barrels. Contrary to what most people think the price of oil stems from the expectation of demand not the actual supply. Demand was falling short of global supply when we were above $100 barrel and was pinned there until recently. Who can ever know what's in the speculator's mind about the future at any one time. So it's great for most that we have lower gas prices but when more people have more spending money to burn they either pay bills, save or get in their cars to spend. You know which of the three we're most famous for. Which means demand will steadily inch higher again. Also China's got some big economic issues and they have little history of managing capitalism. May not end well.

Here in NJ we have some of the cheapest gas in the country and I've noticed that the gap between regular and premium has settled into very wide gulf. They must figure that if you have a car requiring premium then you can handle the $6-9 difference to fill up. I remember when I first bought the Boxster over a decade ago and the gap was maybe 20 cents apart.

There are a few Costco's in NJ that have $1.99 gas. Averages are closer to $2.25 But we have one of the lowest state taxes (11 cents per gallon), so we're always a little lower. And we don't even have to get out of the car to pump it!

The Federal gas tax hasn't been touched in 20 years (18 cents). So in NJ, we're at a 15% tax rate for gasoline. (keep in mind when was was $4, we were at a 7% tax rate)

In Britain it's approx 61% tax per litre at the current prices. So that's $2.14 per gallon, with an additional 20% VAT on top of that.

This will not be popular, but I think we're overdue for a review of our current gas tax rates. I'd rather see some additional money go towards alternative technologies and mass transit. Some states have addressed this recently, but with elections coming up I doubt we'll see anything in the next two years.

But hey, it's cheap now so lets get those Hummers back in the showrooms!!!

I would definitely agree with you that it's time to reevaluate the gas tax. Our transportation infrastructure is crumbling (bridge collapse in your part of the country recently?) and we need to invest in maintaining what we have and any newgrowth, be it more roads, highway, public transportation etc. needs to be carefully considered.

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

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 :/

Here in Canada, I would say that approximately 35% of the price is tax. Much of the tax for this goes towards our infrastructure and bridges. I just saw a scary report on 60 minutes around the United States and their crumbling bridges. Yes, maybe it's time the US reflect on the tax on gas and fix those bridges!

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

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

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.

"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

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 :)

True, but you have noodles :cheers:

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.

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.....

Those Americans always like to be unique, eh?

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

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

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!

Apparently less refining capacity and greater demand

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.

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.

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.

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

Houston area:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1419351841.jpg

:dance:

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.