Will this solve the gas problem? Kind of long.

[LCHIEN]

I hate to say it but the strategy of buying less gas more often is pretty much flawed.

Each gas station will still sell as much gas in a week as they did before, if the average fuel level in cars drops from 1/2 full to 1/4 full then that's may add up to huge amount of gasoline all told (maybe 50 million cars times 4 gallons = 200 million gallons) but one the initial hit is over they'll still be selling gas at the same rate. And everyone will lose because they will spend more time in the gasoline stations and more gas in gasoline lines.

I would figure it takes on 25% more time to fill up than to buy $5 or 10 dollars worth. It's the overhead - driving, turning, stopping, opening the gas cap, paying the machine, etc. not to mention the gas pumps will be more congested. For time a car spends in front of a gas pump, probably only 33% is used in actually pumping gas.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

[QUOTE=Joe Lyddon]

2. Chickens cannot be controlled... they don't have a spigot to increase / decrease the output.

QUOTE]

Egg production of a chicken can easily be controlled. It is done every single day. It is controlled by food supplements and light cycles. It's really not nice but every profit driven chicken house in America does it.

[LarryG]

Joe: That was exactly my point. Time wasted on the Interstate, driving at an absurdly low, arbitrarily chosen speed like 55mph, is time I could have spent doing something a lot more enjoyable.

Jeffrey: Is that why I see light leaking out of all those half-mile-long chicken houses at night, and the reason they don't have any windows ... because the lights are being cycled to fool the chickens into thinking there are more than seven days in a week? I've long suspected that was the idea, but have never known for sure.

[spf45]

I did some additional research on this huge egg farm. It turns out the founder of the company was an out-of-work cabinetmaker. It seems the same townspeople who got upset and modified their egg purchasing habits had gotten upset at the price of hardwood a year earlier and boycotted the cabinetmaker’s business.

[JBCrooks]

The real reason gas prices are up

Here is the breakdown of the money you pay for each gallon of gas:

crude oil - 54.8% the cost of crude oil has gone up.

refining - 21.7% Most refineries that were not damaged during Katrina had their maintenance deferred. Now, more than usual are offline for maintenance.
EPA regulations require somewhere around 55 different blends of gas for different areas and seasons - which more than doubles the refining costs and lowers the output capacity.

Distribution and Storage - 4.5% The EPA act of 2005 requires new handling and storage facilities.

Taxes - 18.9% That's around fifty cents per gallon of gas at today's prices. And some people complain that "Big Oil" is making obscene profits.

[WoodTherapist]

This reminds me of the old joke about the hillbillies who decided to grow watermelons, take them to the big city and sell them in order to get rich. It cost them 50 cents to grow, harvest and transport each watermelon, but they were selling them for 45 cents each. Finally, after several trips into the city, they realized that they were losing money. They couldn't figure it out but one hillbilly says to the other, “I think we need a bigger truck.”

[Crash2510]

The katrina thing is total bs
gas companies are making record profit not because we are consuming three times more gasoline per capita than pre 2001 but because they are ripping us off look at the statistics 1 yr post 9/11 gas was around $40 per barrel gas was nearly $2.50-$3.00 around the country
now $70.00+ per barrel gas is the same price

hence we are being ripped off

[Joe Lyddon]

[QUOTE=Jeffrey Schronce]

2. Chickens cannot be controlled... they don't have a spigot to increase / decrease the output.

QUOTE]

Egg production of a chicken can easily be controlled. It is done every single day. It is controlled by food supplements and light cycles. It's really not nice but every profit driven chicken house in America does it.

Well, don't that beat all!

Ya learn something every day!!

Does the Humane Society know about it? Poor chicks!

I thought they were like cows & their milk... same time every day... no matter what! Here I come... ready or not!

[AlanJ]

The katrina thing is total bs
gas companies are making record profit not because we are consuming three times more gasoline per capita than pre 2001 but because they are ripping us off look at the statistics 1 yr post 9/11 gas was around $40 per barrel gas was nearly $2.50-$3.00 around the country
now $70.00+ per barrel gas is the same price

hence we are being ripped off

So you're saying that gas is actually NOT overpriced now compared to 2002 (1 year post 9/11)

[Jeffrey Schronce]

[QUOTE=Joe Lyddon]

Well, don't that beat all!

Ya learn something every day!!

Does the Humane Society know about it? Poor chicks!

I thought they were like cows & their milk... same time every day... no matter what! Here I come... ready or not!

Bad news bro, you can control milk productions as well. LOL!

[Salty]

I'm with Bob on this one. Maybe it would make a difference, maybe not but it has been the only thing that I could think of to try to fight back.
I've been buying 5-10 dollars at a time for over 6 months now. I used to drive 45 minutes to work one way. The first thing I did was get a smaller car. Then we moved closer to my workplace and the drive is now 10 minutes or less. That in itself has made a huge impact on my wallet.
Also, with so many gas stations around I almost have to go 'out of my way' to miss going by one of them. I figure that buying 5-10 dollars at a time allows me to watch the prices and try to 'wait them out' until the price goes down a bit. Not everyone would be able to do this because they may need to fill up more often like I used to do.
And another thing. I use my credit card every time I get gas. Sometimes it seems like they purposely don't have paper in the pumps to give a receit just to get me in the store.....and maybe buy something else. I can buy a coke out of the vending machine at work for less than what it cost in the c-store.

And what is this crap about the tinhead legislature wanting to breakup big oil companies? They are the ones who approved the mergers in the first place.

OK, I'm done ranting!!!!

[Jeffrey Schronce]

The katrina thing is total bs
gas companies are making record profit not because we are consuming three times more gasoline per capita than pre 2001 but because they are ripping us off look at the statistics 1 yr post 9/11 gas was around $40 per barrel gas was nearly $2.50-$3.00 around the country
now $70.00+ per barrel gas is the same price

hence we are being ripped off

But here is the interesting thing . . . . XOM (Exxon Mobile) is making much less profit per dollar than McDonalds (around 12% v 20%+). I do have a few theories such as Exxons true profits will come around in the future, due to huge increases in investments in exploration, equipment, etc. Their 1st Q 2006 was about 12% higher than first Q 2005. Very reasonable and expected from the market. Generally speaking it is held that less than double digit growth is not real darn good. Let's face it, if you can't beat a 6-7% profit, then you might as well sell the company and invest in bonds. Much easier money.
I think that a lot of Exxons profit is hidden in the investments of resources that will result in a wind fall over the next few years. 50% increase in resource investment is huge for any company, much less a cyclical utility.
Exxon is making record profits, but it is off of record sales. Yes demand is higher and higher every year, however you are correct that there has not been a three fold in demand. When raw costs go up by 300%, and costs are passed to consumer, then static profit margin will result in record highs. This is in and of itself not price gouging by any means. I believe any company has a right to make a profit of 10-12% per year. We can not forget the years that these companies have lost money.
Don't get me wrong, someone is screwing us on this issue. The financial records do not indicate that it is the oil refining and marketing arms of the industry.

[Joe Lyddon]

[QUOTE=Jeffrey Schronce]

Bad news bro, you can control milk productions as well. LOL!

Oh well... I guess we're down the tubes...

[crokett]

My only comment is... We took the Vibe (GM's OEM version of the Toyota Matrix) down to Florida. By my estimation at 80mph w/AC I was getting around 32 MPG. Rated highway is 35 so I was doing well.

[Ken Weaver]

My only comment is... We took the Vibe (GM's OEM version of the Toyota Matrix) down to Florida. By my estimation at 80mph w/AC I was getting around 32 MPG. Rated highway is 35 so I was doing well.

FWIW - I talked to a Matrix owner at the FL I-75 welcome station a couple of weeks ago. He told me they were cruising at 65 and had been getting 40mpg since they left NY. I was getting 34 mpg at 70 mph from my Camry.