Price at the Pump

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We have been told that sometime in August it will hit over $1 Cdn per litre, so at about $1.23 Cdn per USD it's 3.8 divide by 1.23 which is about $3.09 USD per Gallon...

 

Looks like trying to control the Iraqi oil supply backfired...

 

Here we pay about $0.55 or 0.43 euro per liter. One of the cheapest by far. But there's a catch.

True for us as well but our minimum wage is $5.8/day.

 

I filled up last night, paid £0.87/litre.

At 1.75 = $1.52 / litre or $5.78 / US gallon (How come you have such small gallons, anyway?).

In the UK, about 80% of the price is duty and VAT.

 

I wrote about that once before. The dependency on foreign energy resources is giantic in Japan and Europe. And since the 70ies (oil-crisis) it's clear, that the dependency on foreign energy resources is a not affordable risk to economical security and prosperity.

To lower the dependency, the Japanese and Europeans started to develop alternatives and tax oil. As a result, Oil consumption in Europe and Japan has dropped or hasn't risen as much as in other places of the world in the last 30 years. Europeans and Japanese drive small cars. France is a nuclear plant field, oil is pumped out of the North-Sea.... And we've got public transportation.

That's of course not a "Green" thought. It's like the Suez-Crisis, that gave birth to the huge giant tanker we know now. Simple strategic and logistic necessity.

Alternative to cars.... public transport. Where does the tax money go ?

here

 

This is really shocking - I knew that gas prices were comparitively low in the U.S. (and really they aren't particularly high in Canda either), but I can't believe that almost all other countries are paying at least twice as much, and in many cases 2.5 or even 3 times as much for gas as we pay in the U.S.

 

I have to drive a total of 12 miles per day, barring errands and such. I wish I could do it by bicycle instead of needing the car to pick the kids up from daycare.

 

Well generally people around here use public transportation to get to work. Many people still use their own cars but with longer distances it has become increasingly unpopular to drive to work. Personally I have not even bothered to get myself a car, it costs too much and I really don't need it that much.

 

You could spin it differently, not penalizing driving but rewarding efficiency. Yet, spin is personal taste. Anyway, as a result of this policy, the Japanese and Europeans don't get hit by rising oil prices as deadly as they would without. US oil is still lower, but US cars and industries aren't as efficient. This means they get hit comparatively harder by lower looking prices. But, as Americans are primarily consumers, that means that European BSP growth will remain stuck, even if they dangers of oil dependency have been reduced. This sucks.

 

I do not have time to do the research, but I believe that it is the minority of gas in America that comes from the Middle East (contrary to what two posts here have stated). I remember reading in a reliable source that most of the oil consumed in America comes from the USA, Venezuela, and Russia. Hopefully someone with time to look this up will come along and confirm or deny this.

Up until very recently, I drove nearly sixty miles per day. This is in a japanese sports car, so my gas mileage is pretty good (averaging 25-30 mpg). The reason for my reduced driving recently has not been due to gas prices but due to changing life circumstances.

I do not understand the American infatuation with SUVs. Granted, I do not care about the rising cost of gas, but it still seems to be a waste of money to drive a gigantic car (that frankly, aren't that much fun to drive). There are certainly some people that need the cargo room but the vast majority of SUV owners do not.

I would like to ask one thing to the posters here. What exactly are you classifying as an "SUV?" Are you referring only to the V8 powered vehicles getting ten miles to the gallon or are you also condemning things such as the Lexus RX330 and the Subaru Forester?

 

The last figures that I saw showed that the U.S.A.'s top three sources of crude oil imports to be Venezuela, Mexico and Canada - with each one of those providing almost as much as the entire Middle East combined.

If you factor in natural gas imports then Canada shoots way up. There is a reason why Alberta is such a rich province with the lowest tax rates in Canada - they make an absolute fortune on selling oil and natural gas to the States.

 

I'm talking about anything that has a bigger engine than you really need.

 

Inn that case, maybe we should all be driving motorcycles and Geo Metros -- oh and those SmartCAR things.

Sorry -- that was sarcastic.

I just don't like it when people decide to tell me what I REALLY NEED. I drive an SUV -- but it is a 4-cylindar with an great gas mileage.

 

St. James (welcome, BTW ), HB isn't trying to tell you what to drive, just recommend that you buy a vehicle that's in accordance with the driving that you do. If you regularly haul 2-ton loads of stuff around, you need a honkin' big pickup. If you commute 20+ miles on the highway every day and only haul those big loads, once or twice a year... well, maybe a little econo-car is what you need, and just rent a pickup on those occassions.

Do I have it right, HB?

 

Hey, I drive an SUV -- Chevy Trailblazer. It hauls all our camping equipment and our two dogs (both labs). I was driving a RAV4 but it was just too small and had no towing capacity -- especially compared to the 5700 pound capacity of my current SUV (and I use my trailer once or twice a month). Granted, my 60 mile a day round trip commute is getting expensive with the current gas prices.

It's also great for skiing. I use the four wheel drive often during the winter.

I've always liked trucks and will buy a full sized 4X4 pickup next. I prefer the ride of a truck to even a luxury car.

 

Rally - right on. In New Zealand, petrol appears to be 3 times the price it is in USA. When I was in USA, everyone seemed to have a huge car. In NZ, people are more likely to choose the right car to suit their needs otherwise they would go broke on petrol. If all you do is drive the kids to and from school (which is a whole other topic - why aren't they walking?) then you don't need a huge 4wd. It's just a waste of petrol.

 

How old are you, Harbs?

 

I don't even have my full license yet, and I'm already cringing at these pricees, I'm telling you, this is extortion! This time last year, gas was about 75 cents per litre, and I saw it at 96.5 cents per litre today!