Gasoline May Rise Above $5 a Gallon

mwalsh said:

^ I was lying in bed last night thinking to myself that at $35 a barrel for oil gasoline should be retailing for around $2 a gallon, and (of course) around these parts (for various reasons) it's not.

Click to expand...

And around here it is well below $2/gallon if one looks for the lowest price stations. At that price EVs and a decent mpg ICE car are pretty much a wash in fuel costs, sad to say.

dgpcolorado said:

At that price EVs and a decent mpg ICE car are pretty much a wash in fuel costs, sad to say.

Click to expand...

Well, I'm sure many of us are completely done with gasoline vehicles, irrespective of the costs involved. I just hope they've got enough of a toe-hold this time that they stick regardless. I think they have, but consumers can be a fickle lot.

Just five months ago...

mwalsh said:

Well, I'm sure many of us are completely done with gasoline vehicles, irrespective of the costs involved. I just hope they've got enough of a toe-hold this time that they stick regardless. I think they have, but consumers can be a fickle lot.

Click to expand...

I bet most all of us have at least one gas powered vehicle around still (counting boats I have at least 6 gas/diesel powered vehicles still not counting lawn equipment, snow blower, and a backup generator) and very few of us can afford to do anything "irrespective of the costs involved."

jpadc said:

I bet most all of us have at least one gas powered vehicle around still (counting boats I have at least 6 gas/diesel powered vehicles still not counting lawn equipment, snow blower, and a backup generator) and very few of us can afford to do anything "irrespective of the costs involved."

Click to expand...

I still have 4 gasoline powered vehicles; 5 if you include the Volt. The four that run purely on gasoline have either not moved at all or barely moved since I got the LEAF 5 years ago. The Volt has done almost 12,000 miles in 2.25 years and only 10% of that mileage has been on gasoline. Probably half of that gasoline mileage has been forced due to lack of charging infrastructure and battery degradation in my LEAF.

I don't have any lawn equipment, since we haven't had a (water wasting) lawn in close to 30 years; I don't have anything that blows anything that is powered by anything other than electricity; and the power is so stable here that there really is no need for a generator beyond preparation for a catastrophic emergency.

YMMV and all that, but my life simply does not require gasoline in normal circumstances.

It really pains me that we are blowing a golden opportunity to collect more gas taxes. Prices are now low enough that significant gas tax increases would do little to affect the economy and would provide a greatly needed financial resource to help support our roads, public transpo, etc.

DaveinOlyWA said:

It really pains me that we are blowing a golden opportunity to collect more gas taxes. Prices are now low enough that significant gas tax increases would do little to affect the economy and would provide a greatly needed financial resource to help support our roads, public transpo, etc.

Click to expand...

+1. Incredibly short-sighted if we don't, especially when our infrastructure is in such bad shape. We need new laws to stop the funds from being diverted to a State's General Fund though.

Now I've realized that a glut of Iranian oil might push gas prices down closer to $1 a gallon, I'm even more worried about the eventual fate of the electrification movement. If there is one thing that may push me into a Tesla offering, like it or not, it will be the absence of any other choice in a few years. Talk about nightmare scenarios!

I have an ICE car, a motorcycle, a boat, a generator, and a gas powered power washer...

jpadc said:

I bet most all of us have at least one gas powered vehicle around still (counting boats I have at least 6 gas/diesel powered vehicles still not counting lawn equipment, snow blower, and a backup generator) and very few of us can afford to do anything "irrespective of the costs involved."

Click to expand...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/michigan-gas-station-hits-47-cents-price-war/story?id=36358859

The price of gas hit a stunning low -- just 47 cents per gallon -- in Michigan on Sunday.

Michigan was the first state to have gas under $1 in likely over a decade, Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, told ABC News today.

A gas station in Houghton Lake, Michigan, hit the 47 cents mark after a price war between three stations in the town, DeHaan said.

Click to expand...

Taxing fuel meets with stiff resistance. See if you can get your legislators interested in carbon pricing.

Proof That a Price on Carbon Works - NYTimes.com - mobile.nytimes.com
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/19/opinion/proof-that-a-price-on-carbon-works.html?_r=0

mwalsh said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

It really pains me that we are blowing a golden opportunity to collect more gas taxes. Prices are now low enough that significant gas tax increases would do little to affect the economy and would provide a greatly needed financial resource to help support our roads, public transpo, etc.

Click to expand...

+1. Incredibly short-sighted if we don't, especially when our infrastructure is in such bad shape. We need new laws to stop the funds from being diverted to a State's General Fund though.

Now I've realized that a glut of Iranian oil might push gas prices down closer to $1 a gallon, I'm even more worried about the eventual fate of the electrification movement. If there is one thing that may push me into a Tesla offering, like it or not, it will be the absence of any other choice in a few years. Talk about nightmare scenarios!

Click to expand...

Just got a pix from a relative in MI with under a buck gas... amazing!

With all the random issues of LEAF tire blowouts (Just had a Seattle LEAFer blowout on a bridge of all places right!) can't help but wonder how it correlates to the lack of funding for repairs? I will say that Seattle area roads are horrendous compared to Oly roads!


http://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2016/01/are-we-blowing-our-chance-to-take.html

$0.47/gal

http://abcnews.go.com/US/michigan-gas-station-hits-47-cents-price-war/story?id=36358859

The roads are going to potholes everywhere! And yes, ridiculously low gas taxes are to blame. Now is the time to bring them back up to where the roads can be fixed.

Reddy said:

The roads are going to potholes everywhere! And yes, ridiculously low gas taxes are to blame. Now is the time to bring them back up to where the roads can be fixed.

Click to expand...

Here in CA, Gov. Brown's asking again for a hike in the gas tax. We'll see if he can get the legislature to go for it: http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-01-23/tax-fight-over-roads-could-dominate-state-legislature/1776425157252.html

What they ought to do now is change the federal gas tax to an actual percentage of the sales price, like most taxes. So for example, they could change it to say 12%, which would come to 18c for $1.50/gallon gas (rather than the $0.183 fee which it is now). In this way, it would nearly "invisible" to many, and even *lower* if gasoline temporarily goes below $1.50.

Then, when oil prices go up (as many think/hope they will or should), the 'hit' to the consumers at the pump will be very gradual, and revenues from the tax will increase significantly.

jmho

mwalsh said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

It really pains me that we are blowing a golden opportunity to collect more gas taxes. Prices are now low enough that significant gas tax increases would do little to affect the economy and would provide a greatly needed financial resource to help support our roads, public transpo, etc.

Click to expand...

+1. Incredibly short-sighted if we don't, especially when our infrastructure is in such bad shape. We need new laws to stop the funds from being diverted to a State's General Fund though.

Now I've realized that a glut of Iranian oil might push gas prices down closer to $1 a gallon, I'm even more worried about the eventual fate of the electrification movement. If there is one thing that may push me into a Tesla offering, like it or not, it will be the absence of any other choice in a few years. Talk about nightmare scenarios!

Click to expand...

GRA said:

Here in CA, Gov. Brown's asking again for a hike in the gas tax. We'll see if he can get the legislature to go for it: http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-01-23/tax-fight-over-roads-could-dominate-state-legislature/1776425157252.html

Click to expand...

WTF - a flat fee for EVs is mentioned in there.

Frazier’s AB1591 would raise $7 billion a year through higher gas and diesel taxes, a $38 annual registration fee increase and a new $165 annual fee on zero-emission vehicles whose owners don’t pay anything into the gas tax fund.

Click to expand...

I'm sure there's a correlation. Pretty sure the number of accidents (some fatal, no doubt) increases with each month "congress" or some cost-cutting bureaucrat decides to push off lane-painting another month or two. In some places around me, the lines have almost vanished, and at times it can be very dangerous.

Just like so many other examples of de-funding, deregulation or even deindustrialization though, the harm is essentially untraceable (to a single accountable person) and certainly unprovable. So let's lower taxes and save everyone some money.

DaveinOlyWA said:

With all the random issues of LEAF tire blowouts (Just had a Seattle LEAFer blowout on a bridge of all places right!) can't help but wonder how it correlates to the lack of funding for repairs?

Click to expand...

MODERATORS NOTE: I moved a bunch of posts that appeared related to my post above which derailed things into a topic dedicated to a flat zero-emissions vehicle tax.

CA - AB1591 - $165 flat fee for zero-emission vehicles

Part of this was briefly mentioned on Nightly Business Report recently and echoed at http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1102089_chrysler-throws-in-towel-on-sedans-200-dart-to-die-for-suvs-trucks/page-2.

In setting the stage for the details that were released, Marchionne said FCA does not expect low fuel prices "to fundamentally change, directionally," and that it believes U.S. buyers' shift toward SUVs, crossover utility vehicles, and pickup trucks is permanent.

He did not directly address the risks of the plan should gasoline prices rise sharply and suddenly as they did in 2008.

Click to expand...

(it appears that this thread was merged --- specific to gas going over $5 gallon ... the future is NOW)


http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...california/ar-BBqkvRj?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U220DHP


Of course the rest of the country is still pretty much under or a bit over $2/gal but what an incentive to run out and get an EV !!!