How Are You Dealing With The Fuel Price's!

[GrundleLove]

my new car gets 33MPG....

what gas price problem? roflll

[tyrius.]

The oil companies buy up patents and leave them on the shelf, ones that can produce a 100 or more miles per gallon.

Can you name one?

[tyrius.]

Yeah I'm with you on this one. The oil companies are taking us all for a ride. It seems like companies use to spread the wealth a little but no more.

http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/investor_dividend.aspx

Buy some exxon shares and they'll pay you part of their "wealth" in dividends.

[J Francho]

Our club raised non boater fees by $5 per day. Incidentally, prices fel by $.12 this past week.

[deaknh03]

With very few exceptions, every cost of providing goods and services is paid for by the end consumer. Most people think of gasoline or diesel fuel when they think of petrochemical products. Fiberglass resins and epoxies are petrochemical products.

There are more than 4,000 petrochemical products that are made from petroleum (crude oil).

Here's a list of the most popular and frequently used products:

■Artificial Limbs

■Bags (garbage bags, shopping bags)

■Balloons

■Bandaids

■Candles

■Clothing (polyester, nylon)

■Combs

■Computers, calculators

■Crayons

■Credit Cards

■Dishwashing Liquids

■Disposable Diapers

■Eye Glasses, Sunglasses

■Fertilizers

■Fishing Rods

■Flooring (linoleum, tiles, carpets)

■Garden Hose

■Hand Lotion, Cream, Petroleum Jelly

■Helmets (bicycle, hockey, etc.)

■Heart Valves

■Helmets (bicycle, hockey, etc.)

■Insect Repellent

■Insecticides

■Life Jackets

■Milk Jugs

■Paint Brushes

■Panty Hose

■Parachutes

■Patio Furniture

■Pens

■Perfume

■Rope (nylon)

■Safety Glass

■Shampoo

■Shower Curtains, Shower Doors

■Soft Contact Lenses

■Soft Drink Bottles, Plastic Bottles

■Tape (clear, masking, etc.)

■Tapes - (cassettes, vcr tapes)

■Telephones

■Tennis rackets

■Tents

■Toys, Dolls, Model Cars

■Tires (synthetic rubber)

■Toothbrushes, Toothpaste Tubes

■Trash Bags

■TV Cabinets

■Umbrellas

■Unbreakable Dishes

■Waterproof Jackets, Boots, Pants

I'm gonna think twice next time the artificial limb monkey jumps on my back!

[Fishing Rhino]

Can you name one?

That rumor was first floated around decades ago, and it involved the "Fish" carburetor. Isn't that an interesting coincidence?

At first it was the auto manufacturers who first "acquired" the patent. Then, when the price of oil began to skyrocket the oil companies bought it up.

There has never been a carburetor (and that's what we are talking about here) that can control the air fuel mixture as precisely as computer controlled fuel injection.

There is an ideal air/fuel mixture. To little air, the engine runs rich, belches black smoke (in extreme cases), fouls plugs, and has poor performance. Too much air and you have a lean condition, which will produce more power and better fuel mileage, until..........it burns the pistons and valves, destroying the engine.

Here's one article from 1983. First the auto makers are the conspiracy. Then it's big oil. What it really is, is BS.

http://www.rexresearch.com/fishcarb/fish.htm

[Fishing Rhino]

By the way, here's a line from the article by a self proclaimed expert.

Brown, who produced the first dial-fuel gasoline-alcohol care back in 1979, explained that the compression ratio in an engine holds the key to combustion --- combustion which produces horsepower, mileage and exhaust emissions.

“These explanations are oversimplified, of course,” Brown explained. “But, if a piston travels 4 inches upward to compress the air-fuel mixture in a cylinder 5 inches long, the compression is said to be 4 to 1.

That he should make such a simple mathematic mistake is very telling about his "expertise". He is wrong. The compression ratio would be 5:1, not 4:1. Why, you ask? Simple because five units of air are being compressed into one unit of space, hence, the compression ratio is 5:1.

[CODbasser]

If the oil companies aren't gouging then who is? And there is no way you would even come close in making up the difference you pay at the pump with the small amount you might gain in your IRA. Unless you work for an oil company maybe. Record profits over and over again but they aren't gouging? Paaaleeaasse Oh wait maybe they aren't; Maybe bp is passing on the cost of cleaning up the gulf to us.. SMH

[Fishing Rhino]

If the oil companies aren't gouging then who is? And there is no way you would even come close in making up the difference you pay at the pump with the small amount you might gain in your IRA. Unless you work for an oil company maybe. Record profits over and over again but they aren't gouging? Paaaleeaasse Oh wait maybe they aren't; Maybe bp is passing on the cost of cleaning up the gulf to us.. SMH

Why does anyone have to be gouging us? Oil is sold on/in the commodities market. It is basically an auction, and similar in some ways to the stock market. If traders think the price of oil is going to skyrocket, they will pay a higher price. Oil companies need a certain volume of oil to meet production schedules. If the price is driven higher, they have little choice but to pay the higher price, or cut production.

OPEC tries to achieve a minimum price per barrel by increasing or decreasing production. But in the end, they do not set the price. They send it to market, and they are at the mercy of market forces, be it boom or bust. It's speculation which drives the price, just like it drives the stock market.

I have no idea how old you are, but I'm old enough to remember gas wars and being able to buy gasoline (regular grade) for fifteen cents per gallon. Coke or Pepsi was a nickel from the soda machines. Candy bars were a nickel, and a loaf of bread was 12 cents. In 1966, the sticker price for a Pontiac GTO convertible with tri-power, four on the floor, a positraction rear end, and AM/FM radio, plus a few other options was around 2700 bucks.

Ted Williams was the first baseball player to get paid a hundred grand for a season.

Here's an idea. Let's do away with the tax breaks for big oil. Let's make it more expensive for them to produce a gallon of gasoline as a result, not to mention all the other products. Guess who will foot the bill for that extra cost? How 'bout this? Let's tax the oil companies twenty five cents for every gallon of gasoline they produce. When some suggest doing away with tax breaks, subsidies or whatever, it amounts to the same thing.

[Root beer]

If the oil companies aren't gouging then who is? And there is no way you would even come close in making up the difference you pay at the pump with the small amount you might gain in your IRA. Unless you work for an oil company maybe. Record profits over and over again but they aren't gouging? Paaaleeaasse Oh wait maybe they aren't; Maybe bp is passing on the cost of cleaning up the gulf to us.. SMH

CEOs of oil companies and gas station owners aren't going to bed every night dreaming about what they should charge next for gasoline. In another word, that 3.65 you paid for gas wasn't a random number the gas station owner picked for the day. Just saying...

[CODbasser]

Why does anyone have to be gouging us? Oil is sold on/in the commodities market. It is basically an auction, and similar in some ways to the stock market. If traders think the price of oil is going to skyrocket, they will pay a higher price. Oil companies need a certain volume of oil to meet production schedules. If the price is driven higher, they have little choice but to pay the higher price, or cut production.

OPEC tries to achieve a minimum price per barrel by increasing or decreasing production. But in the end, they do not set the price. They send it to market, and they are at the mercy of market forces, be it boom or bust. It's speculation which drives the price, just like it drives the stock market.

I have no idea how old you are, but I'm old enough to remember gas wars and being able to buy gasoline (regular grade) for fifteen cents per gallon. Coke or Pepsi was a nickel from the soda machines. Candy bars were a nickel, and a loaf of bread was 12 cents. In 1966, the sticker price for a Pontiac GTO convertible with tri-power, four on the floor, a positraction rear end, and AM/FM radio, plus a few other options was around 2700 bucks.

Ted Williams was the first baseball player to get paid a hundred grand for a season.

Here's an idea. Let's do away with the tax breaks for big oil. Let's make it more expensive for them to produce a gallon of gasoline as a result, not to mention all the other products. Guess who will foot the bill for that extra cost? How 'bout this? Let's tax the oil companies twenty five cents for every gallon of gasoline they produce. When some suggest doing away with tax breaks, subsidies or whatever, it amounts to the same thing.

Are you a lobbyist for an oil comapny? lol jk. If speculation drives the price, then how does it hit the pump so fast? We hear about something happening on the news in the middle east and before you know it, gas just jumped 10-20 cents on the gallon. A hurricane, earthquake, politcal move in washington, tsunami ect ect is not gonna make people start buying all the oil they can get their hands on. Speculation benifits the people at the top and they take advantage of it. The price swings are to large, not to mention the reserve of oil that is said to be stockpiled. And i am aware, that at times, there is a major disconnect between the cost of a barrel of oil and the price at the pump. But who is the middle man? This discussion could go on forever and in most cases, not all, but most; conservative republicans will be on one side and democrats on the other. I am neither, I'm not a fan of any of the politicians, I just vote for the one i hate the least. I dont support taxing big oil, obviously that will cost yours truly more in the long run; but basically stating that the cost of a gallon of fuel is out of the hands of big oil is rediculous. When i started driving gas was $.79 a gallon, im not sure what age or knowing what things costed 50 years ago has to do with $100 fill ups and hobbies being set aside because of it. It's alot easier to make your argument when the cost probably doesn't affect you as much as it does someone that only make 35k a year. Just making an assumption by assuming you are in a good place financially. Please correct me if i am wrong.

[agssebvtsece]

Price's aren't changing my fishing locations at all. $2 or $5 I'm still going to the lakes I want and hunting the area's I want. You only live once. Just tighten the budget and you'll be fine.

[Root beer]

Are you a lobbyist for an oil comapny? lol jk. If speculation drives the price, then how does it hit the pump so fast? We hear about something happening on the news in the middle east and before you know it, gas just jumped 10-20 cents on the gallon. A hurricane, earthquake, politcal move in washington, tsunami ect ect is not gonna make people start buying all the oil they can get their hands on. Speculation benifits the people at the top and they take advantage of it. The price swings are to large, not to mention the reserve of oil that is said to be stockpiled. And i am aware, that at times, there is a major disconnect between the cost of a barrel of oil and the price at the pump. But who is the middle man? This discussion could go on forever and in most cases, not all, but most; conservative republicans will be on one side and democrats on the other. I am neither, I'm not a fan of any of the politicians, I just vote for the one i hate the least. I dont support taxing big oil, obviously that will cost yours truly more in the long run; but basically stating that the cost of a gallon of fuel is out of the hands of big oil is rediculous. When i started driving gas was $.79 a gallon, im not sure what age or knowing what things costed 50 years ago has to do with $100 fill ups and hobbies being set aside because of it. It's alot easier to make your argument when the cost probably doesn't affect you as much as it does someone that only make 35k a year. Just making an assumption by assuming you are in a good place financially. Please correct me if i am wrong.

Because the gas station owners are expected to pay more for oil on the next delivery. Price changes more rapidly these days with new technology. The price of oil is global. granted a deadly tidal wave in Japan does not make Americans buy more oil, but speculators believes it will disrupt the supply globally. The Dodd-Frank bill has given power to people that monitor derivatives and commodity markets to help devise a bill that will help regulate unnecessary speculation. Unfortunately, that is not an easy task. Speculations does not always benefit people at the top. A farmer with your income could make a killer off speculation. Hell, I'm a 21 year old kid and I made a decent profit off speculation. I cannot complain, but I'm getting taking to the cleaner on another stock. Thank goodness I'm making money elsewhere to make that loss somewhat irrelevant. I used to own Ford Motor and I was force to sell it due to a contract that I entered and the fees ended up giving me a loss, and if I hadn't entered that contract I would made a good profit in very short time. Because I bought it around $4 and some change, right? The next month after I was force to sell, the government initiated the Cash for Clunker program and Ford Motor soared to 15.00 a share. I sat there with palm on head shaking in disappointment. lol. Oh well, it only money. There is more to life than money.

Just wait until someone gets the balls to get alternative energy rolling. Oil will collapsed and speculators will push price of alternative energy up because it will be the new trend. lol.

[CODbasser]

The price of alternative energy is already rediculous... If it doesn't get cheaper, it will never take off. Apologies for the political reference in my post above; i just read the forum rule lol...i'm guessing it will get deleted.

[bilgerat]

Just wait until someone gets the balls to get alternative energy rolling. Oil will collapsed and speculators will push price of alternative energy up because it will be the new trend. lol.

[Root beer]

The price of alternative energy is already rediculous... If it doesn't get cheaper, it will never take off. Apologies for the political reference in my post above; i just read the forum rule lol...i'm guessing it will get deleted.

It needs a little competition among firms. Think, computers back in 80s and early 90s were expensive, over $1,000s of dollars, right? You can buy one for $200 bucks now. Just give it time and when it gets more investors and tax incentive to invests more and greater demand will create more firms to rise to the occasion. At least in theory.

[CODbasser]

It needs a little competition among firms. Think, computers back in 80s and early 90s were expensive, over $1,000s of dollars, right? You can buy one for $200 bucks now. Just give it time and when it gets more investors and tax incentive to invests more and greater demand will create more firms to rise to the occasion. At least in theory.

I hope so, I am debating on taking a few alternative energy classes just incase. Mostly photovalic cells and wind turbines for starters. At the time being, solar power is terribly inefficient; i think it's something like 20% efficiency on most systems. If batteries get better it will improve alot of things. They are starting to get better now. Who knows where we will be in 5 or 10 years! Hopefully!

[Long Mike]

The is a vast difference between "profit" and "profit margin." I just checked Exxon Mobile financials. It's first quarter "profit" was $10.65 billion. It's revenues (sales) were $112.6 billion. It's "profit margin" was only 9.5%. For you mathematically challenged, that means the company spent $101.95 billion paying for goods, services, salaries and taxes. That's an awful lot of money being poured into our economy.

Let's put it into perspective. Assume I have a small company that had sales of $1 million and I had the same profit margin as Exxon's, i.e. 9.5%. That means that I would have spent (added to the economy) $905,000 to make a profit of $95,000.

[CODbasser]

The is a vast difference between "profit" and "profit margin." I just checked Exxon Mobile financials. It's first quarter "profit" was $10.65 billion. It's revenues (sales) were $112.6 billion. It's "profit margin" was only 9.5%. For you mathematically challenged, that means the company spent $101.95 billion paying for goods, services, salaries and taxes. That's an awful lot of money being poured into our economy.

Let's put it into perspective. Assume I have a small company that had sales of $1 million and I had the same profit margin as Exxon's, i.e. 9.5%. That means that I would have spent (added to the economy) $905,000 to make a profit of $95,000.

Wonder how much of that 101.95 billion went into wealthy executives pockets? I'm sure those expenses include saleries? Am i wrong to think that the profit margin is what effects the stock holder?Saleries and bonus are not included in this margin right? We are all aware that we need oil and oil needs us. That isn't what is in question. Profit margin isn't the issue, it's being able to get to the lake or work without feeling guilty about it or sacrificing other things.

[Root beer]

In another word, for every dollar of revenue 9 cents is profit.

Jfriendva, The profit margin is after salary and compensation. Salary expenses are deducted to arrive at their taxable income too. Profit margin is for stock valuation purpose, but managers inside the firm will use them too to measure performance. I don't feel like it, but Exxon Mobile stock ticker is XOM I think? In the income statement under Operating Expenses you should find an account titled "Selling, General, and Administrative expense" or something along that line. Usually executives salaries are listed under there. But don't assume that number is entirely made up of salaries. Advertising expense and other craps are lump sum with salary in that account too.

Edit: Almost forgot, I hear you on the sacrifice part. Oh well.

[Fishing Rhino]

Because the gas station owners are expected to pay more for oil on the next delivery. Price changes more rapidly these days with new technology. The price of oil is global. granted a deadly tidal wave in Japan does not make Americans buy more oil, but speculators believes it will disrupt the supply globally. The Dodd-Frank bill has given power to people that monitor derivatives and commodity markets to help devise a bill that will help regulate unnecessary speculation. Unfortunately, that is not an easy task. Speculations does not always benefit people at the top. A farmer with your income could make a killer off speculation. Hell, I'm a 21 year old kid and I made a decent profit off speculation. I cannot complain, but I'm getting taking to the cleaner on another stock. Thank goodness I'm making money elsewhere to make that loss somewhat irrelevant. I used to own Ford Motor and I was force to sell it due to a contract that I entered and the fees ended up giving me a loss, and if I hadn't entered that contract I would made a good profit in very short time. Because I bought it around $4 and some change, right? The next month after I was force to sell, the government initiated the Cash for Clunker program and Ford Motor soared to 15.00 a share. I sat there with palm on head shaking in disappointment. lol. Oh well, it only money. There is more to life than money.

Just wait until someone gets the balls to get alternative energy rolling. Oil will collapsed and speculators will push price of alternative energy up because it will be the new trend. lol.

The Dodd-Frank bill is smoke and mirrors. If the market was controlled by the U.S. then the government could actually regulate the commerce in oil. I'm not saying that would be a good or bad thing. Just saying it would be possible. But, trading takes place on a worldwide scale, and U.S. legislation does not govern the world. It's going to take a lot more than "balls" to get alternative energy rolling. It's going to take technology and knowlege that can actually make it a practical alternative, that can legitimately compete with the energy produced by oil, coal, or natural gas, legitimately being the key word.

As long as it takes incentives, be they tax credits or whatever to "compete" with oil, coal, or natural gas, the alternatives do not legitimately compete on their own merits.

I take my Nitro Z7 out once a week. Whether I can afford to do it more often or not is moot. I cannot justify spending the fifty bucks or so it costs to tow the boat to the waters on which I use it per trip. The boat only uses two or three gallons per trip, vs the ten gallons, give or take for the tow vehicle, round trip.

I am fortunate that the most productive water I fish is only minutes from my door, and I fish it from a canoe. I feel for those who do not have that alternative.

An interesting aside. Following the oil embargo, the Massachusetts politicians linked the tax rate to the price of fuel at the pump. Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. The price at the pump started to decline from the record highs of the gas lines days.

Ooops. The pols, seeing that their legislation would actually result in lower taxes and revenues, revoked their law which they expected would automatically raise the tax on fuel without them actually having to repeatedly pass legislation to "enhance revenues".

[tyrius.]

If the oil companies aren't gouging then who is?

Nobody is. Both Oil and Unleaded gasoline are commodities that are traded on the futures markets. These markets are what determines the price you pay at the pump. The big oil companies are also little players compared to the state owned oil companies.

What's really shown here is a basic lack of understanding of markets and economics. But it's easy to blame someone else so if that's all you to do then have at it.

[Hookemdown.]

I wish everyone would listen to guys like Long Mike, tyrius, and rootbeer. Seriously... stop talking about things you don't have a clue about and just listen.

And even if gas prices were $350 a gal and the oil companies were making a 99% profit margin. THAT'S CAPITALISM. If you don't want it, you don't HAVE to buy it. (Better yet, stop complaining and come up with something better, or just go pump the oil out of the ground yourself.) Gasoline is NOT a necessity (this even holds true for trucking companies, airlines, etc). I drive a gas guzzling Chevy. I'm a poor college student and home is 200 mi away. If I don't have the money to buy a tank of gas, I don't drive home. Simple as that.

Tip: Buy a nice bicycle. I paid $600 (read 6 tanks of gas) for a Specialized. It's saved me money, and it's healthy too.

[SirSnookalot]

I wish everyone would listen to guys like Long Mike, tyrius, and rootbeer. Seriously... stop talking about things you don't have a clue about and just listen.

And even if gas prices were $350 a gal and the oil companies were making a 99% profit margin. THAT'S CAPITALISM. If you don't want it, you don't HAVE to buy it. (Better yet, stop complaining and come up with something better, or just go pump the oil out of the ground yourself.) Gasoline is NOT a necessity (this even holds true for trucking companies, airlines, etc). I drive a gas guzzling Chevy. I'm a poor college student and home is 200 mi away. If I don't have the money to buy a tank of gas, I don't drive home. Simple as that.

Tip: Buy a nice bicycle. I paid $600 (read 6 tanks of gas) for a Specialized. It's saved me money, and it's healthy too.

If gas is not a necessity I don't know what is. People need it to get to from their work, take their kids to the Dr. etc etc. The food you eat moves on the backs of trucks and the bike you bought didn't peddle itself to the store where you purchased it.

True some people don't need gas to fish or can get away using less, now we are talking luxury and not necessity.

[dave]

I wish everyone would listen to guys like Long Mike, tyrius, and rootbeer. Seriously... stop talking about things you don't have a clue about and just listen.

And even if gas prices were $350 a gal and the oil companies were making a 99% profit margin. THAT'S CAPITALISM. If you don't want it, you don't HAVE to buy it. (Better yet, stop complaining and come up with something better, or just go pump the oil out of the ground yourself.) Gasoline is NOT a necessity (this even holds true for trucking companies, airlines, etc). I drive a gas guzzling Chevy. I'm a poor college student and home is 200 mi away. If I don't have the money to buy a tank of gas, I don't drive home. Simple as that.

Tip: Buy a nice bicycle. I paid $600 (read 6 tanks of gas) for a Specialized. It's saved me money, and it's healthy too.

Spoken like someone with no idea. Talk about not having a clue.