Gas is under 2.00 a gallon

[Banned]

A barrel of crude oil closed at about $36 today. Four year low price. Great for anyone buying gasoline or paying for heating fuel, but this is more about our shitty economy.

[onegunguitar]

A barrel of crude oil closed at about $36 today. Four year low price. Great for anyone buying gasoline or paying for heating fuel, but this is more about our shitty economy.

It amazes me that when the price of a barrel of oil was going up,the price of gas,diesel and home heating oil would jump up within a day or two but now since the price per barrel is going down it seems that the price at the pump drops at a much slower rate.

[f.sciarrillo]

A barrel of crude oil closed at about $36 today. Four year low price. Great for anyone buying gasoline or paying for heating fuel, but this is more about our shitty economy.

It amazes me that when the price of a barrel of oil was going up,the price of gas,diesel and home heating oil would jump up within a day or two but now since the price per barrel is going down it seems that the price at the pump drops at a much slower rate.

That is because the gas stations are still trying to make a profit off of how much they paid for it.

[JackANSI]

So? It should even out since they paid less for it while the prices were going up.

[RobTheDrummer]

I say just be happy that it's low right now...you know that shit it gonna go right back up there eventually.

[JackANSI]

Kinda makes me wish I had some way of storing a few thousand gallons...

I actually can fill-up from 1/4 tank for under $20.. yet when I do pay cash I still am in the habit of taking out 2 $20s on my way in, just in case the cashier tells me there was an error

[songsmith]

Don'tcha just LOVE that OPEC said yesterday that they'd be making the most drastic production cut in their history, and America said, "Ehh, whatever." The markets didn't flinch, and the price stays low.
In turn, low petro prices have kept inflation in check, which helps out overall.---->JMS

[f.sciarrillo]

Don'tcha just LOVE that OPEC said yesterday that they'd be making the most drastic production cut in their history, and America said, "Ehh, whatever." The markets didn't flinch, and the price stays low.
In turn, low petro prices have kept inflation in check, which helps out overall.---->JMS

Opec should be tried and convicted for the way they try to rip people off. Or maybe shot ? Either way, this should not sway this country from trying to produce it's own crude. If we could get to a point of not buying from them idiots, they would really be worried about being able to pay for their camels.

[Banned]

Don'tcha just LOVE that OPEC said yesterday that they'd be making the most drastic production cut in their history, and America said, "Ehh, whatever." The markets didn't flinch, and the price stays low.
In turn, low petro prices have kept inflation in check, which helps out overall.---->JMS

Opec should be tried and convicted for the way they try to rip people off. Or maybe shot ? Either way, this should not sway this country from trying to produce it's own crude. If we could get to a point of not buying from them idiots, they would really be worried about being able to pay for their camels.

Even oil closed at the $33 dollar range for a barrel of crude, I agree that we need to use our own crude and natural gas, and wind and solar. We strategically should never rely on others for our energy. A problem is that this low cost oil will slow the pace for alternative forms of energy.

[songsmith]

Even oil closed at the $33 dollar range for a barrel of crude, I agree that we need to use our own crude and natural gas, and wind and solar. We strategically should never rely on others for our energy. A problem is that this low cost oil will slow the pace for alternative forms of energy.

I agree, the drop in price will simply lead to the 80's all over again... all our momentum in the 70's towards energy independence disappeared, as people felt entitled to consume as much as they could afford. We may be seeing the return of the Suburban soon.
I'm convinced we have the ability to bring imports down to a trickle. I think the future is in things like wind (if the neo's don't kill it), geothermal, solar, and when the time comes, cold-fusion. Plus, we have enough natural gas to last a hundred years, we need to use it.
I also agree that it's a national defense issue, that we should never rely on others for energy, especially not the people who bankrolled 9/11.--->JMS

[f.sciarrillo]

I can see that also, Smithy. It is crazy how prices make people forget things.

[JackANSI]

In a few months: Embargo on!


Did you get the reference?

[bassist_25]

Yeah, it is true that the unions are to blame for where they are right now. Finding a way to restructure the contracts would help them immensely.

...and management shouldn't accept any blame? While it does seem that someone on a car production line making $35 an hour is pretty crazified, perhaps management's business strategy wasn't exactly built on solid ground either. There are a number of reasons why Toyoto kicked the asses of the Big Three; one of those reasons is because they produced smaller, more fuel efficient cars. The Big Three cashed in on the demand of huge land tanks throughout the early to mid-2000s. Then when people were getting gas hoses shoved up their rectums, they needed more fuel efficient models. The Big Three didn't seem to have done any market research and instead kept producing those large landtanks. Then they were scratching their heads when every dealership had 50 SUVs sitting on their lots and they couldn't move them. old sKool bought a Dodge Ram pickup this summer at a price so low that he should have been arrested for stealing.

I wish this were as simple as a labor relations issue, but the fact is that it's more than that. It's more than an economic or financial one too. The Big Three seriously dropped the ball on the managerial and business strategy end of things. Labor is going to have to give consessions. That's pretty obvious. However, management is going to have to put their egos aside and learn how to compete in this new environment. My prediction: 10 years from now, every vehicle on the road is going to be foreign. It may say "Ford" or "Dodge," but it's going to be owned by foreign investors and run by a foreign CEO.

As far as gas - I took a trip to Florida last week, and the lowest we came across was $1.33 in Virginia. Woo hoo! Unfortately, I agree with Joe and Johnny; I hope that low gas doesn't make people forget $4 gas. We like to talk alternative energy when we're in a crunch, but soon forget when fossil fuels are flowing like milk and honey. I'd love to get off the foreign teat if only so we are not subject to the instability in the Middle East.

[f.sciarrillo]

Yeah, it is true that the unions are to blame for where they are right now. Finding a way to restructure the contracts would help them immensely.

...and management shouldn't accept any blame? While it does seem that someone on a car production line making $35 an hour is pretty crazified, perhaps management's business strategy wasn't exactly built on solid ground either. There are a number of reasons why Toyoto kicked the asses of the Big Three; one of those reasons is because they produced smaller, more fuel efficient cars. The Big Three cashed in on the demand of huge land tanks throughout the early to mid-2000s. Then when people were getting gas hoses shoved up their rectums, they needed more fuel efficient models. The Big Three didn't seem to have done any market research and instead kept producing those large landtanks. Then they were scratching their heads when every dealership had 50 SUVs sitting on their lots and they couldn't move them. old sKool bought a Dodge Ram pickup this summer at a price so low that he should have been arrested for stealing.

I wish this were as simple as a labor relations issue, but the fact is that it's more than that. It's more than an economic or financial one too. The Big Three seriously dropped the ball on the managerial and business strategy end of things. Labor is going to have to give consessions. That's pretty obvious. However, management is going to have to put their egos aside and learn how to compete in this new environment. My prediction: 10 years from now, every vehicle on the road is going to be foreign. It may say "Ford" or "Dodge," but it's going to be owned by foreign investors and run by a foreign CEO.

As far as gas - I took a trip to Florida last week, and the lowest we came across was $1.33 in Virginia. Woo hoo! Unfortately, I agree with Joe and Johnny; I hope that low gas doesn't make people forget $4 gas. We like to talk alternative energy when we're in a crunch, but soon forget when fossil fuels are flowing like milk and honey. I'd love to get off the foreign teat if only so we are not subject to the instability in the Middle East.

The managers are to blame for letting them get their way. Them letting them bulling their way into getting what they want is a root cause of bankruptcy ...

[bassist_25]

The managers are to blame for letting them get their way. Them letting them bulling their way into getting what they want is a root cause of bankruptcy ...

Did you read my post at all? Union or no union - The Big Three's business model was archiac and a failure. Yes, the workers get paid a lot - perhaps too much (but then we'd be opening a huge can of worms about market value, efficiency wages, pattern bargaining/whipsawwing, etc.) - but you can't deny the fact that management dropped the ball on their end of the court too in terms of how they conducted business.

I'll say it once again, this time with capital letters: IT'S MORE THAN A LABOR RELATIONS ISSUE!!!

[songsmith]

Oh yeah, management should take their lashes, too. They should have sold off the corporate jets long ago. They caved to union pressure because there was still enough money to make everybody obscenely overpaid, now there isn't. The $17B Bush gave them yesterday will only postpone the inevitable. Maybe seeing the Escalade being made by Daihatsu Industrial Concern will clue a bunch of laissez-faire capitalists in as to why you can't trust the uber-rich with the well-being of a nation. (Okay, I was making a point, Daihatsu won't be likely to make the Escalade. They'd have to call it a Cadirrac Escarade. )--->JMS