# Stupid question on gas prices **URL:** \ **Category:** PittSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [May 14, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454 "2008-05-14T21:20:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/21 "2008-05-15T20:37:24Z")
:gives: i’ll buy gasoline til the day i die anyway :finger: ---
**Author:** ![tom\_vito](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/tom_vito/32/6000_2.png) [@tom\_vito](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/tom_vito)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/22 "2008-05-16T02:59:03Z")
Come to think of it, the price of motor oil has changed. Three years back I was paying in the $.79 - .89 per quart range, the last time I bought oil was a lower quality oil, IMO, for $1.39 per quart. So the price has had a increase. As much as gasoline? not really. But then I think thats back to supply and demand. Lots of people will push oil changes from 3000 miles to 5000, so ita likw every third one is free, since its not really get done. Whereas gas is something there is no way around buying. And, IMO, E85 is the other killer of low gas prices. Your only saving about $.35 per gallon, getting less milage, and burning .9 of a gallon of oil fules to produce it, not much of a national savings there. ---
**Author:** ![Pewter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/pewter/32/5936_2.png) [@Pewter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Pewter)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/23 "2008-05-16T04:47:45Z")
> [@+1 to Swerve Motorsports](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/1-to-swerve-motorsports/36276/19): > > LOL … It keeps changing colors … getting more greener. Im still trying to figure out why the hell diesel is higher in price than gas, when it takes way less to make diesel fuel. u aint kidding! ---
**Author:** ![spektator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@spektator](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/spektator)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/24 "2008-05-16T07:28:26Z")
just to throw my pointless 2 cents in, a cheap generic quart of oil has gone from 1.29 to 1.89 in just a few months. just an fyi 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tom\_vito](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/tom_vito/32/6000_2.png) [@tom\_vito](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/tom_vito)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/25 "2008-05-16T13:00:07Z")
> [@HD & Sabres fans.](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/hd-sabres-fans/36403/6): > > just to throw my pointless 2 cents in, a cheap generic quart of oil has gone from 1.29 to 1.89 in just a few months. > > just an fyi 🙂 Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![06F4i](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/0/e99b99/32.png) [@06F4i](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/06F4i)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/26 "2008-05-16T18:18:35Z")
im blame PRL for the high cost too offset the 08 race season ---
**Author:** ![Russell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/50afbb/32.png) [@Russell](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Russell)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/27 "2008-05-17T17:18:01Z")
Gas companies are making more money now then they did in the past, in fact they have hit record profits in the last three years. Thats what pisses me off. Yes, the cost of the raw materials is rising, but gas companies are in fact INCREASING their profit margin. That is the part that our government can do something about, they can limit the amount that petroleum companies can profit from a gallon of gas. Or at least install a % limit. The oil market is an oligopoly until someone creates a viable alternative, right now there is no alternative. So, someone in the governing bodies must take action to break the power of these companies, just as they did back with the telephone monopolies… Will it be done?..register to vote…cross fingers…best course of action…buying a motorcycle is fun…but wont change shit ---
**Author:** ![Jeff95TA](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jeff95ta/32/5935_2.png) [@Jeff95TA](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Jeff95TA)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/28 "2008-05-17T17:23:49Z")
What were some of the profit numbers? And I don’t mean xxxx billion, I mean percentages. I never hear percentages reported on the news. ---
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/29 "2008-05-17T18:23:54Z")
The demand for gasoline is inelastic in the short run. In that, it takes a large increase in price to reduce consumer demand even a little in the near term. This is how gas stations can fluctuate price between 5 or more cents and not cause sales impacts… obviously we’re talking about larger and concurrent raises in gas prices… although those increases are not dramatic jumps but rather less than ~7% of the gas overall price. OPEC production restraint and the pipeline ruptures due to uncontrollable circumstances inevitably lead to cost increase. Production restraint, low domestic inventories of oil, and surging demand for oil products compound supply and demand rigor. Oil companies can do anything to change price and raise the end cost to increase their profits?? I disagree, price increases were virtually inevitable, and given the historic lows they were bound to appear dramatic by comparison… I can’t argue that the prices aren’t steadily rising over time, but its an import economy. Oligopoly might be true, but the simple mechanics and engineering of the process itself bounds startup ventures… think of new auto makes, the infrequency and success of new car companies… and the car market is dwarfed in comparison. profit is producing to where price is equal to the producer’s marginal cost… if there are restrictions, turmoil and unexpected demand, this increases the entire model which would increase profit. ---
**Author:** ![77rednecktruck](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/77rednecktruck/32/5966_2.png) [@77rednecktruck](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/77rednecktruck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/30 "2008-05-17T19:58:10Z")
You can’t cap how much money a company can make, that’s unamerican. ---
**Author:** ![xlogic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/59ef9b/32.png) [@xlogic](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/xlogic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/31 "2008-05-17T20:16:41Z")
> [@fastest 5 series ever?](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fastest-5-series-ever/36423/7): > > You can’t cap how much money a company can make, that’s unamerican. Fuck OPEC…should have just taken the oil in the first place before troops started to die ---
**Author:** ![vw16vcabby](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/vw16vcabby/32/5943_2.png) [@vw16vcabby](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/vw16vcabby)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/32 "2008-05-17T22:19:50Z")
i look at gas this way-- driving is a privilege, not a right. if you can’t afford it, then dont drive. as for cost going up-- the market is global. china is booming. people are starting to modernize. so they are getting gas that we would have got. in addition, the middle east is consuming more oil than they did previously, so their reserve is getting cut into by their own use. now tie in some natural disasters as well as political disputes (war, embargo, tariffs. etc) and prices jump up. then you take a look at flex fuel cars–worst ideal ever. takes you 1.5 gallons of e85 to go same distance as a gallon of regular 87 gas. so you actrually pay more per mile on e85 than normal gas. in conclusion, the urban sprawl coupled w/ the base neglect of consumption i n usa has driven prices up. People move closer to work, or drive more efficient vehicles, maybe we could cut gas demand down, which drops prices. however, i doubt this because our demand would be supplemented by demand in asia. china is going to be the next super power as they modernize. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff95TA](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jeff95ta/32/5935_2.png) [@Jeff95TA](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Jeff95TA)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 4:51am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/33 "2008-05-18T04:51:57Z")
> [@FS: 93 Buick Park Ave 35,000 Miles](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fs-93-buick-park-ave-35-000-miles/28042/9): > > Fuck OPEC…should have just taken the oil in the first place before troops started to die Then we might want to start taking electricity too, because the rate caps that were imposed in PA a decade ago are going to expire soon. PA is below the national average for electricity costs, but that may be changing soon. ---
**Author:** ![xlogic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/59ef9b/32.png) [@xlogic](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/xlogic)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 9:43am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/34 "2008-05-18T09:43:08Z")
> [@Official MLB Playoffs thread](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/official-mlb-playoffs-thread/36430/3): > > Then we might want to start taking electricity too, because the rate caps that were imposed in PA a decade ago are going to expire soon. PA is below the national average for electricity costs, but that may be changing soon. Ya no kidding…with these gas prices going up it wouldn’t make sense if natural gas doesn’t go up also…people will start switching to baseboard heaters and electric hot water tanks. ---
**Author:** ![xlogic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/59ef9b/32.png) [@xlogic](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/xlogic)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 10:27am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/35 "2008-05-18T10:27:51Z")
This Is OPEC ![http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Opec_Organization_of_the_Petroleum_Exporting_Countries_countries.PNG/800px-Opec_Organization_of_the_Petroleum_Exporting_Countries_countries.PNG](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Opec_Organization_of_the_Petroleum_Exporting_Countries_countries.PNG/800px-Opec_Organization_of_the_Petroleum_Exporting_Countries_countries.PNG) ---
**Author:** ![04Mustang232](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/0/df788c/32.png) [@04Mustang232](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/04Mustang232)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/36 "2008-05-18T18:26:33Z")
> [@17 across: An insulting way to label a black person.](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/17-across-an-insulting-way-to-label-a-black-person/36376/5): > > let me preface this: > this is only my understanding of oil and refining oil… i’m a computer guy and have no idea really… i just like to know whats up 🙂 > > crude oil is crude oil… oil contains hydrocarbons… each different chain of hydrocarbon is a different ‘grade’ of oil… methane, ethane and the like… when they distill these oils they heat them up to the temperature range of the oil’s vapor limit and extract it… so crude is broken into different levels of ‘grades’ of oil… (i say grades because i don’t know the official connotation) … anyway, gasoline is a mixture of two of these specific chains of carbon found in oil. > > SO… motor oil is made for viscosity… to achieve the viscous levels needed in motor oil, you use parts of crude that do not vaporize… gasoline vaporizes before water boils… so low temps… whereas motor oil never vaporizes… (or shouldn’t). > > so yeah… two different levels of oil… crude’s price in general hasn’t been the issue but rather the refinement and costs associated to create the correct string of carbon’d oil to make gas. > > hows that sound? that was pretty damn close. they extract the gas using thermal cracking i bleive. This is where those huge 125 billion dollar oil refineries come into play. They put that shit in a tank, heat it up, and everything separates out. Oil on the bottom. Then kerosene, gasoline, other junk. and the gasses like methane are on the top. then they just separate it out. physics ftw. ---
**Author:** ![04Mustang232](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/0/df788c/32.png) [@04Mustang232](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/04Mustang232)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/37 "2008-05-18T18:28:25Z")
i agree with the fuck opec. Opecs goal statement is “regulatiing the unfair rise and fall of gasoline”, and when we were in the 1973 us oil embargo when we, along with two other countries were denied oil for old prices, opec didnt do shit. Now with gas prices on the extreme rise, they still do nothing. Because they are getting paid. ---
**Author:** ![xlogic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/59ef9b/32.png) [@xlogic](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/xlogic)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/38 "2008-05-18T20:56:34Z")
> [@happy birthday Original sin](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/happy-birthday-original-sin/36443/2): > > i agree with the fuck opec. Opecs goal statement is “regulatiing the unfair rise and fall of gasoline”, and when we were in the 1973 us oil embargo when we, along with two other countries were denied oil for old prices, opec didnt do shit. Now with gas prices on the extreme rise, they still do nothing. Because they are getting paid. Did you know that Nigeria has made over 500 billion since the discovery of oil over there…that would have done more than offset the poverty in congo-africa, but guess what…the stupid Ragheads keep all the money from the rightful recipients(unlike most oil countries…Nigerians are Christians…in case some of you were like wait…isn’t it their country in the first place) ---
**Author:** ![tom\_vito](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/tom_vito/32/6000_2.png) [@tom\_vito](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/tom_vito)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/39 "2008-05-20T15:24:20Z")
> [@fastest 5 series ever?](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fastest-5-series-ever/36423/7): > > You can’t cap how much money a company can make, that’s unamerican. Really? we do it everyday with the utility companies. Why is it fair to do it to them and not the oil producers? ---
**Author:** ![beat90tsi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@beat90tsi](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/beat90tsi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454/40 "2008-05-20T17:11:47Z")
> [@SVO Tbird vs Celica GTS,VW GTI 2.0T,99-01 Cobra](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/svo-tbird-vs-celica-gts-vw-gti-2-0t-99-01-cobra/36284/23): > > Really? > > we do it everyday with the utility companies. Why is it fair to do it to them and not the oil producers? Because we generaly only have 1 option for utilities, because the government does not allow 5 or 6 energy producers to provide for the same city/township/etc. Since the government creates a monopoly, they regulate the pricing. We can buy gas from whichever station we choose, meanwhile their supplies aren’t much different, but whatever. It is slightly different with utilities. I agree though, capping profits is stupid and unamerican. Let them run wild, while we’ll feel some pain for a while, it WILL fix the problem, it always does. [Previous page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/stupid-question-on-gas-prices/197454.md?page=3)