Is all the griping and complaining about the price of gas for naught?

It’s odd that people in the U.S. complain about gas prices. First of all, prices in the U.S. are signifcantly lower than in Europe. Second, it’s artificially low relative to the environmental costs. We should be paying ridiculous taxes on gasoline.

Gas prices are volatile, they fluctuate wildly from month to month, week to week. A few weeks ago gas in LA went up 50 cents a gallon in less than a week, as oil companies shipped tankers of gasoline from Long Beach to Mexico.

But overall, they have not increased much in ten years. And, there are quite few hybrids out here anyway.

But as I see prices vary by $0.25 a gallon at stations relatively close to each other, is it worth it to go 15 minutes out of my way to save 25 cents a gallon for 12 gallons? That’s three dollars, less than the price of an iced tea at Starbucks.

Gas demand is rather price inelastic, anyway. But cars bought in the last five years are a lot more fuel efficient, making the total outlay not as great as driving a 1972 Pontiac Grand Fury with a 455 four barrel V8 (like my mom used to drive.)

I am happy I finally got a chance to gloat for about a week when Diesel was cheaper than regular gas! It does appear that every Thursday the gas prices jump up by 30 cents at about 3pm. The Gas Stations kind of watch each other and do it all at once around here. Except for Diesel, which has been steadily coming down in price all summer. This morning Regular was $2.30/gal which makes my wife happy as she commutes to work.

In America, driving large vehicle is seen as a God-given right, and people feel so entitled to their “living room on wheels” vehicles that they complain every time they are confronted with the consequences; after all, something that is a birthright should be consequence-free.

It doesn’t help that when most people think “hybrid” they thing something small like a Prius. Many full-sized trucks are now getting hybrid versions, not for better MPG, but for better towing due to the torque electric motors produce at low RPM. That same torque that allows the Tesla Model S, a car as large and luxurious as a BMW 7-series, to accelerate from 0–60 in under 3 seconds while many gas-burning “performance” cars have a hard time doing the same thing in twice that time.

To many, “economical” vehicles are small, slow, and weak, and therefore un-American.

We also take some pride in waste. There are some with diesel trucks who pay hundreds/thousands of dollars to modify their exhaust systems so that they can shoot big clouds of black smoke, and they prefer to “roll coal” on hybrids, bicyclists, and pedestrians, taking pride in their pollution.

It all boils down to self-entitlement.

My old car rolls coal naturally without any modifications. At least until this afternoon. I was on the freeway struggling to keep up with traffic, and then suddenly it started being pretty easy to stay with the flow. It is still slow but it runs different and happier. i believe a hunk of crud in the fuel system finally worked it’s way through the system and isn’t clogging stuff up any more. A two plus ton car with a 67 horsepower engine able to make 80 and gets 28 MPG. A technical marvel in 1978. Back to the topic though. A big chunk of the price of American fuel is taxes and the dealers run on a razor thin margin. I have yet to puzzle out why the price fluxuates at all the stations at the same time because they for darned sure aren’t getting deliveries at the same time. I do feel entitled, due to the size of our country to a car that can traverse distances, get reasonable gas mileage and be able to achieve speeds to make the time from KC to Denver a few hours shorter.

^ I do feel entitled, due to the size of our country to a car that can traverse distances, get reasonable gas mileage and be able to achieve speeds to make the time from KC to Denver a few hours shorter.
Because this nation hoodwinked, cheated, and outright stole this land from the Native Americans making it so large, everyone should be able to drive from end to end on the price of a Happy Meal? It doesn’t matter how expensive the gas gets, be it taxes or greed, people are not giving up their cars, they are not down-sizing, fight tooth and nail to ride share. Driving is not like breathing where if somehow you were being charged for breathing you would have no choice. People certainly are not being fined for using too much gas as they are in places in California, if you want to play you pay what is so wrong with that, especially if you keep playing the game?

^^ Because this nation hoodwinked, cheated, and outright stole this land from the Native Americans making it so large, everyone should be able to drive from end to end on the price of a Happy Meal?

Are you saying our country is too big? Should we give some of it back? How obtuse can you get?! Every country on earth was enlarged or shaped by conquest. or did you sleep a lot in grade school?

If I want to drive a family truckster, and can afford it, I should be allowed to drive as fast as I feel it is safe to drive. Obviously passing your Yugo very early on. or would you take the train? Oh wait, you hate progress by conquest. Bus? Wait Same deal (henry ford). Hmm looks like I get where I can afford to go faster than your intolerance will take you.

For out of town travel, I would much prefer to take a train, and if need be, rent a car on the other end. If more people did this, I imagine prices would drop and this luxurious compromise between a grueling drive and a stressful flight would be more affordable than it is today.

@majorrich Are you saying our country is too big? Should we give some of it back?
Are you hard of hearing or weak in comprehending? Did I say the US should give back any of which was stolen? I did not mention anything to the fact. Neither did I say this nation was too big. I guess if we are going to misread minds, I can reckon you believe it isn’t large enough.

Every country on earth was enlarged or shaped by conquest. or did you sleep a lot in grade school?
Oh wow….. that was a creative dig. Many nations were preserved against oppression because the citizens had guns, you can bet this nation would not be taken easy because the citizens have guns and said citizens will be protection your rights as well. That is another matter though.

Hmm looks like I get where I can afford to go faster than your intolerance will take you.
I have no intolerance to people driving, but you seem to be threatened that someone would have the audacity to challenge your use of the iron horse. All I am saying is since the nation is so large and no one wants to use methods other than their personal cars, there is a price for that, what you pay at the pump.

@Hypocrisy_Central An excellent meaty exchange here. We are in agreement about guns, which I like a lot. Lots of antipathy towards personally owned ordinance on this place! But my allusion to conquest was in Europe, as Prussia and several other countries became Germany through pitched battle, France (Ooh La la) through conquest. Etc. I too never mentioned guns but you got ‘er in there.

I mentioned alternatives to my iron horse. Railroads were built using some of the most ruthless land grabbing and underhanded methods imaginable in the modern age, and were driven to obscurity by equally underhanded means by Henry Ford et.all. Resulting in the loss of small commuter rail service all over the fruited plane. (Limbaugh-esque as it sounds) replaced by the Bus, just another iron Clydesdale.

I even said you pay to play. Read me again. We basically say the same things. I’m just a bit subtle. I will try to hammer my points harder in other Social topics.

Did you like the Yugo bit?

^ Railroads were built using some of the most ruthless land grabbing and underhanded methods imaginable in the modern age,
Not to mentio0n de facto slave labor.

Did you like the Yugo bit?
The attempt you go there about the Yugo was interesting because so many forgot the Yugo already. The only two economy cars I think I ever owned was a Honda Civic, and a Hyundai GS, boy that car had some welly but was still good on petro. Myself, I am more of a muscle car man but I know it I ever bought another no use complaining, I will visit the pump often, and deep of pocket.

Man! the Yugo.. Something about a car that is already rusty when you take delivery. Most of my cars (save the Merc) only have 10 gallon tanks so it’s 3.00 difference to fill up when the price jumps. Not much of a worry. I am happy that we are over a dollar down from earlier this year. I had one of the early Civics when they were really tiny. It burned oil like Kuwait, but it was all I could afford at the time. I remember taking it in when a local dealer made the error of having a $5000 trade in on any car. We went with Dad’s car, but traded my old CVCC in. They were really disappointed with me.