Any Cali Members have any input on this?

[fnkngrv]

Running out of gas, stations in CA now inching toward $5/gallon prices

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/10/05/running-out-of-gas-stations-in-ca-now-inching-toward-5-gallon/

[tooter]

Our Thrifty (ARCO) gas station went from $3.99 to $4.57 in 2 days. :eek:

Luckily we don't use much gas with a 70 mpg motorcycle, and a 40 mpg car. The 25 mpg truck only gets used for local work. :smile:

[TPA5]

That's crazy. Disgusting, even. I'm sure the CEO's of big oil are still cruising in private jets and their precious sports cars.

[Brian]

I paid $4.38/gal on Thursday then on Friday it was $4.89/gal at the same gas station. Supposed to go up another $.05 - $.15 this weekend. Wish I didn't have to use premium.

[cali yaris]

You asked for input. Have you driven on our freeways? Widening is proven not to work.

Maybe more people will move closer to work. Maybe more people will change their choice in vehicle. This is what it takes, unfortunately.

[nookandcrannycar]

That's crazy. Disgusting, even. I'm sure the CEO's of big oil are still cruising in private jets and their precious sports cars.

:rolleyes: Given that they pretty much have us over a barrel literally and figuratively, oil companies should be able to charge enough for gas to have huge profit margins...gouging us. The net profit margin for Exxon Mobil for Fiscal Year 2011 was 8.68 percent. Apple Inc.'s net profit margin for the same period was 23.95 percent. Shouldn't people be nearly 3 times as pissed off at Apple as they are at Exxon Mobil? Why doesn't Apple lower it's prices to 'get with the program' and not be so 'greedy'? Why doesn't Apple have 3 times the 'static and noise' from protestors that Exxon Mobil does? (and an argument could be made that Foxconn's treatment of workers is as bad as Exxon Mobil's environmental slip ups). Why aren't people many more times as pissed off about Apple CEO Tim Cook's compensation as they are about Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson's much smaller compensation? A reporter stopped an Occupy Wall Street poster (who was typing on a MacBook Pro) and asked her why she was using a Macbook Pro given her stance. She didn't have a cogent answer. IMO, one of the answers to these questions is that many people think Apple is cool and Exxon Mobil is not. Also, people don't like to pay what they feel is a high price for something that they need that evaporates. One could make the argument that Apple products are somewhat like cigarettes or alcohol. Not a physical addiction like the other two, but some people seem to be nearly as obsessed. People don't need them, but some people seem to be nearly addicted to Apple products. Apple realizes this and can charge what they charge. People keep 'paying the fare'. Also, many people have oil company stock in personal accounts and retirement accounts. I just think the harping on oil company executives gets a little tiresome sometimes. FWIW, the only connection I have to any oil company is a very small fractional share of an oil lease that my grandfather inherited from a friend of his and I gross about 40 dollars per month in income from this fractional lease....and this is through a small company, not a big oil company. I just have the opinion I have. It isn't influenced by 40 dollars per month.

[MadMax]

Wow, I just paid $3.39/gal here in Texas, and I thought that was bad! At least our prices are going down (for a change).

You folks have my sympathy!

Cheers! M2

[fnkngrv]

You asked for input.

Yup, trying to understand what is going on in your state that is causing the national attention of the fuel pricing :w00t:

[Fidelio]

Ultimately we still pay less than most other countries. I think were people freak out is the part were the dummies drive big ass cars guzzling their wallet just to get to work. That 6 or 8 cylinder isn't cool. If people were smarter like us the majority would drive economical.

I have no sympathy for those that pay 60+ to fill up. I saw this coming since mid 2006. Its no shocker.

Besides wasn't it 420 earlier so what is another 40 cents? not much if you ask me.

[tooter]

Maybe more people will move closer to work.

I did something similar by moving work closer to me. I used to drive all over town to work. Now I work almost exclusively within my local community and it only took 10 years to transition.

Maybe more people will change their choice in vehicle. This is what it takes, unfortunately.

...or fortunately, if the vehicle is a zippy little fuel efficient Yaris. :smile:

[Gogogordy]

You asked for input. Have you driven on our freeways? Widening is proven not to work.

Maybe more people will move closer to work. Maybe more people will change their choice in vehicle. This is what it takes, unfortunately.

Well, they can charge it, because in California driving lotsa miles, in WHATEVER size vehicle you wish is considered a god-given right. If 30% of the motorists in California did NOT purchase gas for say 24 hrs, the price would drop. Dramatically. Unfortunately, nobody seems willing to do so.

If fewer people drove trucks and Suburbans etc., and more people drove smaller cars....28, 30, 35 mpg vehicles or scooters and motorcycles the price would drop. Few Californians seem willing to do so.

So, since people, lots of people are willing to buy gas to feed their large vehicles, and continue long commutes, the oil companies are going to take any and every opportunity to gouge them, and laugh all the way to the bank in the process.
So as long as the market will bear it, they'll continue to pay. Reduce the overall demand and the price goes down.

Econ 101.

[Bluevitz-rs]

Ultimately we still pay less than most other countries. I think were people freak out is the part were the dummies drive big ass cars guzzling their wallet just to get to work. That 6 or 8 cylinder isn't cool. If people were smarter like us the majority would drive economical.

I have no sympathy for those that pay 60+ to fill up. I saw this coming since mid 2006. Its no shocker.

Besides wasn't it 420 earlier so what is another 40 cents? not much if you ask me.

Geez, it cost almost that much to fill my Echo with regular.

[fnkngrv]

I have no sympathy for those that pay 60+ to fill up.
Besides wasn't it 420 earlier so what is another 40 cents? not much if you ask me.

I came in at just over 115 bucks to fill my Bronco a few days go :bellyroll: 26gal tank x $.40 = $10.40 per tank. Kind of adds up.

You can try to analyze and rationalize that everyone needs to just go economy, but there really are plenty of cases where of course that just won't work. Sure, I could have purchased a truck from the last couple years that gets around 18mpg mixed which is the real metric for everyday driving or 23mpg for highway, but that would cost me a 400+ payment a month, 30k plus for purchase price, and 600+ a year for registration/taxes. You can't haul much with high efficiency vehicles and you can carry much with them either in terms of items other than home, electronics, etc possessions.

The purpose of this thread is for the folks that live in Cali to chime in on their experiences there to get a better understanding not (to be blunt) have folks be ass clowns and point out the nuances of fuel economy/efficiency and what people should or shouldn't be driving.

That being said I guess I should go ahead and hook up my trailer to my sedan and go pick up the 14 sheets of sheetrock, 24 2x4x8s, and 2 interior door assemblies....no wait...:rolleyes:

[nookandcrannycar]

Well, they can charge it, because in California driving lotsa miles, in WHATEVER size vehicle you wish is considered a god-given right. If 30% of the motorists in California did NOT purchase gas for say 24 hrs, the price would drop. Dramatically. Unfortunately, nobody seems willing to do so.

If fewer people drove trucks and Suburbans etc., and more people drove smaller cars....28, 30, 35 mpg vehicles or scooters and motorcycles the price would drop. Few Californians seem willing to do so.

So, since people, lots of people are willing to buy gas to feed their large vehicles, and continue long commutes, the oil companies are going to take any and every opportunity to gouge them, and laugh all the way to the bank in the process.
So as long as the market will bear it, they'll continue to pay. Reduce the overall demand and the price goes down.

Econ 101.

...and the 'god given right' attitude is much worse in Texas, and there is more of a 'Suburban and Truck' culture in many areas. The wastefulness extends to other things as well. I was in the hospital for a couple of days in June (to get drip antibiotics for an issue that wasn't responding to oral medication) and the 'chef' (that's the way he introduced himself :rolleyes:) came up to ask me if everything was satisfactory. I said yes, the only small thing that was off was that I ordered half a sandwich and got a whole one. he said they include a whole sandwich whether you order a half or a whole sandwich (:rolleyes:). I said I only mentioned it because you asked and I thought it was a little wasteful. He said, "Oh, we don't care about that". He wasn't kidding. He wasn't trying to be ironic. He was dead serious. SMH inside.

However what would be worse, IMO, is the government getting involved in the 'god given right - Suburban and truck' scenario with a nanny state 'solution'.

[nookandcrannycar]

Well, they can charge it, because in California driving lotsa miles, in WHATEVER size vehicle you wish is considered a god-given right. If 30% of the motorists in California did NOT purchase gas for say 24 hrs, the price would drop. Dramatically. Unfortunately, nobody seems willing to do so.

If fewer people drove trucks and Suburbans etc., and more people drove smaller cars....28, 30, 35 mpg vehicles or scooters and motorcycles the price would drop. Few Californians seem willing to do so.

So, since people, lots of people are willing to buy gas to feed their large vehicles, and continue long commutes, the oil companies are going to take any and every opportunity to gouge them, and laugh all the way to the bank in the process.
So as long as the market will bear it, they'll continue to pay. Reduce the overall demand and the price goes down.

Econ 101.

:rolleyes: please explain to me how a net profit margin of 8.68 percent is gouging.

[jayeh]

Wow, I just paid $3.39/gal here in Texas, and I thought that was bad! At least our prices are going down (for a change).

You folks have my sympathy!

Cheers! M2

Its $5.32 per gallon here ($1.41 per L) where I am now for work! Better yet my work truck is a chevy suburban. I took a 45 minute drive on roads with 40-45-50mph speed limits and used over 18L of fuel! It was insane! I don't know how people own these kinds of cars and drive them everywhere!

[Gogogordy]

:rolleyes: please explain to me how a net profit margin of 8.68 percent is gouging.


Please explain to me where, and how 8.68 percent came up in my post...l
(oh and if you believe that the COST to produce gas has increased at the same rate the PRICE has here in Cali over the last week, and that the extra revenue derived from such increases doesn't go directly, penny for penny to the oil companies bottom line....I've got some beachfront property you'll like for next to nothing....)

[cali yaris]

It's also the state with the highest number of hybrids and I think sub-compacts anywhere (Scion iQ, Fiat 500, etc.)

Well, they can charge it, because in California driving lotsa miles, in WHATEVER size vehicle you wish is considered a god-given right. If 30% of the motorists in California did NOT purchase gas for say 24 hrs, the price would drop. Dramatically. Unfortunately, nobody seems willing to do so.

[cali yaris]

Here's what I don't understand.

1. All the gas stations raised their prices pretty much the same night. Right?
2. How is it they get to instantly charge the new price for the gas that's still in their tanks that they bought at the OLD price?

[fnkngrv]

^ exactly...it is a weird and unexplainable situation and no one makes the people held accountable as they should. When the gas started its hike the fall of 08 because of a storm coming there was a local station that actually hit 8 bucks a gallon and they did it to actually keep the chaos away from their establishment. So has there been any indication of the pricing dropping again anytime soon?

[nookandcrannycar]

Please explain to me where, and how 8.68 percent came up in my post...l
(oh and if you believe that the COST to produce gas has increased at the same rate the PRICE has here in Cali over the last week, and that the extra revenue derived from such increases doesn't go directly, penny for penny to the oil companies bottom line....I've got some beachfront property you'll like for next to nothing....)

See my post #6. 8.68 percent is the net profit margin for Exxon Mobil for Fiscal Year 2011. Apple's net profit margin for the same period was almost 24 percent. If one looks, historically, at the net profit margin of oil companies there are other businesses that have a much higher profit margin. That historical data will also INCLUDE the ebb and flow of different periods like what California is currently experiencing. People like to demonize oil companies. It's cool. And the usual reason is the price of gas. Oil companies might deserve to be demonized re spills and other things (as long as you also demonize other companies for their misdeeds), but oil companies don't deserve to be demonized for the price of gas. The data doesn't support it. The percentage of the cost of a gallon of gas that is the tax component is FAR higher than the oil company overhead component. You should complain to your state government. The tax component of a gallon of gas purchased in California is among the largest of all U.S. states.

[JumpmanYaris]

:rolleyes: Given that they pretty much have us over a barrel literally and figuratively, oil companies should be able to charge enough for gas to have huge profit margins...gouging us. The net profit margin for Exxon Mobil for Fiscal Year 2011 was 8.68 percent. Apple Inc.'s net profit margin for the same period was 23.95 percent. Shouldn't people be nearly 3 times as pissed off at Apple as they are at Exxon Mobil? Why doesn't Apple lower it's prices to 'get with the program' and not be so 'greedy'? Why doesn't Apple have 3 times the 'static and noise' from protestors that Exxon Mobil does? (and an argument could be made that Foxconn's treatment of workers is as bad as Exxon Mobil's environmental slip ups). Why aren't people many more times as pissed off about Apple CEO Tim Cook's compensation as they are about Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson's much smaller compensation? A reporter stopped an Occupy Wall Street poster (who was typing on a MacBook Pro) and asked her why she was using a Macbook Pro given her stance. She didn't have a cogent answer. IMO, one of the answers to these questions is that many people think Apple is cool and Exxon Mobil is not. Also, people don't like to pay what they feel is a high price for something that they need that evaporates. One could make the argument that Apple products are somewhat like cigarettes or alcohol. Not a physical addiction like the other two, but some people seem to be nearly as obsessed. People don't need them, but some people seem to be nearly addicted to Apple products. Apple realizes this and can charge what they charge. People keep 'paying the fare'. Also, many people have oil company stock in personal accounts and retirement accounts. I just think the harping on oil company executives gets a little tiresome sometimes. FWIW, the only connection I have to any oil company is a very small fractional share of an oil lease that my grandfather inherited from a friend of his and I gross about 40 dollars per month in income from this fractional lease....and this is through a small company, not a big oil company. I just have the opinion I have. It isn't influenced by 40 dollars per month.

man this gave me a headache

[nookandcrannycar]

^ exactly...it is a weird and unexplainable situation and no one makes the people held accountable as they should. When the gas started its hike the fall of 08 because of a storm coming there was a local station that actually hit 8 bucks a gallon and they did it to actually keep the chaos away from their establishment. So has there been any indication of the pricing dropping again anytime soon?

In 2009 31 states had anti gouging laws, including California. In most of these states, including California, the laws are so specifically drawn that hardly any companies ever get investigated or prosecuted. In 2005 only 50 cases in the entire state of California were even investigated....and the number of those that were prosecuted....zero.

[nookandcrannycar]

man this gave me a headache

my points are that: 1. Oil companies might deserve grief for other reasons, but not the price of gas. and 2. Such criticism isn't consistent because other companies with much higher profit margins either aren't getting any grief or aren't getting near the grief that oil companies are --- the criticism is based on emotion, not on facts.

[mazilla]

We have plenty of fuel, it's not the right "blend" for this time of year. Plain and simple we're suffering the effects of the nanny state and all the (expletives deleted) that vote for the politicians that put these types of shit regulations on the books...."summer blend" and "winter blend"...morons.

[nookandcrannycar]

We have plenty of fuel, it's not the right "blend" for this time of year. Plain and simple we're suffering the effects of the nanny state and all the (expletives deleted) that vote for the politicians that put these types of shit regulations on the books...."summer blend" and "winter blend"...morons.

Moonbeam must have been channeling the thoughts of pissed off residents such as yourself. He ordered that production of Winter blend can begin immediately, instead of on October 31st

[nookandcrannycar]

^^^^^ I like referring to him by his old nickname beacause I can't believe the citizens of California elected him again. I admit Meg Whitman = terrible alternative, but she still would have been better than a second go round with Moonbeam.

[nookandcrannycar]

Hershey recently posted a link to the Mpg-O-Matic sight he watches re the Hyundai Veloster Turbo. While I was looking at that, I noticed an in site link entitled Gas Prices Explained (posted on 10-5-12). They are talking about long term trends and don't mention regional factors within the U.S. My first thought (even before the Exxon net profit vs Apple analogy) was that you need oil to make gas and oil is a commodity and it is also a commodity that has its base price in U.S. Dollars...so if you effectively have 'additional' dollars (with QE) then that should make the price of gas go up. I didn't bring this up, because I didn't have any supply figures at hand and I didn't know if a drop in U.S. demand only would matter (it did in 2008, but that is a different animal because a drop in demand wasn't limited to the U.S.).

The article also shows that YW member Mazilla is right. It isn't an issue of supply either. There is a point I wish had been mentioned in the article (it may be on the video mentioned). The article mentions that as the dollar declines in value it takes more dollars to buy a gallon of gas, but it doesn't say why. The why is what I mentioned my first thought was (and by no means an original one) -- that you need oil to produce gas and oil is a worldwide commodity that is CURRENTLY priced in U.S. dollars (how many years longer this will be the case is a topic of debate).

The Mpg-O-Matic article (same as my previous post) doesn't put oil company 'greed' into the equation, because 'it' is irrelevant.

[nookandcrannycar]

I paid $3.359 Yesterday at a station in a part of Harris County that is fairly close to my house (this was the lowest price for that zip on Gas Buddy). I then checked 94941 in Marin County, CA and the cheapest station that allows use of a credit card (FF miles :biggrin:) was 4.799...and the all cash station was only a little bit less. Wow. I also saw some price signs for stations in the city (SF) on a a national cable channel for 5.689 I think it was. Wow.