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How high are gas prices going to go?


daniel812

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I wish I had been smart enough to have bought oil stocks a few years ago but I wasn't. Darn it. :)

That's a train that hasn't yet left the station. Plenty of time to get onboard. Think (PBR) or (DRQ). A side bet might be (NAT). Investigate.

Regards,

Warren

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There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises

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Lots of interesting posts and responses. Personally, the rather steep increases in fuel prices has my attention but doesn't consume my day or bother me in the way it does some. Jan hit it on the head. The US still pays considerably less than the rest of the world. My observation leads me to believe that many in our society buy more than they need and more than their finances can reasonably handle. Many people live on the very edge of their financial capabilities. So when the economy doesn't go their way..... it can be devastating. When I was a kid it was easy to tell which social class one was from by the car(s) driven, clothing, and house which was based on household income levels. Today that line is very blurry. Many are over extended.

My wife and I aren't rich but not poor either. We live in a modest house, don't have cable, have the basement phone plan without caller ID or call waiting, we have a $50/month cell plan for both phones, max out our IRAs and 401s, own stocks, triple up on school, wrap, and 1 car loan, don't carry credit card balances over, don't have ipods or newest computers or even a flat screen tv, we go out to dinner about twice a month, host parties, and live well below our means. And we're managing to feed and put a little Haitian girl through 12 years of school. We donate to several local organizations as well.

I believe it comes down to personal responsibility. I don't blame others for my financial misfortunes. Certainly it would be easy to if I weren't a responsible citizen. But that's not right nor the right thing to do. There will always be corrupt politicians and interest groups that don't have our best interest in mind. But ask yourself this. Am I doing everything I can do to protect myself financially? Or will you continue to blame others for your lack of responsibility and planning. And remember I still drive a 14 year old car. Not because I necessarily want to......

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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Lots of interesting posts and responses. Personally, the rather steep increases in fuel prices has my attention but doesn't consume my day or bother me in the way it does some. Jan hit it on the head. The US still pays considerably less than the rest of the world. My observation leads me to believe that many in our society buy more than they need and more than their finances can reasonably handle. Many people live on the very edge of their financial capabilities. So when the economy doesn't go their way..... it can be devastating. When I was a kid it was easy to tell which social class one was from by the car(s) driven, clothing, and house which was based on household income levels. Today that line is very blurry. Many are over extended.

My wife and I aren't rich but not poor either. We live in a modest house, don't have cable, have the basement phone plan without caller ID or call waiting, we have a $50/month cell plan for both phones, max out our IRAs and 401s, own stocks, triple up on school, wrap, and 1 car loan, don't carry credit card balances over, don't have ipods or newest computers or even a flat screen tv, we go out to dinner about twice a month, host parties, and live well below our means. And we're managing to feed and put a little Haitian girl through 12 years of school. We donate to several local organizations as well.

I believe it comes down to personal responsibility. I don't blame others for my financial misfortunes. Certainly it would be easy to if I weren't a responsible citizen. But that's not right nor the right thing to do. There will always be corrupt politicians and interest groups that don't have our best interest in mind. But ask yourself this. Am I doing everything I can do to protect myself financially? Or will you continue to blame others for your lack of responsibility and planning. And remember I still drive a 14 year old car. Not because I necessarily want to......

Regis,

I could have written much of what you already have, so you can visualize where I stand as well. I must however admit to being tempted by a HD large screen TV, such that I'm still trying to convince myself that I deserve it, (and or course the HD programming, surround sound, etc). In an odd twist of whatever, I bought my favorite youngest son a 55" HD set with all the surround sound trimmings - and watch it there as a treat when we visit him, (in the new house we bought him, as an investment...). Interestingsly enough, he discontinued the satellite and now pulls HD over the air.

Granted, I'm certainly not happy about the turn of events, and I think things will get worse before better for many. However, I don't claim to be a "victum" and look for compensation from whoever might have more.

I remain concerned that oil has peaked many years ago and the world economy has yet to move from that relatively cheap energy. I personally believe that as oil rises, then other energy will become economically feasible, (painfull as it may be).

Obviously, market demands will cause more efficient modes of transport and/or social interactions. What I mean is; public transport might rise to European standards - but we might not be able to ship an "eBay bargain" halfway around the world or jet to Disney World on a whim.

This subject is bitter for many and could no doubt - turn ugly. So I appologize in advance to any that I may have offended with barking and braying about my lifestyle and personal opinions.

Its the Maragrita talking after all ... :blink:

Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning.
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The fundamental question could have been "How far can the purchasing power of the US dollar fall?". The perceived value of crude oil and the perceived value of the US dollar are blood related.

And gasoline prices are only the immediately visible part of the iceberg.

Prepare yourself for double digit inflation rates, reminiscent of the Carter administration, in the near future.

[political mode=off]

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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Prediction: Since oil just hit $130/barrel a few minutes ago, I predict oil will go to $200/barrel within the next 4 to 6 months. Gold and silver are already climbing so that's usually an indicator that Wall Street is in trouble. Get your money out of the banks, its safer under your mattress. The stock market is going to take a big dump and this time, the Federal Reserve won't be able to stop it. Get ready for the roller coaster ride, this one is going to be a bad one. :wipetears

If you really want to make people safe drivers again then simply remove all the safety features from cars. No more seat belts, ABS brakes, traction control, air bags or stability control. No more anything. You'll see how quickly people will slow down and once again learn to drive like "normal" humans.

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Ditto, I think we are in for big trouble, we are a serious debtor nation. Add to that that we are IMPORTING oil instead of drilling for our OWN, and we are at the world's mercy.. Oh but Obama is bringing change and hope, yea sure, watch what happens when he and his ILK, squeeze the testicles of oil companies..... the stocks will drop and capital will flow out of the companies and they will go bankrupt. We are becoming a third world country because we no longer lead.. we follow. We have no definitive direction, education sucks because everybody HAS to go and we have diluted its quality as we teach to the LEAST common denominator, we no longer teach trades, liberals have taken over our schools and institutions. Rent Expelled no intelligence allowed <a href="http://www.expelledthemovie.com/" target="_blank">http://www.expelledthemovie.com/</a>

The factors of PRODUCTION are LAND, LABOR and CAPITAL, we have destroyed LABOR and CAPITAL and stand to loose our LAND as we weaken at an extreme. Call me gloomy if you like, but we need someone to stress US NATIONAL PRIDE and provide GOALS for our country, not belt tightening and self blame. Its time to wake up and distance ourselves from the 60's Cum Ba Ya limp wrists..

Global warming? Is anyone else freezing their butts off this morning?, isn't this the third week of MAY? These FRAUDS sicken me. Its about time we started getting FOUR seasons again..... for about 10 years we were getting 2 SEASONS!!!

Has any one of these Genius's considered the impact of:

1) the 11 year sun spot cycle

2) the earths WOBBLE on its AXIS

3) 2000 GD OIL WELLS blazing for 2 years back in 1991 because SADDAM blew them up?

4) La Nina

5) El Nino

6) The 17 year El Nino cycle

7) 24 hour ratings driving cable news?

8) technology and communication to be able to sense these events better?

Don't get me started, OH SORRY, I DID GET STARTED....

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

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Here are some ideas to fix our country including it's oil problems (especially A & G).

From the Savage Manifesto

A. Iraq. Send in Iraqi troops to mop up pockets of resistance. Make Iraq pay with their oil for the cost of the war. Cordon off Sadr City, force all residents to leave, then go in and mop up all resistance fighters. Divide Iraq into three to four sectors; Sunni, Shiite, Kurd, and International. Next, remove all U.S. troops after above achieved.

B. Iran. One, sanctions embargoes and mine their harbors. Nothing goes in, nothing comes out.

C. North Korea. Destroy their launching platforms, impose a Naval blockade on all goods coming in or out, except food.

D. Israel Arab Entities. Give Israel four years to become self-sufficient. Cut off all foreign aid to all nations.

E. China. 20 percent tariffs on all China made goods immediately; rising by 5 percent each year for each year China refuses to revalue their currency.

F. United Nations. Withdraw immediately. Remove all Diplomats and staff. Convert the United Nations building into housing for the working poor.

G. Mexico. Force Mexico to pay one barrel of oil for every illegal alien in the United States of America per month.

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Prediction: Since oil just hit $130/barrel a few minutes ago, I predict oil will go to $200/barrel within the next 4 to 6 months. Gold and silver are already climbing so that's usually an indicator that Wall Street is in trouble.

The dominant variable here is the value of the $US.

After peaking at the $135/barrel level recently, oil closed today at 128.85. Thanks to a bump in the value of the $US.

Some of the talking heads in the financial media are reporting that traders (speculators) are shorting oil futures.

Anyone else noticing fewer cars on the streets? There are some bargains available to serious buyers of land yacht SUVs!!

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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I have noticed that the speeds on the highways are slower

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1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

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I have noticed that the speeds on the highways are slower

I've noticed slower speeds too. There's always a lot of speeding during the holiday weekends but this past weekend I was a bit surprised how reserved everyone seemed to be.

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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Speed obviously does have an effect on mpg in any vehicle; however, I am told that is has a higher effect on diesel trucks than on cars. For semi-tractor trucks every mile per hour driven over 60 mph reduces fuel economy by one-tenth of a mile per gallon.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Speed obviously does have an effect on mpg in any vehicle; however, I am told that is has a higher effect on diesel trucks than on cars. For semi-tractor trucks every mile per hour driven over 60 mph reduces fuel economy by one-tenth of a mile per gallon.

Thats pretty close. :D

My brother drives over the road trucks.

He owns and drives the truck himself.

At 60/65 he gets close to 6mpg.

At 70/75 he gets close to 5mpg.

He uses around 150 gallons a day.

At almost 5 bucks a gallon for diesel ... thats about $600 to $700 dollars A DAY to run the truck.

Times 30 days... $18,000 dollars a MONTH. or around $200,000 dollars a YEAR ... JUST FOR FUEL.

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I filled up my 82 Diesel Suburban last week with $4.75 per gallon diesel and it cost me $151. This week, the price of diesel has jumped up to $5.25 per gallon in my area. Next time I fill up, it's going to be close to $200 to fill her up. Ouch!!!!

For my Allante, the pump now clicks off at $75 without filling the tank all the way full.

Last weekend, I protested by not going anywhere like I usually do.

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This is going to affect so many things, people ARE going to stay home more, hotels/motels will suffer, anything moved by truck will skyrocket including goods, food and shipping (FEDEX UPS). I have never used my cruise control more, nor checked the air in my tires more.

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

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Found this today in the Washington Post.

washingtonpost.com

Traffic Stops Over Gas Prices

As Fuel Costs Soar in Europe, Angry Truckers, Fishermen Set Up Blockades

By Kevin Sullivan and Molly Moore

Washington Post Foreign Service

Wednesday, May 28, 2008; A07

LONDON, May 27 -- Hundreds of truckers shut down a central London highway Tuesday, French fishermen blockaded ports and French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed cutting European fuel taxes as already high gasoline prices soared even higher.

"It's hard to find words to describe the severity of the problem. It's not even a problem really; it's a meltdown," said Peter Carroll, a trucking industry spokesman who, like hundreds of other drivers, parked his rig on London's A40 highway Tuesday morning, shutting that key commuter artery for most of the day.

The truckers, who eventually delivered a petition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office at 10 Downing Street, were protesting as Britain's national average pump price for diesel hit the equivalent of $9.56 a gallon and regular unleaded hit $8.61 a gallon, according to the Automobile Association.

The protests spreading across Europe signal a growing agitation at skyrocketing fuel prices in nations already accustomed to paying dearly at the pump.

Most European countries long ago chose to heavily tax gasoline, partly to encourage use of public transportation. The British government, for example, charges a $3.77-a-gallon fuel duty and a 17.5 percent consumption tax on top of that -- the highest levels in Europe.

By contrast, U.S. drivers pay an average combined federal and state tax of about 47 cents on a gallon of unleaded and 53.6 cents on a gallon of diesel, according to API, a U.S. trade association.

The current pricing crisis, which has pushed crude oil above $135 a barrel, is pushing even more Europeans out of their cars. The Automobile Association said a recent survey found that 37 percent of its members were using their cars less because of fuel prices.

But for fishermen, taxi drivers, truckers and other people in businesses where using less fuel is not an option, frustration is turning into anger.

"We are being murdered, and you would not walk past a drowning man," said Carroll, speaking after the highway blockade at a protest rally near London's Marble Arch. The drivers are demanding cuts in fuel taxes.

Scores more truckers in Wales formed a two-mile-long line to stage a "go-slow" strike that clogged a main highway. Protest leader Mike Greene told the BBC that if truckers didn't get sharp cuts in the taxes within a week, they would begin blockading refineries and ports.

In 2000, when gas hit about $5 a gallon, truckers, taxi drivers and other protesters nearly paralyzed the country with a week-long blockade of oil refineries and storage depots to stop delivery to gas stations.

In Paris, as furious fishermen continued blockading several French ports, Sarkozy urged the European Union to suspend some of the oil taxes that make European pump prices on average more than double those in the United States.

"I want to ask the question to our European partners: If oil continues to increase, should we not suspend the VAT taxation on the price of oil?" Sarkozy said in a radio interview. The VAT is the value added tax, paid by consumers when they buy things.

Such a suspension would require approval from each of the 27 E.U. member states and, so far, has not been formally proposed. In the meantime, several European ministers Tuesday urged direct aid for the fishing industry and other workers affected by the soaring prices.

French fishermen have been demonstrating for two weeks against diesel prices that have recently jumped 30 percent. On Tuesday, French riot police pushed fishermen away from an oil depot at Fos-sur-Mer near Marseille in southern France.

Fishermen from Spain, Italy and Portugal attending an international fishing industry meeting in Italy voted to join the French strike, starting Friday.

In Britain, officials had previously announced that an April 1 tax increase of about 15 cents a gallon, which had been programmed into this year's budget, would be postponed until October because of rising oil prices.

But truckers and business leaders are demanding that the government scrap the tax increase altogether.

Moore reported from Paris. Special correspondent Karla Adam in London contributed to this report.

© 2008 The Washington Post Company

If you really want to make people safe drivers again then simply remove all the safety features from cars. No more seat belts, ABS brakes, traction control, air bags or stability control. No more anything. You'll see how quickly people will slow down and once again learn to drive like "normal" humans.

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The fuel prices changed my plans somewhat also.

Just got back from a four day weekend road trip.

We just drove up to Arkansas and drove around in the Ozark Mountains instead of going to Colorado and the Rockies like we normally would have done.

Covered only about HALF the distance we usually would have driven in four days. 1500 miles in four days. At $4.00 to $4.25 a gallon... I am watching how many miles I drive.

The DTS got a little bit better mileage than usual.

22.4 for the entire trip vs it's usual 21.5.

I tried to keep speed at 80 or below on good roads and kept passing on two lans roads to a minimum. Tried to be more laid back and less in a hurry then usual. :D Old habits are sure hard to break. :D

My figures show I burned about 3 gallons less than if using my normal style of driving. Not MUCH difference, but that three gallons helped pay for a big steak one night, instead of hamburgers. :D:D

The 400 miles I drove yesterday, to get back home, was all in rain... sometimes HEAVY rain. :D The big ole 255X50X18 tires on the DTS are hard to push thru water and the mileage suffered accordingly.

On the trip UP THERE.. on the first tank of gas... before the mountains... mileage was 24 EVEN. Thats the BEST it has EVER got.

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I live in the country with no mass transportation available. Gas went to $4.19 a gallon here in Michigan; but I can't stop driving and live here.

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$4.27 here in Maryland for premium - Just filled up 18 gallons and it cost just over $70

generally I just drive to work and back which is only 5 miles away but it kills my mileage b/c the car never warms up so I generally get 14-15 MPG city, but I do get a steady 26-27 MPG on the highway doing about 80. So yes, this is expensive, but its not really changing my lifestyle since I only drive under 10k miles per year

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So yes, this is expensive, but its not really changing my lifestyle since I only drive under 10k miles per year

My work driving is around 70,000 to 75,000 a year. Can't change THAT.

My pleasure driving is usually 25,000 to 30,000 a year or MORE.

I think the pleasure driving will be less this year. I can change THAT.

I will take shorter trips and burn less fuel. I hope. :D

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I live in the country with no mass transportation available. Gas went to $4.19 a gallon here in Michigan; but I can't stop driving and live here.

But at least Ruby gets better mileage than my DTS. :D

Hope you are still enjoying it as much now as when you bought it.

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Just topped off the tank with 14.59 gal of 93 octane at $4.319/gal which came to $63.01 (Upstate NY). Wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was bracing myself for $70.

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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I paid $4.35 last night in Queens, NY at a Mobil, I cursed the entire time

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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