how convenient.... (gas prices)

centex · 09-24-2006, 07:09 PM

It is somewhat coincidental that prices have been falling as we get closer to the elections. It wouldn't take much for the market movers to do their thing...

However, I finally have seen stations with a 1 at the front of the price instead of an effing 2. It wasn't much below two bucks, and unfortunately I had just filled up less than fifty miles earlier, but I saw $1.979 at two stations in north Houston yesterday. Actually, it was far enough north that it probably isn't even Houston since it was closer to Tomball...

hannah · 09-24-2006, 07:58 PM

The cheapest here is $2.11 but 30 miles from here in Ohio it's $1.97.

jlynn · 09-24-2006, 08:22 PM

Haven't seen a 1 around here, in fact the cheapest gas around creeped up .03 It was $2.12 when I left town, and $2.15 on my way back home today.

Hedwig · 09-24-2006, 09:18 PM

Ours is around $2.31

dabster · 09-25-2006, 12:56 AM

2.29 here

Yes, before any discounts

bobdole369 · 09-25-2006, 12:29 PM

Woah I need to move. The cheapest gas in south florida I've seen is $2.53. Most hovering at $2.60-$2.70.

How convenient that the gas prices are dropping with an election a bit more than a month away. Conspiracy theories aside, I know someone intimate with the gasoline industry, and the end of summer price drop is something all the fuel companies do. They attempt to keep the price up for the summer and stop trying so hard once summer is over. This year it seems much more drastic mostly because the percentage drop covers a larger amount.

We didn't see it happen last year thanks to Katrina wiping out 10-15% of the production capacity.

hannah · 09-25-2006, 12:48 PM

As long as the oil companies are making record profits, I think you can rule out production capacity or the OPEC price increases. There's a commercial running here on TV that says Senator Robert Byrd is to blame (LOL!!) because he voted 10 times against drilling in Alaska. It's being run by his opponent for the Senate. And then there's that rumor that the Alaskan pipeline that carries the OIL from Alaska to the lower 48 rusted through thus interupting the flow of the OIL. I ask you, how does a pipe full of OIL rust through??

centex · 09-25-2006, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannah

I ask you, how does a pipe full of OIL rust through??

same way an oil pan for an engine rusts through...from the outside in...Ford had a small batch of problems with that on some of the SuperDuty trucks. And ya had to pull the engine to do the job right, which usually meant pulling the body off the frame. Ya just had to hope it was under the 5/100 warranty still because the work was pretty pricey for the part in question...

Hedwig · 09-25-2006, 01:34 PM

The reason gas goes up in the summer is because they have to sell a different blend because of the smog and whatever you call it that we get in the summer that causes all the code red days.

They also anticipated some down time from hurricanes, which haven't materialized.

And yes, there was a problem with the pipeline. They thought they'd have to shut it down completely for six months but have found a way to keep at least a good part of the oil flowing while they make repairs. I don't know if it was rust, but it was some sort of corrosion. It had the people of Alaska concerned because if that oil doens't flow they won't get much stipend from the state.

Not to mention that there was a major oil find in the Gulf of Mexico.

The price of gas revolves more around the price of oil than anything else. It makes no sense, but that's what it is. And oil is below $60 a barrel for the first time in a long time.

ilovemydogs · 09-25-2006, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hedwig

The reason gas goes up in the summer is because they have to sell a different blend because of the smog and whatever you call it that we get in the summer that causes all the code red days.

They also anticipated some down time from hurricanes, which haven't materialized.

And yes, there was a problem with the pipeline. They thought they'd have to shut it down completely for six months but have found a way to keep at least a good part of the oil flowing while they make repairs. I don't know if it was rust, but it was some sort of corrosion. It had the people of Alaska concerned because if that oil doens't flow they won't get much stipend from the state.

Not to mention that there was a major oil find in the Gulf of Mexico.

The price of gas revolves more around the price of oil than anything else. It makes no sense, but that's what it is. And oil is below $60 a barrel for the first time in a long time.

Yes, what the market will bear is what it is all about, as why would I have to pay over a buck more per gallon for gas than a place not more than 15 miles away?
Recently I was on vacation in another area and could not believe how inexpensive things were. Cheeseburger and Fries five bucks. Here no place I can find a burger under 10 bucks AND without fries.
I also had a super Beefeater Martini for 4.75 where here it averages about 11 bucks!
ILMD

hannah · 09-25-2006, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by centex

same way an oil pan for an engine rusts through...from the outside in...Ford had a small batch of problems with that on some of the SuperDuty trucks. And ya had to pull the engine to do the job right, which usually meant pulling the body off the frame. Ya just had to hope it was under the 5/100 warranty still because the work was pretty pricey for the part in question...

Doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense for the government to build a pipeline out of inferior metal like Ford did with the oil pans. Do I hear the lowest bidder blues?

Hedwig · 09-25-2006, 04:48 PM

I don't think it's inferior metal. Remember, the oil is not refined before it's shipped, so there is a lot of other stuff in it. Hard water will "rot" out a pipe in your water heater.

Add that to temperatures that can go to 100 degrees below zero, and to me it's a miracle it's lasted this long with little maintenance. Most of it is above ground, I've seen it when I was up there. It's actually pretty amazing what they can do.