I read this a while ago: air on for highway speeds, windows for < 50mph.

Really? I haven't been aware of any gas shortages here on my side of town. Cripes! I hope we don't have a replay of what happened a while back when the pipeline broke just outside of Tucson. People panicked, everyone filled their tanks running stations dry. Then, people paniked even more. You remember Lookout, people were actually tracking down and following fuel trucks as they drove to the gas stations for delivery. Or, what was funny, was they would sometimes follow them back to the fuel depots thinking they were making a delivery.

http://fox.org/~vince/out/crank.jpg

High gas prices? BRING IT!

Here's one cause of the high gas prices and short supply. Can you say "hoarding?"

Here, Joe Stevens fills his 1,500 gallon gas tank after waiting in line for an hour in Mobile, Alabama yesterday.

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-d...5083001932.jpg

Many, many, years ago when I was a kid, I seemed to remember one of the many gas crisis that hit this country. People were hoarding gas by filling large containers and putting them in their backyard. Many of them were actually burying them in the ground. Many of these containers that were plastic, since they were fuel rated, would begin to deteriorate and leak, causing a huge hazard. There were also reports of these containers exploding becuse of the building up of gas fumes. Folks do unerstand that you can't just fill anything up with gas and be good. I am surprise the gas station is allowing this dude to fill this rusted out hunk of metal. Not to mention, if gas was...say $2.80 in Mobile, that's 4,200 fricken dollars!

I went from spending $400 per month on gas to spending $600 in about two months time. I did not get a raise. Where did that extra money come from? At this rate of energy inflation (because my electricity and natural gas will go up as well), who will go bankrupt first? Me, or GM?

Oh, wait...I can't really file bankruptcy anymore, can I? But GM can. That's good for business.

Sorry, TW. I contribute to the economy. If I have to spend my disposable income on fuel, then I don't spend it on other things, and the economy suffers. If I get a raise to offset the increase, then my company's prices go up, and hence inflation, and the economy suffers.

at 2 pm yesterday I passed a gas station right by my house that posted $2.41, I intended to bring back our minivan and filler up but forgot. At 4:30 pm much to my suprise it was $2.99 at the station right by my dentist's office. I drove by the 2.41 station at 8:30 am today and the price was $3.19. Indpls,IN

:mg:

Welcome to the cellar, shoot. Pull up a chair. The good news is you'll be pleased at the price of gas in here. The bad news is it's all just hot air.

found out that 2 main pipelines that supply the east and some of the northeast have been shutdown due to katrina. no telling when it will be back in service.......

PLUS!!!

You'll be getting a convoy of 475 busses carrying 10,000 refugees from the Superdome. Y'all generously cleared the schedule at the Astrodome until December for them. Right neighborly of you. :thanks:

This weekend: <a href="http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=31301411&brk=1">$4 per gallon</a>!

Ahh yes. And so it starts. There are already reports around my area that stations are running out of fuel. Not because we are running out of fuel in Phoenix, but becuase of the idiot media reporting that gas could rise to $4 by weeks end and might be hard to come by to all the idiot people who promtly panic and head off the the nearest gas station to top off. Thereby, throwing an unexpected strain on the current supplies at the stations. I hope the terrorists are watching, this will give them some really good ideas on how to cripple the mighty United States.


Incidentally, we will never see gas prices fall below $2.80 ever again...mark my words. It's that racheting effect of pricing I mentioned earlier in the thread; if prices go to $4 (which I think it's doubtful, $3.50 maybe).

Anyone care to offer their predictions on what all of this will eventually lead to? Are we going to see a massive collapse of the economy, a recession, or is all of this fairly temporary?

I wouldn't be afraid to invest in another box of shells if that's what you mean.

not so sure that it's temporary. and i can see the oil companies forcing a recession out of greed. they're fixing to spend billions fixing their refineries, pipelines and offshore platforms. of the 10 or so helecopters i worked with all day yesterday they came across numerous damaged or destroyed platforms in the 50-75 mile radius we were working. unfortunately, those costs, like any other to any consumer for any product, will fall back on us as if it hasn't already happened. well, i know i feel the impact.

i am reminded of that old cocain commercial in the late 80's/early 90's only here is a different spin:

"i buy gas so i can go to work to earn more money to buy more gas so i can go to work so i can earn more money so i can buy more gas...."

i agree, that was a very noble/neighborly gesture and they are welcome to stay! also, people here in town are opening up their spare bedrooms to strangers as well.

from the houston chronicle:

A sign directs officials and volunteers to the evacuee staging area at the Astrodome in Houston, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005. More than 20,000 people affected by Hurricane Katrina are expected to be transported from the New Orleans Superdome to the Astrodome for shelter. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

jumped from 2.48 two days ago to 3.20 today here. And premium ONLY is available anywhere in this town.

NATIONWIDE GOUGING IN PROGRESS
pISSES ME RIGHT ON OFF

one more:
Frank Kaljo, who said he can only afford one gallon of gas, fuels his car at a Marathon gas station Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005, in Chicago where the top grade was selling for $3.89 per gallon. As the shutdown of supplies from the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico drove energy prices to hew highs, the White House signaled Wednesday it is willing to tap into the nation's oil reserves to help refiners whose supplies were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Houston Chronicle photo gallery. worth browsing through.....

You know what would be a real kick in the balls? Let us say, just for fun, that another storm suddenly forms in the Atlantic like Katrina did. Let's say that it starts heading for the US coast. Let's make it even more fun by imagining what would happen if the thing threatened a major city, like New Orleans, as a catagory four or five.

Now, know that during evacuations here in Tampa, gasoline completely dissapears. As in all grades of gas go away as people flood up the interstate and rush to fill generators. In 2004, even with good supplies, people found themselves stranded on the road while they were trying to get the hell out of town.

What do you think would happen, with the current pipeline problem, if the weather decides to take another swipe in the coming weeks?

The number of dead in Gulfport and New Orleans would suddenly be insignificant.

that and/or the storm hits Texas City just north of Galveston and stays on track to hit Pasadena as well. then with that, most of the entire south will not be producing gasoline. some of the majors here, just to name a few include: Marathon, BP, Valero etc.....

just saw a BP station in atlanta on the national news with $6.03+/- for premium :mg:

Oh those devilish details. What does that report forget to mention? What is the other half of the truth they forgot to mention? There is not shortage of crude. There is a shortage of working transport factilities and a shortage of working refineries. But that is alright. You don't know this. Therefore George Jr looks smart. And making George Jr look good is the important point. So we open the strategic oil reserve.

Of course the New Madrid earthquake fault line in Missouri on the Mississippi is overdue for slippage. Don't things happen in threes?

Damn, that must be some fine gas. capnhowdy, what's the word on the ground in GA?

$3.20 gal premium only..... 30% of stations OUT. Lines 1/2 mile long....

I'm with TW , open the reserves. But wouldn't that weaken our military superiority? I hope this shit doesn't turn out like I'm projecting. :worried:

But TW noted how opening the reserves does not solve the problem. It makes George Jr look good to the naive. But does not solve refinery and transport problems. Does not eliminate the bottleneck.

This is north Cinncy, up about $.20-30 overnight.

I don't often agree with TW, but he's spot on with SOR thing. Won't make a bit of difference, because there's no place to refine it, and no way to get it to market if it was refined.

I can't prove it, but I suspect Bush was responsible for the hurricane. :headshake

Nicotine? Is that you?
:lol:

Things have stabilized here in Tampa. The gas panic seems to have been short-lived and some of the stations that were once out are now stocked, again. The worst lines seemed to have been on the weekend, but they never extended outside of the stations and onto the streets. Those lines are now gone.

Prices are hovering around $2.73.

I've got to go on a materials run this morning and my pickup's tank is empty. Unless they changed overnight it'll be $2.97.

The station on the corner last night in Arlington VA was:
3.92 regular
3.02 Premium
3.09 Super Premium

How weird is that? Must be a rush on the regular, so they raised the price?

Gas jumped almost $0.20 over night. It's frickin' $2.99 at one local gas station/car wash. I'm know that there is a wonderful, colorful, flowerey economic explaination that goes along with this (in which I'm sure TW has and/or will reveal), but all I can think of is "gougers."

2.99 ethanol blend (89)
3.09 regular (87)
3.19 premium (90+)

at most stations I've seen here. No lines, no shortages. No money left over for a Krispy Kreme and coffee...

I saw a $3.20 regular this morning.

Might be some queues at the pumps this weekend...

No. Just Antimatter.

I agree with TW, the problem is the mode of transportation for the finished product. the pipelines must be brought back online.

one thing though:
As the shutdown of supplies from the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico drove energy prices to hew highs, the White House signaled Wednesday it is willing to tap into the nation's oil reserves to help refiners whose supplies were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) was a quote from the associated press/houston chronicle.

I got a tankful of $2.89 Regular in the wife's Taurus last night. Radio says that it is all $3.00+ this morning (I don't really pass any gas stations on the way to work without going out of my way, so I made no direct observations) on the Missouri side, and 10 cents higher in Kansas (which is our normal spread, even when we aren't being reamed).

Much talk of $3.50 to $4.00 being the top stability point at least through the end of September, no matter what crude prices do.

I like to inject a little humor into otherwise bleak proceedings. I know Bush didn't cause the hurricane. He just looked the other way while evil corporate interests did it.

yesterday at lunch the station i normally use had reg. for $2.49 then after work - $3fucking28.

You know, the hurricane could be considered a terrorist. Now, now, stick with me here. Vast destruction. Economic wasteland. Many poeple financial and physically ruined. I vote we changed the name from hurricane Katrina to hurricane Ansar al Islam. Let's include this hurricane into the axis of evil club.

<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050831/ap_on_re_eu/hurricane_katrina_world_hk4">Too late</a>.

"Islamic extremists rejoiced in America's misfortune, giving the storm a military rank and declaring in Internet chatter that "Private" Katrina had joined the global jihad, or holy war. With "God's help," they declared, oil prices would hit $100 a barrel this year."

That certainly would make it much less cost-effective to blow them off of the face of the Earth.

Gas prices are now effecting me
 

Well, when I went from $50 to fill up my tahoe to $120 to fill up my suburban, all in a matter of 3 weeks, things do get a bit more tense. Going from $200/month to $480/month for gas really does have an impact.

.19 cents overnight to $3.26

$2.87 at the place across the street. I forgot to look when I passed the Sheetz up the road, its usually much cheaper there though.

Oh, but according to TW, these prices are still not high enough. I don't know what your talking about. Suck it up pal. [horrendous sarcasm]According to the latest economic reports, your paying $480 a month in 2005, but that translates to $800 in 1973 dollars. So your not that bad off. Doesn't matter that you can't buy as much groceries this month as you did two months ago in 2005, where it counts.[/horrendous sarcasm]

the way these prices are going it's a definite lifestyle change.
i'm going to pick up the classifieds and look for a motorcycle.

yesterday nothing but premium here @ 3.20... this morning: nothing but regular at 3.09. I swear someone's mind gaming me.

I paid $3.09 for 87 octane today. $3.19 for Plus and $3.29 for Premium. Went up $.20 overnight.

I saw some regular for 2.99 this morning as a trekked across Illinois from my parents house. Diesal was a whole dollar cheaper in some places... and I called Mr. Saur and told him that if things keep up like this, we should trade in our car for a TDi. He yelled at me and said I should just drive less. Oh well.

Turkey Hill on the corner by my house as well as down the street from my office.

2.99 for regular, 3.19 for premium at 7:55 this morning

3.19 for regular, 3.59 for premium at 5:30 this afternoon.

I've seen higher, but the trauma of that number has been blocked from my memory.

The attached seems a bit more...accurate for some reason.

East Norriton Wawa 3.259 for Regular after midnight tonight.

Premium required a second mortgage and an indenture on your firstborn.

Yeah, but it isn't going to hurt the economy, right TW?

And now for the question everyone loves to ask: Why oh WHY do you own a Suburban and a Tahoe? Surely you're not complaining because you do more with these vehicles than drive it, alone, to and from work, the store, etc? You must have a ton of kids to haul around every single day.

I only say this because, well, there are some really crazy people here at my office that only have one or two kids and they're griping that it costs so much to fill up their massive vehicle. Even then, usually they're the only ones driving it! They love excess, so I'm sure that these gas prices can't be hurting them that badly. Otherwise, you know, they would have purchased a reasonable vehicle. A couple of them in their F-350s do nothing more than sit behind a desk all day -- they don't even have a boat to haul with it, nor do they work construction sites. Hilarious, really.

Our local paper stated today that America would stop all oil exports in the coming future and that this could mean prices could rise to as much as about 100€ for a full refuel for the common car. This price used to be at 40€ so this would be a price rise of more than 200%... But i'll wait and see, I don't tend to believe everything I read.

By Monday, I expect to be paying $4.00 per gallon. That's going to cost me $80.00 to fill my Explorer. That's about $64.50 or thereabouts in Euros. Looks like we're all gonna have to pucker up, huh?