'Fill Er Up' - Now!

[Karried]

WASHINGTON -- Think gasoline prices are high now? Just wait a few weeks.

Gasoline costs are now at record levels, with motorists paying an average of $2.22 a gallon last week.



The Energy Information Administration figures the average price of a gallon will peak at $2.35 in May. And it's a lot higher in many places. Gasoline in the West, for example, is often 18 to 25 cents higher than the national average.



But we're not driving less. The statistical agency projects demand for gasoline this summer to be 1.8 percent higher than last summer.



What's driving the higher costs? The administrator of the Energy Information Administration blames the high cost of crude oil, limited refining capacity and concerns about whether global oil production will be able to keep pace with growing demand.

Sam's Club is pretty good when you use your card...

[mranderson]

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, SW 104 and Western... $1.91 with discount. That was yesterday around noon. I never thought I would ever see long lines for this price.

[HOT ROD]

I wish we had those prices up here. Gas is ave $2.45 in Seattle, rising about 2 cents daily!

[Curt]

The sad thing is, now when gas prices go below two bucks, people think it is a bargain, while we are still getting bent over without a kiss.

[HOT ROD]

yep, I think that is the real objective here by the oil companies:

Increase gas so much, quickly but not too quickly to warrant govt intervention, so that it looks like competitive market practices but in the long run the oil companies get their margins even after it stabalizes.

What did I just say???

Well, it looks like the oil companies raised the price just to increase their profit margins. They will eventually decrease the price but it will never go back to 1.00 because their goal was to get it up to the 1.80s.

I am very glad to see a real push for Hybrid cars tho. Honda is really leading the charge on this (who else do you expect). They have nice production cars coming out this year, which will go 600 miles on a tank of gas - that is a Honda Accord Hybrid, by the way!!!

the only drawback is the price ($33,000 vs. ten thousand less for a "gas guzzler Accord")

[Keith]

It's pretty sad when you get excited to see a station selling gas for $1.96.......and there is a line of cars waiting to fill up. Actually, in some parts of south OKC, the gas has actually gone down about 5 cents .

[HOT ROD]

Yep, I predict it will stabalize at 1.80 eventually. A far cry from the "real price" of gas (more like 1.20).

That is why I think this whole push was to increase the market value of gas. Unfortunately for us, China (and India) was the one who really made this increase successful. As this technique was tried in the 1970s and again in the 1980s, remember. But it didn t stick because only America was the major oil consumer then.

Different story now, so they will stick - I bet at 1.80. I think with the push for Hybrid cars and fuel cell, we probably wont see to many more price appreciations, maybe one or two more - but I doubt the price will be above 2.00 nationally when all is said and done.

Lets cross our fingers that Im right!

[Curt]

Yep, I predict it will stabalize at 1.80 eventually. A far cry from the "real price" of gas (more like 1.20).

That is why I think this whole push was to increase the market value of gas. Unfortunately for us, China (and India) was the one who really made this increase successful. As this technique was tried in the 1970s and again in the 1980s, remember. But it didn t stick because only America was the major oil consumer then.

Different story now, so they will stick - I bet at 1.80. I think with the push for Hybrid cars and fuel cell, we probably wont see to many more price appreciations, maybe one or two more - but I doubt the price will be above 2.00 nationally when all is said and done.

Lets cross our fingers that Im right!

I hope you are right about this. I know we still pay less than anyother place on earth for gas, but still..........!!. And is it really worth the price to buy a hybrid? Not to change the subject too much here, but since you did mention Honda. I work at Ford,s up here, but the way american companies are sending our work overseas and companies like Honda and Toyota are bringing jobs here, with more american content in their vehicles than so called american cars, it just seems better to buy a Toyota now. They are opening a new development here in Ann Arbor in the next year or so and are expecting to hire I think about 400 people, where Ford and G.M are laying off here like crazy.

[Patrick]

Gasoline has actually gone down over the past week. It reached a high of around $2.20 two weeks ago, and it's now below $2 in many places. But, still, you guys are right, gasoline for $1.95 is nothing to be proud of.

By the way, Ford and GM are laying off, because the quality of their product doesn't begin to compare to Toyota and Honda, thus demand is decreasing. If Ford and GM want to compete they're going to have to start producing quality products, especially GM. Personally, I'll never buy a GM, Ford, or Chrysler again.

[HOT ROD]

mariner, i hear your pain

but with regard to American vs japanese/european autos its simple - American companies are always slow to react to emerging technology! Youre right, weve had this hybrid technology for years now. In fact, it was developed in America back in the late 1980s but the American companies backed away from it because the profit margins were deemed inattainable given the costs of goods mfg'd here.

Add to that, big pushes from the oil companies back then (esp when they dramatically lowered the price of gas we where enjoing back then) and Hybrid and Fuel Cell vehicles went off the American drawing board.

Well, not in Japan. In fact, they probably would have rolled out Hybrids back in the 1990s if it were not for the Asian Economy slump then.

Asian auto companies take our ideas and run with them. They build efficiency into the model and can produce a product with reasonable margin at a cost to the consumer that places them ahead of American mfgrs. Our 'laziness' and failure to act swiftly with introducing new technology to the market is why Americans get laid off! And this is primarily due to the good ole boys in Detroit and Houston who want to keep making $$$ off of you and me by selling us junk requiring a lot of gas to operate and tons of mtc to replace poorly mfgrd parts.

Here is an excellent example of my point.

Boeing was forced to lay off a ton of workers a few years ago due to the fact that Boeing eliminated its domestic competition in commercial aviation. For a time, it was the world market leader so there was no incentive to "make anything new." Along comes Airbus, whose motto was to 'defeat Boeing as the world leader in commercial aviation' and voila - they produce airplanes more competitively priced than Boeing. For some time, we (Boeing) argued that "well, Buying Boeing is like buying a caddy whereas Airbus is like a fiat, plain and simple - no luxuries."

For a while, airliners agreed with us but this all changed just prior to year 2000. Airbus developed a market plan that Boeing could not match. It had an airplane for every market segment (except 747) and they "MASS PRODUCED" their planes often selling them at heavy discounts. This was something that Boeing simply could not do, as we are a "for profit" business. At that time, Airbus was not - they were simply an employment engine.

But what happened, as airlines bought Airbus they began to see the reliability of their product so they bought more and more. so much so, that Boeing was unseated as the world's largest commercial airline mfg to its rival Airbus in 2003!

It was because Boeing failed to react to a changing market that demanded reliable and efficient airliners not luxuries. Similar to the automarket?? Boeing often claims that Airbus has an advantage with subsidies but in reality, we receive them too! We claimed heavy losses due to 911 but so did Airbus. Simply put, Airbus kicked our _ss!

Well, NOW WE GET IT! Airbus is the leader, so we Boeing have the opp to reinvent ourselves. That is why we chose to develop the BRAND NEW airliner, Boeing 787, with new materials and efficiencies that are not available in the market today. We are hiring people back, too.

Airbus chose to unseat the 747 as the queen of the skies, with its KING - A380. Looks like a role reversal here, so perhaps Boeing (following the "Asian" lean mfg model of efficiency and "mass production") will once again be #1? Only time will tell.




In reality, if American companies really cared about Americans, then they would think like business men - which means you position your product line to the market demand! If gas is skyrocketing, then American companies should have been the first to roll-out fuel cell and hybrid vehicles. And Im not talking about a crappy Ford Escort Hybrid with NO PERFORMANCE and such a small tank that you still have to keep going to the gas station the same amount of times as with a larger NO HYBRID tank.

Honda is rolling out a new Accord, called Accord Hybrid, that will not only have the same or better performance as the non Hybrid but it will also go 600 miles on a tank of gas (vs. 400 for a non hybrid Accord?). Not to mention, the vehicle will produce less than half the greenhouse gase emmisions of the PRIOR Accord MODEL (which was already a LowEmissionVehicle)!

To me, this SPEAKS! Honda is positioning itself to meet the market! And Im sure they will continue to have their Accord product dominate the American market by doing so. I think it is worth the extra $6k or so (vs the original Accord) to get the hybrid. In the long run, you come out ahead - both in lower fuel and mtc costs AND clean Air, not to mention less dependence on unstable (and very peculiarly monopolistic-like) foreign OIL!

Hey, If Chrystler or Ford or GM would do this with their mainstream vehicles - then Im sure Americans would go for it. But like I said, Bubba is too slow (or dumb) to meet demand. And the FIRST think you learn in B-School is - First To Market makes the most PROFIT!

So far, nonAmerican mfg companies like Airbus, Honda, and Toyo have proven this! When will other American companies WAKE UP, like Boeing is trying to do?

----------- Please excuse the long email, but I felt this would be a great analogy to your comment about American companies and jobs. And most of you probably know by now, that when I get passionate about a topic, I can write forever! ----------------