Gas will NEVER be more then $9.99 a gallon.

[vegassatellite]

I would like to see this country embark on an alternative energy project the likes of which we saw with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Put up wind farms wherever the wind don't stop.

35 square miles of solar farm in both Arizona and Nevada.

Put people to work building something big that'll bring the cost of energy down.

 

[darrencp22]

We'll have a revolution and massive depression before that happens.

 

[truckracer]

Folks, I hate to tell you, but oil is NOT scarce. It is just "not allowed to be touched".
Neither is natural gas. The world is loaded beyond belief.

Why should an oil company invest billions in more infrastructure to pump and supply more to more cars and people when they can simply set back, make due with old outdated existing infrastructure and make a lot more money.

 

[long_time_DNC]

I don't see many fewer cars on the freeway...obviously people haven't hit the "tip-over" point yet.

At some point, the economy won't be able to sustain the rise in gas prices and that'll be the "tip-over" point. Food prices will exceed what people can afford and then the present reccession turns into depression.

We should've been developing alternative means of powering cars 20-25 years ago when the price went over $1/gal, then we wouldn't be in this situation...

 

[Stargazer]

People waiting until the last minute to do anything about it. We should have started at least after 9/11 when gas prices went up then. That is almost 7 years ago. The only thing we have seen is hybrids and expensive electric vehicles. These vehicles does not save anyone any money because you pay more upfront than what you would save in gas.

10 years ago nobody thought that gas would go up to $4-5 per gallon and now that we have reached that point nobody thinks it will reach $10-20 per gallon? I think when it costs around $100 or more to fillup a car it will cause more devastating effects. Some people require a tank of gas to work each week and make no more than around $200 per week at minimum wage. People cannot afford to work and pay their bills on that. Rent is higher in town and I imagine landlords will take advantage of more people wanting to move to town by raising rent as there will be more shortages of places to stay.

 

[Hall]

I don't see many fewer cars on the freeway...

Drive by most used-car lots and see what percentage they have of cars vs trucks (std trucks, SUVs, etc).

 

[long_time_DNC]

Drive by most used-car lots and see what percentage they have of cars vs trucks (std trucks, SUVs, etc).

Guess I should've said "vehicles" rather than "cars".

Yep, people are trading in the big trucks and suv's for smaller trucks and mid-size to small cars to get more mpg's, and their doing it in record numbers...

 

[Stargazer]

If they are doing it in record numbers then car companies should be seeing an increase in sales unless people are trading in used vehicles for other used vehicles.

 

[DerekE]

What you do see is less everywhere else, the line at starbucks is shorter than ever. Most car dealerships around here can't BUY a sale unless it's a hybrid. Even the highway seems a lot less crowded during rush hour while bus ridership is skyrocketing.

 

[xzi]

remember full service gas stations? i dont

Move to New Jersey

They won't check your oil, though.

 

[Hall]

Even the highway seems a lot less crowded during rush hour while bus ridership is skyrocketing.

What you have to realize is that most metro areas don't have public transport systems that "replace" a personal vehicle that well. People at work discuss things like taking the bus instead of driving. Problem is, your travel time will quadruple or more, go far out of the way vs a direct route, and even then, you may have to walk a distance as there's no bus stop nearby.

 

[vegassatellite]

Move to New Jersey

They won't check your oil, though.

IIRC, it's against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon.

 

[DerekE]

What you have to realize is that most metro areas don't have public transport systems that "replace" a personal vehicle that well. People at work discuss things like taking the bus instead of driving. Problem is, your travel time will quadruple or more, go far out of the way vs a direct route, and even then, you may have to walk a distance as there's no bus stop nearby.

I know that was the case for me for a long time. Now I have a job that's 3 miles one way by car. And a car that gets pretty decent gas mileage (28 MPG average last I checked) so I'm not too concerned. However that doesn't prevent me from paying skyrocketing prices on everything else that's affected.

 

[TNGTony]

What you have to realize is that most metro areas don't have public transport systems that "replace" a personal vehicle that well. People at work discuss things like taking the bus instead of driving. Problem is, your travel time will quadruple or more, go far out of the way vs a direct route, and even then, you may have to walk a distance as there's no bus stop nearby.

Case in point... I live a 30 minute walk from the nearest bus stop (U could drive to it, but then I'm already half way to work! I would have to take the bus south to nearly downtown cincinnati. I would then need to take a cross town connection to go over four blocks to then catch another bus to take me north to the nearest bust stop to work which is a 10 minute walk away. Total trip time, about 2 and a half hours each way. Cost, about 4 bucks each way. If I get in my car and drive to work 10 minutes. Total cost at 50 cents a mile, about $3 each way. --- let me think about this a second... ummmmm... SCREW THE BUS!

I could walk to work in about two hours. I could bike to work in 30 minutes the first day and in 4 weeks the second day (after being discharged from the hospital for a myocardial infarction)

Now I will take the bus down the the Bengal's games. 25 minute bus ride and no parking to worry about for $10 round trip. That is when I don't have a tailgate to go to!

See ya
Tony

 

[HD MM]

You may think that in your lifetime, gas will soar to $10,20 maybe $30 a gallon. But lets look at reality here.

1. If gas was 9.99 a gallon. There would be an all-out civil war for the price of gas, airlines,trains, etc couldnt afford fuel.

2. 100% of all the gas stations have pumps and signs that only go up to 9.99. So millions would be spent for everyone to have new 4 digit signs.
The gas companies would suffer great losses to all the sign purchasing.

So when you drive by the gas station, sigh, and think to yourself
"Why did i buy this 15 mpg suv??!?!" and know that gas will never exceed 9.99 a gallon.

You cannot logically make a prediction like that, especially with the two weak supporting statements you provided. Here's why........

You didn't take into account inflation, supply & demand or population growth among other things.

Just 9 years ago in 1999, I remember filling up for .99 cents a gallon. What happened? Cheap gas prices made owning a larger vehicle an afterthought. The SUV craze hit, soccer Moms bought minivans and it wasn't a big deal to own a huge truck that had lousy gas mpg. So today, there are more cars on the road burning more gas and demanding more fill ups. There are also more people driving and owning a vehicle. This is simply due to population increases that should be expected each year throughout time. Prices at the pump go up to accommodate the demand. Increases at the pump will also happen periodically to keep in line with inflation.

Today, a gallon of gasoline cost nearly $4. That's a 400% increase in 9 years (remember in 1999 it was .99 cents/gal). It would only take another 200.5% increase from where gas is at now ($4 x 2.5% = $10/gal) for us to reach the $10/gal mark.

For some of us, a lifetime would mean 75+ more years. You cannot logically say that it isn't possible that we won't see a 200.5% increase in those 75 years.

 

[jayn_j]

Drive by most used-car lots and see what percentage they have of cars vs trucks (std trucks, SUVs, etc).

I have noticed a big change in the car lots just this week. They used to have a couple of Focus's (Focii?) or Aveos stuffed in the back. Suddenly this week, the front row is filled with 20 of the smallest thing they sell. Seems to be happening at every car lot in town.

 

[long_time_DNC]

What's the lowest price gas you can remember?

I can remember, when I was kid and we were on a family vacation, seeing gas at 28.9 cents/gal.

Man, I never thought we'd be at $4.26/gal... This is insanity...

 

[Hall]

What's the lowest price gas you can remember

I honestly can't recall the price of gas when my parents were paying for it... it just didn't matter to me. The lowest price *I* recall paying was either $.69 or $.79 / gallon (I'm thinking more likely .79).

 

[Bob Haller]

29 cents a gallon, as young kid. could see a off brand gas station from my bedroom window using binoculars.

house had wonderful view.

dont fret about gas cost after about 40 years, thats when it will run out........

oil is a finite resource, that takes forever to replace........

soon gasoline will be over 5 bucks a gallon, just one gulf storm will do it

gasoline inventories are down

 

[maxkil41]

Has anyone taken into consideration that the way people drive also effects supply and demand? People are in such a rush. They drive as fast as possible from stop light to stop light, slamming on their brakes each time. This is a fast paced world we live in and people are paying for it at the pump.