# You want $1.30 a gallon??? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 27, 2006, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433 "2006-04-27T11:12:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/61 "2006-04-27T19:03:32Z")
> [@liberty](#): > > It’s America, you should be able to drive what you want. But you CAN drive whatever you want, up to about 20,000 lbs GVW (IIRC), more if you’ve got a commercial licence. If you feel the extra fuel costs are a worthwhile tradeoff for drivng a behemoth vehicle, knock yourself out. BTW, I’m still willing to have my ignorance eradicated on how the oil companies are gouging consumers on gasoline. You gonna explain how this is done, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/62 "2006-04-27T19:09:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Not even close. Sorry, I meant in terms of revenue. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/63 "2006-04-27T19:16:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Anyway, the price of oil is $71/barrel. There is 42 (IIRC) gallons per barrel. That comes to $1.69/gallon, pre-refining. > > :rolleyes: “… _are_ 42 gallons…” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/64 "2006-04-27T19:19:23Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Sorry, I meant in terms of revenue. Again, not even close. There are plenty of state-owned oil companies that dwarf XOM - they’re not “counted”, however, because most lists of large businesses focus on _private_ companies, not state-owned. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/65 "2006-04-27T20:18:55Z")
> [@liberty](#): > > It’s America, you should be able to drive what you want. And I pretty much wouldn’t want to drive one a Prius. Ugly IMO. And I buy American. Sure you can. But if you’re driving a gas guzzler, don’t kvetch about the price being too high. I’ve got three American made cars myself, by the way. But Detroit got their butts handed to them 30 years ago for this very reason. For my next car, if they haven’t wised up, I’m not going to sacrifice for idiocy in the executive suites of Ford and GM. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/66 "2006-04-27T20:31:44Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > No, the sad part is that you believe that it’s true. No, the really sad part is that Bush, knowing full well the record profits are a natural result of the business model of the oil companies, has come out for an investigation that is certain to yield nothing. The thing that can help is to eliminate the tax breaks for these guys. With their profits, they’ve got plenty of money for exploration or anything else they want. It won’t help the price of gas, but can at least reduce the deficit. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/67 "2006-04-27T20:52:17Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > No, the really sad part is that Bush, knowing full well the record profits are a natural result of the business model of the oil companies, has come out for an investigation that is certain to yield nothing. Based on Bush’s performance as an oil exec, I wouldn’t bet that he knows anything about this full well. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Barrels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Barrels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrels)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/68 "2006-04-27T21:00:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Side note: Anybody have any data on what the price of gas has to go up before it’s cheaper to keep a horse for a daily 10-mile roundtrip commute? Costs me about $3,000 a year for upkeep and parking space fees on a real reliable American made '98 model. Rust free to boot! Barrels ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/69 "2006-04-27T21:05:17Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Again, not even close. There are plenty of state-owned oil companies that dwarf XOM - they’re not “counted”, however, because most lists of large businesses focus on _private_ companies, not state-owned. Never mind, apparently I’ve been the victim of somoene misquoting the NY Times. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/70 "2006-04-27T21:22:09Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > But I’m already boycotting ExxonMobil! Double-boycott them then. This means that you don’t buy their gas, but you give them money for it anyway. Hah! ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/71 "2006-04-27T21:23:12Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > No, the sad part is that you believe that it’s true. Honestly, I suspect that many historians are going to have a hard time properly weighing a lot of this information in the future. If the cost of breakfast cereal were to skyrocket over a six-year period, which just happened to coincide with the administration of a president who: 1. had been a cereal company executive, 2. had been governor of the state of Kelloggvania, 3. had widely rumored financial ties to the ruling family of Sugarsmackrabia, and 4. invaded a nation with huge natural Froot Loop deposits under largely false pretenses, –one can perhaps understand how all this might tend to raise some eyebrows, fairly or not. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/72 "2006-04-27T22:09:49Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > There was an economist on NPR the other day who said basically this. He seemed pretty impatient with the whole boycott. At the end of the interview, the reporter asked him whether there were any actions consumers could take to lower the cost of gasoline. > > His answer? “Drive less.” I heard some interviews in the street on the local AM news network yesterday. One idiot woman stated in a defiant tone, “We’re going to boycott those gas companies until they lower their prices. We’re going to carpool, take the train, take the bus, whatever we have to do!” I couldn’t help but scream at the radio, “GOOD!!!” I’ve heard some environmentalists say for years that the way to encourage conservation was simply to raise the cost of fuel. Apparently they were right. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/73 "2006-04-27T22:36:49Z")
They should all do what I am doing today. I am using my bike and our light-rail system to commute to and from work. In the morning, I ride about 2 miles to the train station. Take MetroLink that stops 4 blocks from the office. Now at the end of the day, i am riding my bike 14 miles home. I save money, get some much needed exercise and as an added bonus, get to enjoy today’s beautiful spring weather. I can’t do it every day, but today will be the 5th time in April. And May is Bike-to-Work Month. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/74 "2006-04-27T23:44:59Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I’ve heard some environmentalists say for years that the way to encourage conservation was simply to raise the cost of fuel. Apparently they were right. Oh my God. Ralph Nader’s the man behind the curtain! We are through the looking glass, people. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/75 "2006-04-28T00:13:30Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > Honestly, I suspect that many historians are going to have a hard time properly weighing a lot of this information in the future. > > If the cost of breakfast cereal were to skyrocket over a six-year period, which just happened to coincide with the administration of a president who: > > 1. had been a cereal company executive, > > 2. had been governor of the state of Kelloggvania, > > 3. had widely rumored financial ties to the ruling family of Sugarsmackrabia, and > > 4. invaded a nation with huge natural Froot Loop deposits under largely false pretenses, > > –one can perhaps understand how all this might tend to raise some eyebrows, fairly or not. Historians might have some trouble with it, but economists will note that 1. The burgeoning populations of Wontonaland and Curria (along with the rest of the world) needed more and more wheat imports to satisfy the Snap Crackle and Pop lifestyle to which their citizens would like to become accustomed, while 2. CMLCP (the Conglomerate of Milk-Laden Carbohyrates Producers) declined to increase production (or was unable to), in spite of the increasing demand for breakfast foods. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/76 "2006-04-28T00:27:07Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Why stop there? I’m boycotting Volvo until they install a Rolling Blowjob feature standard in all their cars. > > Also, the seats should be made of boobs. A SD Classic: > **[Jesus is NOT a hydrogen-powered sports-car with VTOLthat gives blowjobs!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=120800)** > > Or, bumper-sticker hell. As I was driving over to my folk’s house for Father’s Day, I was stuck behind someone who expressed their entire life via bumperstickers. The first was the oddest. “Hmmmm” Thinks I “Jesus, in Christian theology, is the... ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/77 "2006-04-28T00:44:39Z")
> [@5 time champ](#): > > They should all do what I am doing today. I am using my bike and our light-rail system to commute to and from work. > > In the morning, I ride about 2 miles to the train station. Take MetroLink that stops 4 blocks from the office. > > Now at the end of the day, i am riding my bike 14 miles home. I save money, get some much needed exercise and as an added bonus, get to enjoy today’s beautiful spring weather. > > I can’t do it every day, but today will be the 5th time in April. > > And May is Bike-to-Work Month. So you take your bike on the train? I wonder how many people have that kind of great access to public transport? Seriously. I sure don’t. Perhaps 10%? 5%? People are not just going to up and abandon property in rural or suburban areas. People that make the simplistic suggestion of “get a new job, move closer to work” really have know idea about how the world really works. (I’m not suggesting you said that 5 Time Champ). Now, I’m not, and haven’t bitched about gas prices in this thread. It’ll hurt a bit, but for the lifestyle I want, and frankly not having any other realistic options anyway (it would end up costing me more to move closer to town, than I will spend on gas), I deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/78 "2006-04-28T01:17:55Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > Sugarsmackrabia I _love_ that strip club! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/79 "2006-04-28T01:39:33Z")
I just showed this thread to a couple of friends of mine. Here is what the wife said > [@](#): > > You know a lot of people boycott hookers, but I don’t hear about the price of blowjobs going down. ---
**Author:** ![liberty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/958977/32.png) [@liberty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433/80 "2006-04-28T01:57:01Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > But you CAN drive whatever you want, up to about 20,000 lbs GVW (IIRC), more if you’ve got a commercial licence. If you feel the extra fuel costs are a worthwhile tradeoff for drivng a behemoth vehicle, knock yourself out. > > BTW, I’m still willing to have my ignorance eradicated on how the oil companies are gouging consumers on gasoline. You gonna explain how this is done, or what? I drive an economy car. I’m against suvs and pickups if you don’t need them. Of course, i drive an 8 wheeler, but my company pays for the fuel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-want-1-30-a-gallon/354433.md?page=5)