Diesel Prices, here we go again

[george]

If everybody in America got a Shell credit card, and ran up a lot of gas charges for a month, and then nobody paid the bill, I wonder what would happen. [/QUOTE







Everybody in America's credit rating would take a hit followed by collection agencies ringing the phone and sending out letters. You know, the same thing that happens if you don't pay any bill.

 

[Tractorat]

Yup, Everyones credit rating would take a hit. But it would bring down Shell. And Im pretty sure that with the mass of people not paying that bill, the credit ratings would probably not be affected. The reason it wont happen is because EVERYONE would have to participate.

BTW, we are in a state of war with the gas companies. They are taking advantage of the fact that, if we stop using their products, we will be in utter kaos. With the number of people in this country, and that fact that EVERYTHING is dependant on fossil fuel and will be for the forseeable future (realistic alternate fuels are at least decades away) we are stuck. Throughout history, when faced with this great a theat, people put up with more than a credit rating hit to fight back.

Just my 2 cents

 

[AKaiser]

I 95 Richmond to Fayetteville NC. Friday night (4 may), no patrols, and traffic was rolling 80-95 MPH. Trucks w/o speed controll were rolling 80-85MPH. 70% of traffic was rolling over 75MPH. I was getting passed like I was sitting still. The largest percentage of vehicles that were passing me would be averaging 12MPG or less at these speed. The trucks 4MPG or less. .

It was amazing the numer of Vans, excursons, Yukon and LARGE SUV rolling FAST!



The price of diesel has made me conserve, but that is not an universal idea yet. I still remember the Jimmy Carter years



I am driving the smallest vehicle with best MPG I have every trip.



Wayne

I hate to say it, but our 70+ MPH speed limits are not helping. I'm not advocating 55 on the interstate, but an enforced 65 MPH for autos and 60 for trucks would cut fuel consumption and perhaps get people to rethink their long commutes. I'm looking now at a backroad route that will get me home from work in the evening. I drive 30 minutes interstate driving (I-65 from Indy south to Edinburgh, IN) one way to work, but if you're doing less than 70, you're holding up better than half the semis, let alone every other 4 wheeler who wants to do 80. There are several guys out there who are nuts enough to try to drive 60 on the same highway. I will, but I try not to hold up the truckers who make their hard earned $ driving.



I got passed today on IN 252, in sleepy little Endinburgh by some schmuck trying to get to work two minutes faster. #@$%! He passed me doing 50 in a 40 on the E side, and passed a Ram CTD Cummins service truck doing 35 in a 30 right down thru Edinburgh. He made it thru the US 31 light, but we didn't. When I got to the main gate here at Cp. Atterbury, he was only two vehicles ahead in line. So, essentially, he broke the speed law twice in town to gain 10 seconds in a 5 mile stretch. Serves him right. :-laf BTW, it was a Dodge gasser, 2 gen. Hope he likes paying $3. 25 plus for gas at sub 15 MPGs. I got 19. 4 on my last tank. B2 has been good to me.

 

[JGrefenstette]

in northern virginia diesel is running bout $2. 89 gal, and regular is bout $3. 07. does anyone know why diesel has dropped below gas? i mean, this is the way its supposed to be and allways should have been. over the last few years i guess things have been really out of wack and diesel was more expensive, but i just want to know why its gone back down?

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Regular unleaded here is now $3. 50/gal and diesel is at $2. 89. Sure feels good to be on the cheaper side of the equation again - for now anyways.

 

[monkeyman]

In North Suburb of Chicago Diesel is $2. 89 Regular gas $3. 49. Diesel is cheaper now as they are not producing home heating oil. Wait!... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....

 

[BTowler]

in northern virginia diesel is running bout $2. 89 gal, and regular is bout $3. 07. does anyone know why diesel has dropped below gas? i mean, this is the way its supposed to be and allways should have been. over the last few years i guess things have been really out of wack and diesel was more expensive, but i just want to know why its gone back down?

Diesel hasn't gone down, gas has gone up. There is no reason why diesel should be more than gas, other than greed.

 

[Kennywould]

$2. 89 here at Kwik Fill Beaver County, $2. 94 at Exxon Rt 910 at Wexford exit Int #79

 

[BTowler]

$2. 67 at Shell, IH35 and O'connor Rd.

 

[RDusch]

Just filled up today just west of Emporia Va. $2. 51, gas was 3. 19 for reg.

Rick

 

[AMink]

$2. 89-$2. 93 in Reno/Sparks for diesel. Gas is 3 something.

 

[Jakebud]

BTowler



There are plenty of reasons why diesel could either be higher or lower than gasoline products on any given day. It has to do with supply and demand. If say construction, railroads, trucking, railroads, private vehicles using more, the price goes up. Oh, yes, jet fuel is a product very similar to diesel. Now, we are enjoying a relatively slack level in diesel prices compared to gas. I love watching the market work, and it is doing so gloriously! As I understand it, there is some, but not a lot, of flexibility in what a refinerey can do with a given barrel of crude in varying what products are derived from said crude.



Are we as consumers being gouged? I think not, as we willingly go to the pumps to purchase fuel, and use it freely as we always have.



SPIKE

 

[BTowler]

Spike, it takes less crude to produce diesel, there is no advertising costs tied to diesel from any major oil company (unlike gas, Chevron being a prime example), and if the cost is in direct relation to a barrel of oil, why has diesel been so high, but once gas started going up it passed diesel and diesel went up slightly, then stayed put! Plain and simple, it is greed! The oil companies have decided to gouge on prices (if you think they aren't, you are deluding yourself) and they have decided to raise diesel prices to an artificial high, but won't take it any further because the entire country would basically shut down. A good friend of mine is a freight broker, he has a hard time getting drivers for loads and is shutting his office down and having his seceratary work out of her home ( he's not a small time operation either). The reason, diesel prices! Have you been to the grocery store lately? Prices are going through the roof! Why? Transportation & diesel cost for farmers! And I don't know where you are living, but I hear people making the choice between groceries and fuel to get to work often!



American corporations have been pushing the limits of what they can get away with for quite some time and have finally realized they are in power, not our useless p. o. s. government! Do you really think the C. E. O. of any major oil company feels the pinch like normal citizens? He couldn't give a rat's a** about us!



I am a small business owner (not to mention heavily invested in oil and gas), and have nothing against a fair profit, but big oil has taken it to far, and I am sorry, yes they are gouging and it is wrong!



Once again, if you calculate based on the price of a gallon of crude to a gallon of gas, then a barrel should be around $100. 00! Look it up, tell me what it is going for, then look up a year ago and do the math, we are getting screwed!

 

[RGardner]

Local prices for crude are not as high as the "futures prices" that everything seems to be tied to! Big Oil is making Obscene profits and there it darned little we can do about it. Big Oil has bought and paid for politicians from both parties clear down to your local dog catcher!

 

[Jakebud]

BT



I understand that in theory, diesel does cost less to produce than gasoline. However, said relative ease of production is not the whole story. Notice that there is an increasing number of diesel vehicles here in the States, and especially places like Eurpore as a for instance. Jet aircraft use fuel that is virtually similar to diesel, and if you haven't noticed, the airline industry is humming right along, and our Air Force among others uses a lot of jet fuel every day. What does that mean? Demand. Demand that in a free market is driving the price of the product globally. I seem to recall from my macro economics class in college that a business will serve itself well by charging for its product a price that the market willl bear. That seems to be exactly what is happening. If demand were lower for a given product, the price will inevitably drop. Demand is high, and we as Americans are not detered by the current price of fuel from the discretionary driving that we all do. We are collectively spoiled by the low price of fuel that we have historically paid. Now, we are paying the same in current year dollars that we paid back in 81 I think it was. We are not being gouged, because we willingly go to the pumps and pay the price asked. If we didn't do that, the price will drop. If you were being gouged, you would not do any discretionary driving at all. But, I suspect that is not the case.



You mention that "corporations are in power, not our p. o. s government. " Well, that is a rather disgusting comment for two reasons. First, it is a government that we elected, and as member of the USAF for 23 years, it represents a constitution I have been sworn to defend. Second, said government is playing the role it should here. That being essentially nothing save for sitting back and watching, as it should.



Who cares what the price of gas is relative to a barrel of crude? Oil companies are in business to make money, not run a charity. Who are we to say how much or how little they can earn? I'm sure that if they were losing money, you wouldn't be screaming for help to support them!



SPIKE

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Guess they're gouging us here on diesel again. Most stations are $3. 15 in Tri Cities WA, some down to $3. 05, others up to $3. 20