Gus Riley

Actually, diesel prices have just recently (within the past year) surpassed gasoline prices. I know this because we drove our diesel pusher motor home all over the U.S. in the past three years (note: we have recently sold the motor home). During those travel periods, diesel was always lower in price than any of the other grades. Be the increases resulting from taxes or a GOP effort to take some cost pressure off of gasoline...it is wrong, and should be reversed for the overall good of the common citizen.

cruentus

In New Jersey, diesel fuel has been more expensive than unleaded regular for many years now -- fuel is taxed by both the Feds and the State, State taxes vary.

Gus Riley

Goes to show we all can learn something new, I stand corrected and revert back to my original assement of "'round these parts", and add, "some" others.

cajonezzz

3.09 in Carlsbad Ca. for mid grade unleaded.
brutal.

bostontrevor

Keep in mind also that in many places, gasoline is blended with corn-derived ethanol and benefits from a tax break for using ag products.

Guest

I always have a good chuckle when I ride past gas stations, but that's only if I notice. I have no need to think about gas, so it's not like I'm rolling around looking for cheap gas.

Koffee

Wind 'N Snow

$3.97 per gallon ($1.05 per litre) but that's Canadian money so you get pretty change a toque and a donut with every fill-up.

Petro chemicals are running out. Hydrogen is the next big stock, start saving your water now - just look at the prices of water in bottles, especially the high octane stuff with flavour!

TXChick

Wow--I drove by a gas station tonight and prices here went up .20 overnight to $2.59. I know it's lower than most places, but still...we're in freakin' Texas. There are oil wells everywhere so it seems like it would be cheaper.

The_Guru

US$7.71/gallon here in Switzerland.

US$2.59/gallon is just inconceivable.

Patriot

Yes, but for you guys, it's all taxes. Basic price per barrel is the same everywhere on the world market. If I had no income tax, no property tax, no sales tax, no bridge tolls to pay, or a combination of these, the tax base comes out fairly similar to most European countries, though still a little less.
Although admittedly, most European countries do have an overall slightly higher tax base to pay for their infrastructure and accomedate the higher use of social programs than the US.
Canada is a good example. After comparing my father-in-laws total tax base he pays, he is paying close to 50% of his total earnings because of his health care system that needs to be funded. Whereas my total tax base is far less, but my health care coems out of my paycheck as well, so I pay close to his level, but still not nearly as much.

As for gas, it really all depends on the taxes they add on. That is really the biggest factor in the differance between Europeans and the US.

Either way, there is no reason for the oil companies to be charging $67/barrel. When one of the major foreign OPEC company presidents was asked exactly why the price was raised, they responded with stuff like, political instability, and emerging economic growth in China, etc etc etc.
But, when it came down to why they are REALLY charging more, even though they are pumping the same amount or even less when they're supply is more than adequate, the real answer the guy gave was....

"More MONEY!!!"

I guess that guy with the funny head dress needs another Rolls, or maybe 50 more wives or something.

bluecat

$6.24 USD per gallon here (in the UK)

Which is Ł0.91 UKP per litre.

Bekologist

Interesting article in the Sunday paper- gas prices and milk prices- % price increase over the last twenty years was the same...now that's a fuel I buy a lot more often!

bostontrevor

OPEC doesn't control prices, the market does. OPEC just sets production quotas, so blame who you want but there is increased demand somewhere. OPEC also hasn't lowered their production quota since Feb 2004 when oil was about half the cost it is today. Since then, it has increased production quotas four times, most recently in June.

There are lots of theories about what's fueling (no pun intended) this price run-up: weather, China, speculation and political instability, reduced refinery capacity. One thing that doesn't figure is a reduction in supply.

So maybe you ought to check your facts before jumping to conclusions.

Meanwhile Maine is claiming substantial reduction in motor traffic due at least in part to gas prices: https://www.boston.com/news/local/mai...npike_traffic/

Patriot

Yeah, yeah, I know. (I'm just ranting) It's all about the investors who buy and sell on the open market. I guess one could relate the oil cmpanies themselves as farmers harvesting a crop. They just harvest the crop and take it to distribution for sale. The going price, is what they get paid. Sucks though, because as a mechanic/engineer, when I hear about operators like me, but with only a High School education, making $120,000/year entry-level salaries in the oil patch up in Northern Alberta, I shake my head. All those kids do, is drink it away at the local pub. Sad, truly sad.

Wind 'N Snow

All costs will go up on everything requiring transportation (bananas!) bus transit, home heating, etc. The sorta good news is that this might start people really thinking about alternative transportation, or that living in the subs two hours from work doesn't make that much sense. Or that owning an Escalade or and Denali just for drives from home to the mall is just plain nuts...On the other hand, some places (like here) Mass transportation infrastructure sucks and it is too cold to walk more than 2 miles in the winter (I used to walk at my previous job) and winter biking, (because of the cold and wind and snow and ice ruts is impractical for most. So cars are a necessity.

I'm thinking about putting together a coal-fired engine, 'cause they sure are taking their time with more efficient hydrogen and fuel cells. Electricity doesn't work all that well in -40.

Patriot

I'm still waiting for the nuclear fission powered 1959 Cadillac Elderado they designed back in the mid-50's, but never got around to mass producing. I wonder why?

I do admit, seeing a big round cooling tower built into that old Caddy hood like a jet engine intake fan, was pretty interesting. Or should I say... laughable?

bostontrevor

While we're at it, where the hell is my Firebird III?

skijoring

Bring back Knight Rider. I need you, K.I.T.T. !

Wind 'N Snow

If it is a smart car, why does it run on diesel?

bcspain

You guys know what will happen next don't you? Since a tremendous portion of the price of gas is actually federal, state, and local taxes, all the agencies will find a way tax bike riders. I saw a little blurb on CNN or Foxnews, don't remember which about some technology that was being kicked around to charge per mile instead of per gallon. High fuel efficiency cars get in the government's pocket, so what they were proposing was a way for the fuel pump to interface with the car's onboard computer to see how far you'd driven, thereby adjusting the price per gallon. The guy that drives the 10 mpg gas hog would get gas for (these numbers are examples only, don't take off on a tangent) say $3.00 per gallon for 20 gallons, but the guy with the fancy experimental hybrid that gets 200 mpg would pay $60 per gallon, assuming they both drove 200 miles between fillups.

We as riders should take care, as we demand more bike paths and what have you, the government could and probably will start insisting on registration fees and other use taxes. You could find your favorite bike path suddenly has a toll gate at each end.

lilHinault

I doubt they'd be able to make that work, in fact if things go the way the Peak Oil people think it might, the government is going to have enough trouble answering the phones.

Crank It Up

Facinating........


CNN article

Cyclepath

The govt. will be able to answer the phones as long as they can continue to drain the wallets of the scared-****less middle & working classes with bogus Perpetual Wars & Threats of Wars to line the pockets of their corporate cronies.

jeff-o

Here is my prediction. For quite a few more years, gas prices will continue to increase. We will start enjoying the gas prices that our european pals have been paying for years. At the same time, public outcry will result in an increase in energy-efficient vehicles, where MPG will usurp HP as the main selling feature. We will see more hybrids, more electric vehicles, and more smaller "commuter" vehicles designed specifically for short runs to the store or workplace.

After a while, consumers will not be able to buy gas anymore, at least not in the quantities it was previously available. It might be available in canisters, like BBQ propane or campstove propane, to fuel things like generators or small power tools. Even so, most of these will be electric or some other yet-undeveloped tech.

The thing that must happen to prevent a worldwide meltdown is the creation of a cheap, renewable fuel source with an energy density close to that of gas. We do not yet have any fuel source that matches the energy density or specific power of gas, though hydrogen (high power, low density) and battery/supercapacitor technology (low power, high density) when combined may come close.

I'm wary of hydrogen though, as it does require lots of energy to create. Where will the energy to refine hydrogen come from? Certainly not oil. It would have to come from nuclear or renewable sources, which begs the question: Why not just skip the hydrogen step altogether, and go straight to electric? Power could be generated as it is now, and also using new solar and wind farms. It would be delivered to homes, and each home would become a refueling station for all the family's needs, from charging up the car(s) to charging the lawn mower. It's a lot cheaper to deliver electricity over wires, than it is to ship liquid fuel across the country.

That said, I can see that gas/petroleum will continue to be used in aircraft for quite a bit longer than in cars and trucks. This is simply because we do not have any fuel source that is mature, dense or safe enough to power an aircraft capable of trans-oceanic flight. Airlines will becaome the major consumers of petroleum, second perhaps to the plastics industry.

Things are going to change in the next ten years, you can be sure of it. People won't give up their comfy SUVs in one generation, or even two. The guy who invents a viable high-density energy storage system will become one rich louie...

skijoring

I'm still holding out for perpetual motion machines.

Companies like APCC and some others are looking at heat reclamation from devices/substations/turbines/back-up centers. I think they are chasing their tails, but all energy transmission has a loss rate and it is interesting to see what % could be re-captured, so to speak. Like a meta-version of regenerative braking.