Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic What makes up the price of gas?

Just found this article on the AP. It's an interesting look into what goes into gas prices and how things work for some of the players in the game, including the tight spot gas station owners (local franchisees who have to buy the gas before they can sell it) can be hard-pressed to turn a profit.

What Makes Up The Price Of Gas?

It is a real shame that in all the greed that is the oil industry that the only one in the supply chain who doesn't get to share in the avarice is the local station owner.

The few cents a gallon that they get doesn't change whether gas is $2.00 a gallon, or $4.00 a gallon. Yet they get to hear all the complaints and have to deal with the increase in 'drive offs'.

Also, it doesn't matter what the oil companies try to tell you what the problems are that have been causing the rapid, continued rise in prices. They lie. You only have to look at two things. The oil companies are in collusion with each other so there is no competition. And for all they try to point to 'other factors', the history making record profits they have been recording every quarter speaks for itself.

Tank (who thinks it's a shame that much of the technology for alternate forms of energy has been bought up by the big oil companies so we won't see any benifits from such technology until they decide it's time for *them* to benefit from it)

Everyone complains about gas prices but they don't often think about the benefits.

Personally I'm waiting for it to hit $5 here in the states. Why? Because it has been documented that people don't start caring about their fuel consumption until that point. At $5 people will start selling their SUVs for fuel efficient cars. At $5 people will start carpooling or using public transport. These are all GOOD things for the environment.

Most importantly it will make people realize that there is a need for alternative fuels. It's already starting to happen slowly. Hopefully it will make people realize that we don't need to wait till there are no more oil based fuels to start thinking electric.

Our economy would and will come to a crippling halt if we don't find a way before we run out and no one can give you an answer of when that will happen. All I know is that it will happen in my lifetime and that scares the hell out of me since we don't have a viable solution yet. (Electric is the best bet but you can't drive it long distances yet)

~Jojo, who is waiting for the fuel apocalypse and hopes no one chases down gas tankers like in Mad Max (even though that'd be cool).

Hate to say it, but fuel prices have been a LOT higher than that in the UK for many years and there's precious little evidence for this sort of change. Currently it's £1.15 for a litre of unleaded petrol, which works out at £4.36 for a US gallon, e.g. about $8.65

I think people in North America are much more price-sensitive when it comes to petrol prices than people in Europe, though, Marcus. We lived through major fluctuations in price before and, while people complained, they paid up and just put up with it. Now that I live in North America, I see people making decisions based on petrol prices, for example: "I was going to go to X for the weekend, but now that gas is so high I can't afford it," or "I've got to sell my car and do without it/buy a smaller car because gas is so expensive." These are the kind of conversations I hear in the lunchroom or online these days.

Admittedly, in the UK people don't tend to drive 300-mile round trips fairly routinely, eg for an evening out or to visit friends at the weekend, and that's one big difference.

Wendy

Higher gas prices are not going to help the environment. In fact, it will probably have the opposite effect.

In the latest congressional hearings into why the prices are rising so high, so fast, the oil companies are bewailing the fact the with the industrialization of India and China, the world-wide need for oil and fossel fuels keeps rising. They claim we need new sources to meet the future needs. I'm not saying that isn't true.

I'm not a conspiracy buff, but I'm convinced that one of the reasons that Bush was put in office was so he could find a way to open up currently protected regions to oil exploration and exploitation. Somehow I think when the gas prices make it terribly inconvenient for the average American I don't think they'll be quick to support the environmentalist. So we have to kill a few polar bears, as long as it means we can get more oil.

I'm not sure of the numbers, but I believe the U.S. still gets the majority of it's oil supplies from sources other than the Middle East.

Another problem that we have in the U.S. is a woeful lack of public mass transit. Outside of cities like New York, and Chicago, and perhaps some of the other large east coast cities; there just isn't any viable means of mass transit.

Minneapolis & St. Paul have a fairly inadequite bus system. I had to use it for a time back when I lived within the city proper. It was only a couple of steps above a joke. Outside the city limits themselves virtually nothing exists. (You can thank Carl Pohland for the destructin of the trolley car system Minnepolis used to have).

The other factors that have to be considered is that gasoline prices just don't affect the individual's driving habits. They are responsible for rising prices everywhere. Food, clothing, and goods of all kind are affected. Anything that has to be transported by truck, train, or plane, has the increased cost of moving it added to the final retail.

The natural choice for investment into alternate energy sources are those industries currently involved in energy production. But they aren't going to put out anything until they've squeezed the last cent out of their current resources.

The government would be the other natural partner for alternative energy research, but when your government is spending 16 billion dollars a month on a criminally pointless war, there is not a lot of extra money left over for programs like that.

Tank (who knows he sounds like a conspiracy buff, but when it comes to certain things, his buttons get pushed, and he truly believes that those in charge of big oil and the like are totally evil *&%@#*s)

I beg to differ. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0826/p01s03-woeu.html

There is an article from 2005 where people had started to notice the difference.

And you will find article after article on the same thing. Here in Los Angeles you see way more SUVs and large trucks on the road than anything else. This is starting to change. People actually are starting to conserve.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/0...ks-to-high-gas-prices-americans-driving/

Things are starting to change. People are trading in their gas guzzlers for Honda Fits. (Had a friend tell me about his co-worker doing this tonight because the payment each month for the Fit was cheaper than filling up the tank of the truck he used to drive).

Some of you may not believe it but it does make a difference and the longer we stay dependent on gas the more we are going to hurt ourselves. We can cry about gas prices all day long or we can start pushing for difference sources.

Personally I'm tired of driving into work every morning and not being able to see the LA skyline (which is 2 miles from where I work) because of a brown haze of smog from gas powered cars.

Tank: The government doesn't want to spend it on alternative fuels. Why would they when our president and most of his staff are in bed with oil companies? I don't think you are a conspiracy nut at all. But if no one is pushing the issue for the future candidates... then it will never change.

Something I recommend for all of you is the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" It brings some very disturbing things to light about the whole situation.

EDIT: It is also interesting to notice that a lot of people are selling their high gas mileage vehicles. There is a guy who comments in one of the articles above with an interesting concern:

I think it could very well happen. People will have to start taking a loss on their cars just so they can get rid of it. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

This is actually happening, to some extent. I read an article the other day that said SUVs were "endangered". There are more sitting on the lots than are being sold.

I agree about the mass transit. A lot of the larger cities have bus routes, but even that is still a gas guzzler, and often looked down on, despite being a great alternative. More people would rather drive than take the bus. We *finally* got an alternative here, a light rail system, but they've only got one line open so far. It's going to be another 10-20 years before they get all of the other routes open.

This is an interesting topic, and one I think many US citizens are finding very relevant at the moment. A lot of people have made valid points here.

I am personally feeling a lot of pain at the pump. I drive 50 miles each day just to work and back, and it is starting to pinch me (I realize comparatively, that this is a relatively small commute compared to some cities, but where I live 50 miles is driving completely across town - about as far away as I can get from my house and still be in the same city. I also eke out a meager living - comfortable enough to live, but not to afford luxuries).

However, despite the way gas prices are pinching my checkbook, I have to agree that I'm glad this is causing some awareness about alternative fuels. I have never understood the SUV craze - I think a 4-door sedan is just as practical unless you have an occupation that requires you to have more interior space in your vehicle.

I own a Honda Civic that gets 40 miles/gallon, and I'm still struggling with gas prices. I can't imagine what a lot of other people are giving up just to keep fueling their cars. Because of the noted lack of public transportation here, some of those who have to drive to work are not only giving up luxuries, but also necessities since fuel prices have also impacted food prices. But what am I supposed to do, quit working? I do have bills to pay, so that's not an option. I've done what I can to curb my gas usage - I drive at steady speeds, go gentle on acceleration, use cruise control, never go over 65 mph, only drive to work and back and consolidate errand running. However, I'm too far away from work to walk or bike. If this price trend keeps up, when my leases is up at the end of this year, I may have to move closer to work. It's not really a part of town I'd like to live in (read - dangerous), but it's starting to look necessary. If mass transit was available, I'd take it in a heartbeat, versus driving.

I know that gas stations are not the villains in this sort of situation, and I don’t think that we’re going to see any sort of relief from gas prices any time soon. However, I’m surprised that fuel usage hasn’t been curbed more than we’ve seen thus far. I can only hope that there will be more research into alternative fuels as this progresses. It’s better that we get serious about something now than wait until we actually run out of fuel.

It’s kind of sad – after Hurricane Katrina, we ran out of fuel here for about a week because the pipelines were shut down. Those service stations that still had gasoline increased their prices dramatically because of demand. I put fifteen dollars of gas in my car at that time for $3.39/gallon, and saved the receipt because I thought it would be historical. I threw that receipt away the other day, as I’ve far surpassed paying that for gasoline in recent weeks.

On the comment of mass transit, because of high gas prices and the fact that (as usual) the California legislature spent far more than it takes in, the state is cutting expenses. One of the casualties is the bus service to and from Ramona. Because of this, starting in June, I will have to drive a round trip of 40 miles twice every weekday to take my handicapped brother to and from his job in Escondido. I will also be taking a friend of his to her job, since I have to make the trip anyway.

A lot of other people I know are having the same problem. It would be nice if the planners would be consistent. They want people to take mass transit, and then they cut the mass transit.

Explain to me, where is the logic in this, if they want us to save on energy?

Nan

Nan: not to mention the horrible price hikes that they plan for the future (at least in LA). My co-worker was telling me how much the monthly bus passes were going to be in about a year and I was aghast at the prices.

I live in the suburbs where it's a little bit cheaper, but the last time I went into the city (about 2-3 weeks ago), it was $4.99 a gallon. I cried as I pulled into the station.

I've often heard that Chicago has some of the highest, if not the highest gas prices in the country.

Personally, I drive an SUV ('98 Chevy Blazer) because I feel safer being a little bit higher off the ground. When I was in high school I got into an accident with that car. I was rear-ended by a Nissan Maxima and that car was totaled while I simply just had a cracked bumper. I'd like to drive an SUV for as long as I'm able to afford to just because it makes me feel safe. And I agree that having all the extra space is useless unless you need it, which is why I'm in love with the compact SUVs because they don't have all the unnecessary space in the back and the seats still fold down if necessary. That's why I have my eye on the Ford Escape Hybrid.