# All you fuckers whining about gas prices **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 16, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283 "2005-08-16T15:32:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/81 "2005-08-16T22:36:17Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > I do like to sit back in my fuel efficient econo box box and laugh at people who bought large SUV’s to commute in. I like to sit in my roomy, comfy, heavy, sturdy SUV & laugh at the fragile little econo-boxes trying to make headway in the snow. > [@](#): > > How’s that 11 MPG working for you? Not bad. How’s that $450/mo for 5 years car note working for you? > [@](#): > > Do you really need such a large vehicle for 1 person? Nope. 😃 > [@](#): > > So what does your annual Gas bill work out to at $2.53 per Gallon for regular? $450 car note for 12 months = $5,400 600 miles per week in my (paid for 12 year old) Jeep = $6,240 How much you paying for gas anually? More than about $850? Your insurance costing you any more because you don’t own that car? And how much are you going to have to pay when that warranty runs out & you have to start buying your own new parts for that high-tech wonder of yours? Will your car even last that long, or will you have to jump into another car payment before the old one is paid off? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/82 "2005-08-16T22:44:59Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > I think this is because it’s easier to compare the price of gas than most other commodities. > > Gas is always priced the same way everywhere (cost per gallon), tax is included in the price, and there’s no volume discount (at least not for individual drivers). So there’s not as much math involved in figuring out the cost of gas as there is in figuring out the cost of many other commodities. There was an [article](http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=gasmilk14&date=20050814) in my Sunday paper about that. Basically gas and milk have both risen about the same amount in the same amount in the past 20 years - but milk prices get mixed in with groceries at large, while gas is bought on its own. Also, milk rose steadily over the past years, while gas stayed even for about 17 of those years (so we know how much gas “should” cost) and only jumped up recently. We’d hardly notice the gas prices if they’d risen 4 or 5 cents/year. But they rose all at once. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/83 "2005-08-16T22:50:45Z")
> [@Earthworm Jim](#): > > I like to sit in my roomy, comfy, heavy, sturdy SUV & laugh at the fragile little econo-boxes trying to make headway in the snow. You see, it’s this “SUV’s are safer” thing that really mystifies me. Do you read? [Rollovers](http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv3.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=301675&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=301665) are just one reason why SUVs are more dangerous than the average mid-sized sedan, but it’s certainly the most demonstrative. As yours is 12 years old, you’ve got none of the modern safety features that mitigate this problem, except maybe a roll bar. SUV’s are not safer. Not in snow, not in rain, not in sunshine. Period. Why keep bringing that up when it’s so wrong? And why do people keep buying them thinking safety is an advantage? > [@Earthworm Jim](#): > > Not bad. How’s that $450/mo for 5 years car note working for you? As for myself, driving my Honda for 11 years gave me a lot of time to save up. I’m not rich, just frugal. I paid for my Prius in cash. I’ll pay for my next car in cash too. I call it the thinking-man’s approach to automobile ownership. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/84 "2005-08-16T22:50:49Z")
But the problem is cows will stay producing milk, the Earth cannot stay producing oil. If the demand for milk goes up, they can get more cows. I understand what the article was saying, I just see it as a false justification of the price increase. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/85 "2005-08-17T00:16:57Z")
> [@Earthworm Jim](#): > > I like to sit in my roomy, comfy, heavy, sturdy SUV & laugh at the fragile little econo-boxes trying to make headway in the snow. > Not bad. How’s that $450/mo for 5 years car note working for you? > Nope. 😃 > > $450 car note for 12 months = $5,400 > 600 miles per week in my (paid for 12 year old) Jeep = $6,240 > > How much you paying for gas anually? More than about $850? Your insurance costing you any more because you don’t own that car? And how much are you going to have to pay when that warranty runs out & you have to start buying your own new parts for that high-tech wonder of yours? Will your car even last that long, or will you have to jump into another car payment before the old one is paid off? What are you babbling about? 😉 I own outright a 2003 Ford Focus, nothing special, cheap and not as fuel-efficient as I would like. I think you’ve quoted me and then replied to someone else at the end. I should get another 3 years on the car at 20K per year and then I might by a hybrid or I might decide I can afford the gas and buy a Ford Mustang that only gets 26 mpg. Gas prices and if I am still at my current job will help make these decisions. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/86 "2005-08-17T00:34:19Z")
> [@](#): > > **LostGoals** said: > Freedom of movement? I didn’t once put “You had to sit at home” If you use up your ration you walk/bike/jump on a bus/talk to neighbors to combine shopping trips whatever it takes. And who’s going to decide what share is fair? > [@](#): > > **GorillaMan** said: > Unless fuel costs take up 100% of your outgoing costs, I suspect maths isn’t your strong point Obviously logic isn’t your fucking strong point. The bite that gasoline has taken out of my salary (which as remained almost exactly what it was four years ago) has _doubled in that time_. That means cuts have to be made somewhere else, and quite frankly, I can only cut so much out before I’m cutting necessities and it becomes better for my survival to lose my job and be on unemployment. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/87 "2005-08-17T00:48:52Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > Outside my window I also see the local gas station, today advertising .93c/litre, which [Google will tell me](http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=.93+canadian+dollars+per+liter+in+us+dollars+per+gallon) is almost 3$US/gallon. That’s an excellent price. We had a second .7 cent jump in two weeks. Gas here (Atlantic Canada) is now 1.13 CAD a litre ($3.57 US per gallon). We already drive a small little crap car. There’s no reliable public transportation. Not a helluva lot we can do. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/88 "2005-08-17T00:54:30Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > And who’s going to decide what share is fair? > . I don’t know but its been done before as the Perfect Master himself spoke about [Cecil Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_382b.html) > [@](#): > > There were four rationing classifications. An “A” classification, which could be had by almost anyone, entitled the holder to four gallons a week. A “B” classification was worth about eight gallons a week. “C” was reserved for important folk, like doctors, and the magic “X” went to people whose very survival required that they be able to purchase gasoline in unlimited quantities–rich people and politicians, for example. So its been done and can be done again. The age we where born into will end, with a whimper or a bang, its up to us. And IMHO I think it may be a bang, because of the limited amount of time people are willing to look for alternatives quoting George Sr\*. > [@](#): > > “The American way of life is not negotiable.” and it looks like regardless of your party affiliation, if America takes a fall into depression we are all screwed. The less we use the lower the price can fall, and the longer we have to find alternatives. I would rather give up some, then lose it all. - Various sources give that quote to George Sr/ George Jr./ Cheney ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/89 "2005-08-17T00:54:44Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > You see, it’s this “SUV’s are safer” thing that really mystifies me. Do you read? [Rollovers](http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv3.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=301675&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=301665) are just one reason why SUVs are more dangerous than the average mid-sized sedan, but it’s certainly the most demonstrative. As yours is 12 years old, you’ve got none of the modern safety features that mitigate this problem, except maybe a roll bar. SUV’s are not safer. Not in snow, not in rain, not in sunshine. Period. Why keep bringing that up when it’s so wrong? And why do people keep buying them thinking safety is an advantage? You’re right, SUVs, pickups and vans have a higher incidence of rollover. There are techniques to minimize that risk, but it still exists. “Safer” can be a fairly subjective term, obviously. I feel safer knowing in a collision my family is far less likely to be injured. I feel safer that we’re in a late model vehicle with lots of cushy crumple zones and a zillion air bags. Having driven with snow and ice my entire life, I prefer the additional control 4WD offers when needed. We now return you to your regularly scheduled bitchfit about gas mileage/prices. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/90 "2005-08-17T01:02:32Z")
> [@LostGoals](#): > > Electricity generation , uses more coal then anything else. > [Graph](http://www.electricityforum.com/images/elecgen_graph1.gif) That’s for the entire United States. [Here in New England](http://www.mtpc.org/cleanenergy/important/fueldiversify.htm): > [@](#): > > The majority of electricity in New England is generated by fossil fuels. Most notably, natural gas is the source of 40% of our electricity. This increasingly exposes the region to impacts from fuel supply disruptions and volatile electricity prices. By using clean energy, we reduce our dependence on these fuels and our risk of shortages and volatile prices. > > New England 's current sources of electricity are heavily reliant on natural gas and other fossil fuels. About 40% of our electricity is generated using natural gas, while other fossil fuels generate 48%. The remaining electricity is provided by nuclear energy, which generates about 6%, and clean energy, which also generates 6%. > > Because fossil fuels are finite sources and are subject to potential interruptions in supply, our reliance on these fuels to provide 89% of our electricity presents both security and reliability concerns. In particular, the use of natural gas is expected to increase in coming years and further exacerbate our reliance on a narrow set of fuels. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/91 "2005-08-17T01:13:44Z")
> [@Queen Tonya](#): > > I feel safer knowing in a collision my family is far less likely to be injured. This is always my favorite. That’s great you feel safer. What minimal collision safety advantages your vehicle affords comes [at the expense of the people in the smaller car](http://www.consumersunion.org/products/pittle-auto.htm). Because of the greater mass, stiffer frames, and higher ride, a side collision with an SUV is often fatal for a person in a sedan, as it just hops up into the passenger compartment of the struck vehicle. In car/SUV collisions, car drivers make up about 80% of the fatalities. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/92 "2005-08-17T02:48:17Z")
Yes dear, that’s pretty much exactly what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/93 "2005-08-17T02:57:14Z")
> [@Queen Tonya](#): > > Yes dear, that’s pretty much exactly what I meant. That’s a valid concern. Where I to have my way, the design and safety factors of SUVs (and pickups) would take standard passenger cars into consideration. I’d allow exemptions for real off-road vehicles, or real work pickups, but vehicles that are solely used to run around town would be treated the same as cars. In a perfect world… ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/94 "2005-08-17T03:11:54Z")
In a perfect world, there would be nothing needed over the size of a minivan, for personal use. In this world, in the USA bigger is better thats why the USA uses more oil then any other nation, or group of nations. We have to step back and lower our consumption of all the worlds resources for our small % of the world population. > [@](#): > > # Americans constitute five percent of the world’s population but consume 25 percent of the world’s energy. On average, one American consumes as much energy as 2 Japanese, 6 Mexicans, 13 Chinese, 31 Indians, 128 Bangladeshis, 307 Tanzanians, or 370 Ethiopians.(7) [Link](http://www.overpopulation.org/USAFactsZPG.html) [Graph](http://www.conocophillips.com/NR/rdonlyres/2D8065F2-2154-4CE0-A0D6-81C240A6D51A/0/OilImportersGlobal.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/95 "2005-08-17T03:15:56Z")
> [@LostGoals](#): > > In a perfect world, there would be nothing needed over the size of a minivan, for personal use. In this world, in the USA bigger is better thats why the USA uses more oil then any other nation, or group of nations. We have to step back and lower our consumption of all the worlds resources for our small % of the world population. Well, I’m going to turn around and bite you. Please explore the production of the nations you listed. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/96 "2005-08-17T03:17:00Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > Well, I’m going to turn around and bite you. Please explore the production of the nations you listed. I should say that your quote listed. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/97 "2005-08-17T03:22:13Z")
I’m not amazed by the complaints about the increase in gasoline prices, but wonder how much the people complaining really consider the difficulties in providing the fuel. It is a non-renewable resource that has to be drilled and pumped from miles beneath the earth. It has to be purchased from the people who happen to live over it. It has to be transported thousands of miles across the ocean in tankers which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It has to be refined in facilities that can cost billions of dollars, then it has to be transported overland to the fueling stations which pump it into your tank. In the United States, the cost for this, exclusive of taxes, averages around $2.10 per gallon. Now, compare this to the cost of bottled water, the second most abundant natural resource on the planet. On 90% of the earth’s surface you can dig a hole with deep enough to hit water with a shovel, and a lot of it is potable right out of surface bodies of water. Any treatment or filtration costs pennies per gallon, and it is produced in decentralized facilities that have low shipping costs to retailers. The average cost of a gallon of bottled water is around $3.75 per gallon. Now granted, most people buy a lot more gasoline than bottled water, but strictly on a cost-benefit ratio which is worth more? ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/98 "2005-08-17T03:33:09Z")
If you can be more specific for my erm stupidness sake I could probably do that, if production matters then it can bite me, just because America produces oil does not mean we have the right to consume an obscene amount of it. > [@](#): > > With U.S. gasoline consumption accounting for 11 percent of world oil production [Source](http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/aoilpolicy2.asp) Look at the little sliver on this, and estimate how long we could last just using our own oil. [Graph](http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/images/aoilpolicy2_1.gif) Notice how our production lowers, and our consumption rises. [Graph](http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/images/aoilpolicy2_2.gif) We are effectively using more then our share, no matter which way its said. If you mean production of each Country dictates how much oil they get, I pity us, I pity Great Britain, I pity France, I pity Germany, hell I pity most of the Western world. [Graph](http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/images/nopecreserves.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/99 "2005-08-17T03:45:04Z")
> [@LostGoals](#): > > If you can be more specific for my erm stupidness sake I could probably do that, if production matters then it can bite me, just because America produces oil does not mean we have the right to consume an obscene amount of it. I don’t mean our production of oil. I mean our production of goods, especially as of 1994, which is when your cite’s data seems to come from. The oil we import is not used only for cars, you know. Also, since a large part of the current oil problem is the new demand from industrializing countries such as China, I suspect your cite’s figures are no longer even remotely relevant. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283/100 "2005-08-17T03:51:04Z")
> [@Queen Tonya](#): > > Funny, my 10 year old 4wd mini-pickup averaged about 18 city, as does a Mustang, a Viper or a host of other sports cars. Don’t hear too many complaints about those though. High end sports cars aren’t every third car on the street. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-you-fuckers-whining-about-gas-prices/317283.md?page=6)