Gas customers rage about pump prices

[SLCPUNK]

my point is that i hate when people ASSUME that an SUV driver is in it for "status".

Sorry, but when I see SUVs down here in Fla that are AWD and completely loaded with 5.6 engines.........

Always one woman with a cell phone in her hand.

Gimmie a break........

[anythinggoes]

jesus they need to come to England we pay the equivilent of $7 per gallon (?0.94 per litre)

and a gas guzzler is less then 20mpg in my eyes

yeah, I did some calculating with dollars and gallons and found out that gas costs $6.50 per gallon here in Norway. stop bitching Americans!

BUT you also have a much larger, more convinient, and more developed public transportation system (largely paid for by the increased petrol taxes you pay)? than we have.? You also have much less square mileage to "cover" in crossing your entire country.? AND that higher gas price buys you other govt funded goods and services that we DON'T get (like health care, etc).? And, unless I'm mistaken, you have not seen an approximate 75% to 85% (or more) raise in your gasoline costs over the past 18 to 24 months, with no commesurate cost of living increase in your pay.

Hell, you give me free GOOD health care, free (or greatly reduced cost) exemplary university education for my kids, free (or reduced cost, anyway) GOOD public transportation, GOOD govt funded retirement benefits, and all the other government benefits you get from paying that higher gas price and I'll gladly pay 6 bucks a gallon, too.? I'd make it all back in just my insurance premiums and future tuition costs.

I've gone from spending about 35 dollars a week in fuel costs to approximately 70 dollars a week in fuel costs.? And I'm travelling no more than I was previously, in the same vehicle, and my average mpg is pretty much the same as always..? Do the math.? That's $140 a month more I'm paying for gas.? That, to me, is a pretty sizeable change to a single wage earning family of 4 (soon to be 5), dontcha think?

heres a table for you ok yes we havent seen the increase you have but we still have an increase non the less

http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html

and to let you know our public transport system isnt that brilliant and its too expensive as well my typical monthly fuel bill is over $500 for about 1500 miles of driving

[pilferk]

heres a table for you ok yes we havent seen the increase you have but we still have an increase non the less

http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html

and to let you know our public transport system isnt that brilliant and its too expensive as well my typical monthly fuel bill is over $500 for about 1500 miles of driving

Can you break down how much of that is govt taxes and how much is actual cost?

So you've seen about 13% increase since 2004? Including tax increases (if any)?

I could live with that.

And using your math of $500 per 1500 miles driven....that's 3 bucks a mile...that seems a bit outta whack looking at your prices.  What are you getting for gas mileage?

[anythinggoes]

heres a table for you ok yes we havent seen the increase you have but we still have an increase non the less

http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/petrolprices.html

and to let you know our public transport system isnt that brilliant and its too expensive as well my typical monthly fuel bill is over $500 for about 1500 miles of driving

Can you break down how much of that is govt taxes and how much is actual cost?

So you've seen about 13% increase since 2004? Including tax increases (if any)?

I could live with that.

And using your math of $500 per 1500 miles driven....that's 3 bucks a mile...that seems a bit outta whack looking at your prices.? What are you getting for gas mileage?

fuck me i dont do politics all i know is petrol is a lot of money here and its half the price in the US

mpg is around 20ish it takes ?45 to fill my tank and i get 250 miles to it

[kockstar999]

If the place i lived had a nice metro like Japan or NY or Singapore i would never drive.  Id just buy my ticket throw in an ipod and relax... I hated driving. I hate gas prices so fucking high. I hate traffic, i hate road rage, i hate car insurance and maint.

Fuck Gas prices. Soon if it gets higher im just gonna buy a bike.

[pilferk]

fuck me i dont do politics all i know is petrol is a lot of money here and its half the price in the US

mpg is around 20ish it takes ?45 to fill my tank and i get 250 miles to it

See, that's my point.

It might not actually BE twice the price.  You're paying an additional premium, tacked on by your government, that has nothing to do with the actual price of the fuel, itself.  And you recieve benefits for paying that premium..benefits we don't get.

So, when comparing, at least for me, I'd like to see an apples to apples comparison...that is, the price sans any taxes levied on it.  It makes the comparison a bit more "real".

[SLCPUNK]

So, when comparing, at least for me, I'd like to see an apples to apples comparison...that is, the price sans any taxes levied on it.  It makes the comparison a bit more "real".

I agree.

Again, to restate our fuel prices have surged around 40 percent in the last year. It is crunching some people rather hard. So that is another reason you hear Americans "complaining"

[Butch Français]

what the hell are you talking about? where I live, there's 1 bus that leaves here in the morning, and returns in the afternoon. if people that work would take it, they would be late for work, then have to leave early to catch the bus home. it's mostly for schoolkids. so people like me needs a car...thank God Im moving away from this country soon
public transportation is pretty good in the cities here though, but it is in America too!

if you look at Norway from one end to the other, south-west to north-east, it's quite a stretch to drive! but anyway, who does that?
most people around here lives quite a bit away from where they work, me, about 12-13 miles. people live scattered around the mountains and fjords here so there's always some travelling involved when you're going places.

other than having health care provided for here, there really is not much difference from America...well except, it's not just the gas that costs more, everything else does too.
last year, I payed 36% taxes of my $31000 income.
THIS country sucks people! I'd rather live in America.

Public transport in America is a pale imitation of the Euro and Scandavanian countries systems. ?Trust me. ?There are some exceptions, in the states (and NYC and LA are not one of them), but by and large our public transportation sucks. ?It's old, it's not efficient, it's not reliable, it's not clean, it's not free...it's not a lot of things.

The point about country size is that, by comparison, you have less ground to cover, in general, and less chance to leave your public transportation system in order to travel to and from work. Norway is just a bit bigger than New Mexco, but 70% of the land is not really populated. ?Only about 39000 square miles is actually in active use, with a total population of about 4.6 million (about 1/2 the population of NYC). ?Your population centers typically ARE around the cities (17% in Oslo, alone..30% total if you include Bergen, Stavengar, and Trondheim), and most of your population, in general, has access to a reliable, and good, public transportation system. ?Because the way the contry is configured, you don't HAVE to travel very far, for the average citizen.

12 -13 miles? ?That's considered a short commute by US standards in most parts of the country. I think the average is 20 to 25.

Norway provides a large package of governemnt sponsored programs and "benefits" that the US does not, at the cost of the govt, provide. ?All I'm saying is, when comparing your gas price to that in the US..make sure you subtract that taxes that pay for all those benefits that we DON'T get.

Oh, and for the record, I'd rather live in the States, as well.

yeah man I get what you're saying. but as far as public transportation goes, it sucks this part of the country (the northern half). maybe with the exception of Troms?, I lived there for a year and you could catch a bus to anywhere around the town pretty much whenever you wanted.

even though there is only 39000 square miles actively in use, we still have to travel between those places...and public transportation is not free here, quite the contrary!

and I get you guys have had a huge increase in the gas prices, but Norway has gone through that as well, only that was long ago..in like the early 80s maybe.
and only since last year, the gas prices has gone up with about $0.85 (85 cents?) per gallon.
the roads here are pretty horrible as well, highways are allright, but in cities/towns and around they are in a terrible state.
Sweden is a much poorer country than Norway, yet they seem to find money to keep everything there in very acceptable standards. for example, the roads there are like heaven compared to here.

and the people who are accessible to public transportation here are basically the same as in the US, people who live in, or close to cities. but yes, the p. transportation is in very good standards.

also remember, we pay a helluva lots of taxes on everything else as well, not just the gas. I have yet to figure out where all that money is going to myself, cos the "benefits" here are far from as good as they're supposed to be.

but I know what you mean man, you have lotsa family in Norway so you know a lot about what it's like here.
the main reason I would rather live in America though, is the weather

[pilferk]

but I know what you mean man, you have lotsa family in Norway so you know a lot about what it's like here.
the main reason I would rather live in America though, is the weather

Yeah, the winters over there (and by "winter", I mean more than 1/2 the year.  ) are pretty brutal, especially up where you are in the North.  Down around Oslo it's not quite so bad (which is where my family is) but still....I'd never be able to do it.  I like snow as much as any New Englander does (which means we have a love/hate relationship), but could never hack Norway.

[Butch Français]

but I know what you mean man, you have lotsa family in Norway so you know a lot about what it's like here.
the main reason I would rather live in America though, is the weather

Yeah, the winters over there (and by "winter", I mean more than 1/2 the year. ) are pretty brutal, especially up where you are in the North. Down around Oslo it's not quite so bad (which is where my family is) but still....I'd never be able to do it. I like snow as much as any New Englander does (which means we have a love/hate relationship), but could never hack Norway.

haha, yeah they are pretty damn mean around here!
the worst 3-4 months in the winter, we only have a couple of hours of daylight a day here as well...it's very depressing and one of the biggest reasons Im moving away from here!
but on the other side, it's light outside 24/7 these days

[pilferk]

haha, yeah they are pretty damn mean around here!
the worst 3-4 months in the winter, we only have a couple of hours of daylight a day here as well...it's very depressing and one of the biggest reasons Im moving away from here!
but on the other side, it's light outside 24/7 these days

Honestly, I'm not sure which would be worse...not really seeing the sun for 3 or 4 months...or seeing the sun for 3 to 4 months straight.  That would SERIOUSLY fuck with my sleeping habits.....

[unoturbo]

See, that's my point.

It might not actually BE twice the price.  You're paying an additional premium, tacked on by your government, that has nothing to do with the actual price of the fuel, itself.  And you recieve benefits for paying that premium..benefits we don't get.

So, when comparing, at least for me, I'd like to see an apples to apples comparison...that is, the price sans any taxes levied on it.  It makes the comparison a bit more "real".

I can't remember exact figures but about 75% of the price of petrol (gas) is taken by the Government. The price before this isn't actually too bad (well compared to what we pay anyway). The price round here is 98.9 p for diesel a litre, which is about $7.5 a gallon.

We don't really see any of these 'benefits' for the stupidly high price and our (shoddy) health service is funded from other taxes. All it means is that to move things around i.e. from food to clothes to everything, costs a lot of money so we pay a lot more for everything. When I went to America last year, you could buy everything for the same number of dollars as pounds. So something for $199 will cost ?199 in England. I know which I'd rather have.

However, hopefully Americans will now realise that 5 litre cars that do 15 miles to the gallon are not a good idea.

[Butch Français]

haha, yeah they are pretty damn mean around here!
the worst 3-4 months in the winter, we only have a couple of hours of daylight a day here as well...it's very depressing and one of the biggest reasons Im moving away from here!
but on the other side, it's light outside 24/7 these days

Honestly, I'm not sure which would be worse...not really seeing the sun for 3 or 4 months...or seeing the sun for 3 to 4 months straight. That would SERIOUSLY fuck with my sleeping habits.....

oh yeah it can be confusing for sure!
but I love this time of year, you just gotta make sure to have really thick, dark curtains
I have blinds and black thick curtains, that makes it just about dark enough to sleep.
the sun is going past my bedroom window all night.
but the cool thing is that at night, the sun is so far away that you can look directly at it without hurting your eyes. it makes a really nice atmosphere if you're a night person like me!

[pilferk]

I can't remember exact figures but about 75% of the price of petrol (gas) is taken by the Government. The price before this isn't actually too bad (well compared to what we pay anyway). The price round here is 98.9 p for diesel a litre, which is about $7.5 a gallon.

We don't really see any of these 'benefits' for the stupidly high price and our (shoddy) health service is funded from other taxes. All it means is that to move things around i.e. from food to clothes to everything, costs a lot of money so we pay a lot more for everything. When I went to America last year, you could buy everything for the same number of dollars as pounds. So something for $199 will cost ?199 in England. I know which I'd rather have.

However, hopefully Americans will now realise that 5 litre cars that do 15 miles to the gallon are not a good idea.

See, that's the thing:

With us, it will vary by state because each state levies it's own per gallon gas tax.
For me, in CT, it's approx 25 cents per gallon.

The Federal gas tax is the same in every state, and is 18.5 cents per gallon.?

Our total tax on gas is only 43.5 cents per gallon in CT (and that's fixed...it doesn't change as the price goes up).

Average price per gallon is about 3.09 right now, here in CT.

The taxes are only about 14% of the total price.

Which means our "actual price" is about $2.65.

If you take the numbers above at 4.05 pounds per gallon, that works out to ABOUT $7.50 a gallon, US (using xe.com's current conversion).

Assuming your 75% number is correct, that would put you at an actual cost of about $1.88 per gallon.

See the difference?

[sandman]

sometimes if you buy more expensive gas (93 octane), it's cheaper on a per mile basis.

and you can save $$ by going to better gas stations. aamaco (or BP) and shell work best for me.

i'm sure this is common knowledge to people that know about cars, but just thought i'd mention.

[pilferk]

sometimes if you buy more expensive gas (93 octane), it's cheaper on a per mile basis.

and you can save $$ by going to better gas stations. aamaco (or BP) and shell work best for me.

i'm sure this is common knowledge to people that know about cars, but just thought i'd mention.

Sometimes, yes...if your engine is knocking.? If not, higher octane fuel really does nothing for you.

Always run the fuel your manufacturer tells you to run, unless you've tinkered with the engine (and thus, know the octane rating is no longer appropriate) or know the engine in knocking.

Edit: Found a good explanation of octane with pertinent information, so you don't have to take my word for it:

http://www.superchargersonline.com/content.asp?id=105

What's the benefit of higher octane fuel?

Higher octane fuel has only one beneficial feature - it allows an engine to run at higher temperatures with more advanced ignition timing under higher levels of compression witout detonating / knocking. Higher octane fuel does NOT have more potential energy and will not make an engine perform better unless that engine is knocking. On modern engines with knock sensors, higher octane fuel may make the engine run better if the knock sensors are retarding the ignition timing, which hinders performance. High octane fuel does not burn cleaner, it does not clean your engine, it does not increase horsepower or torque (unless you are experiencing knock), it does not smell better, it does not increase fuel economy (unless you are experiencing knock) and is not better for the environment. If you buy higher octane fuels for any of the above reasons, STOP!"

"When should I switch to a higher octane fuel?

First off, never run lower octane fuel than is recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer. If the vehicle manufacturer recommends 89 octane gasoline, this means that the engine has been tuned to perform optimally without detonation on 89 octane fuel. Once you've done some modifications to your engine, the manufacturer's recommended gasoline may no longer suffice. Obviously, if you can hear detonation inside your engine in the form of pinging or "knocking", try a higher octane fuel. You will also need to run a premium grade fuel (91+ octane) if you have a supercharger, turbocharger, or if you have an ignition programmer that advances your ignition timing. "

[unoturbo]

Assuming your 75% number is correct, that would put you at an actual cost of about $1.88 per gallon.

See the difference?

I know where you are coming from, but it makes most English people all the more annoyed that we pay nearly 3 times as much at the pumps as Americans!

So in America, most people are annoyed at the cost of the gas before tax and not the tax added? We are in totally the oposite situation here!

[SLCPUNK]

sometimes if you buy more expensive gas (93 octane), it's cheaper on a per mile basis.

and you can save $$ by going to better gas stations. aamaco (or BP) and shell work best for me.

i'm sure this is common knowledge to people that know about cars, but just thought i'd mention.

Yup.

Trying to go cheap on gas can end up costing you on the backend sometimes.

Most cars today have knock sensors.

If you put low octane in your car (assuming it requires mid grade and up) to "save" money, the knock sensor will retard the timing. Thus lowering your MPG.

[pilferk]

Assuming your 75% number is correct, that would put you at an actual cost of about $1.88 per gallon.

See the difference?

I know where you are coming from, but it makes most English people all the more annoyed that we pay nearly 3 times as much at the pumps as Americans!

So in America, most people are annoyed at the cost of the gas before tax and not the tax added? We are in totally the oposite situation here!

Pretty much...because it's not the taxes that are going up, it's the "before tax" cost. ?The flat rate taxes are pretty reasonable, and have been static for quite awhile in most states.

I know in '04, I was paying about $1.59 to $1.79 a gallon (including the 43 cent tax). ?I'm now paying about 3.09, and that's down from a high of about $3.29 (excluding right after Katrina when it hit about $3.49 for supply reasons), about 2 or 3 weeks ago.

[pilferk]

Yup.

Trying to go cheap on gas can end up costing you on the backend sometimes.

Most cars today have knock sensors.

If you put low octane in your car (assuming it requires mid grade and up) to "save" money, the knock sensor will retard the timing. Thus lowering your MPG.

Right.  And on the flip side, using MORE octane than the manufacturer recommends, UNLESS you have a knock (or are trying to get around your knock sensors), won't do you any good at all.  It's just a waste of money.