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Automotive News & Views Are gas prices fueling your pain? 
10042 messages, Last post on Jul 12, 2008 at 3:07 PM
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an article from last Sunday's Washington Post caught my eye..."Peeved at Prices? Don't blame the Dealer". It goes on to tell the story of a local Exxon franchise owner who's between a rock and a hard place. It says that if she raises the price of gasoline a couple pennies per gallon, Exxon's computers know it and will adjust the wholesale price that SHE pays by the same amount. So the net effect...Exxon's still raking it all in and she's no better off than she was before. On top of that, credit card fees are killing her profit margins, and just the week before the article was printed Exxon, who owns the land the station is on, gave her a new lease stating that they're raising her rent 30%, phased in over the next three years! When she told Exxon that she can't make money with rent that high, the territory manager simply replied... "When you go, leave us the keys". This kind of attitude makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about big business...NOT. 
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Replying to: tpe (May 30, 2008 4:39 am) But if I were making just under $200K and offered a promotion that would give me, say, a 10% increase but also 10% more work, responsibility, stress, etc, the only way I would take it would be if the only other option was to be shown the door. Or, if the company threw in some kind of non-taxable perk that was too good to refuse. |
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Replying to: gagrice (May 29, 2008 3:45 pm) I used to be able to do that kind of stuff, but having a desk job has made me lazy. Back in the day though, I could work 7:30-4, or 8-4:30 Monday-Friday, and then work part time, 5-11 on Mon/Tues/Thurs, 5-midnite or later on Friday, and then go in 5-1 on Saturday. I gradually phased that down though, and eventually quit that part time job. These days though, I usually have to work late on Thursdays, usually putting in 10-11 hours instead of 8. Those extra 2-3 hours will kick my butt! Part of the problem though, is that 2-3 hours sitting at a computer getting eye-strain, carpal tunnel, and sort of physically vegetating is different from an extra few hours running around on your feet. Both will wear you out, but in different ways. |
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Replying to: lemko (May 29, 2008 4:24 am) Hate to say it, but for someone in a situation like that, if money is already tight, they're going to be hurting big-time. For something like an old Satellite to get 20 mpg, that would have to be almost pure highway driving...not to mention a very well-tuned, low power engine like a slant six or 318. Well, at 20 mpg, the guy is using 10 gallons per week just for work. Or, 40 bucks per week. If he got into something that doubled his fuel economy, to 40 mpg, it would only save him 20 bucks per week. Or roughly $80-90 per month. Heck, just the car insurance difference, going from a liability-only hoopty to a full-coverage economy car, could eat up most of that savings. In a situation like this, I'd say the guy would either have to start looking for an extra job, see if he can pick up some overtime...ANYTHING that could bring in more money. Or start seeing if there's some kind of fat that can be trimmed, like satellite tv, cell phone, a gym membership, etc. Unfortunately though, for many people, there's no fat to trim. Sadly though, a person in this sort of situation is going to be screwed, no matter what. Even if somehow they could get into a car that used half the gas with no extra financial burden (say some eccentric old fool offered to give him a Civic or similar car, and pay the difference on the insurance), I don't think a person like this would be much better off. If your lifestyle is at the point where $80-90 per month is the difference between a roof over your head and the street, your situation is pretty dire. Increasing utility bills, food bills, rent, etc, or some unforeseen emergency could wipe out that $80-90 per month savings in the blink of an eye. |
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Replying to: texases (May 27, 2008 7:16 am) " Ignores basics physics and chemistry " ?? You researched this and your conclusion is based on fact ? I didn't think so , just a conditioned reaction to anything not understood or contrary to your limited knowledge ?
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Replying to: future4u (May 31, 2008 5:29 am) >"Ignores basic physics and chemistry" >I didn't think so, just a conditioned reaction to anything not understood or contrary to your limited knowledge ? Maybe you can discuss your background and degrees in chemistry and physics that support your opinion that it's not a scam? In my opinion, it's a scam.
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Replying to: andre1969 (May 31, 2008 4:48 am) Work!! eek!! It is hard enough to get todays youth to work a full time job. Now you want them to work an extra job? When I was growing up, my step dad worked two jobs and went to college when we lived in Portland, Oregon. He did not want my mom to work. That was the work ethic in the 1950s. I would say the person that cannot afford the gas for a car, is going to have to make some adjustments. Get rid of the cell phone and TV cable. Get a bicycle and quit buying processed junk food. I was amazed at Von's last night. Two young guys in the line ahead of us, buying food. They were digging in their pockets for the money to pay. Everything they bought was processed JUNK FOOD. Absolute crap from Cocoa Puffs to frozen pizza. I have a hard time losing sleep over losers like that.
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Replying to: imidazol97 (May 31, 2008 5:43 am)
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This guy makes a lot of good points. Higher Gas Prices can only help us Americans should be celebrating rather than shuddering over the arrival of $4-a-gallon gasoline. We lived on cheap gas too long, failed to innovate and now face the consequences of competing for a finite resource amid fast-expanding global demand. A further price rise as in Europe to $8 a gallon -- or $200 and more to fill a large SUV's tank -- would be a catalyst for economic, political and social change of profound national and global impact. We could face an economic squeeze, but it would be the pain before the gain. The U.S. economy absorbed a tripling in gas prices in the last six years without falling into recession, at least through March. Ravenous demand from China and India could see prices further double in the next few years -- and jumpstart the overdue process of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels. Consider the world of good that would come of pricing crude oil and gasoline at levels that would strain our finances as much as they're straining international relations and the planet's long-term health: 1. RIP for the internal-combustion engine They may contain computer chips, but the power source for today's cars is little different than that which drove the first Model T 100 years ago. That we're still harnessed to this antiquated technology is testament to Big Oil's influence in Washington and success in squelching advances in fuel efficiency and alternative energy. Given our achievement in getting a giant mainframe's computing power into a handheld device in just a few decades, we should be able to do likewise with these dirty, little rolling power plants that served us well but are overdue for the scrap heap of history. 2. Economic stimulus Necessity being the mother of invention, $8 gas would trigger all manner of investment sure to lead to groundbreaking advances. Job creation wouldn't be limited to research labs; it would rapidly spill over into lucrative manufacturing jobs that could help restore America's industrial base and make us a world leader in a critical realm. The most groundbreaking discoveries might still be 25 or more years off, but we won't see massive public and corporate funding of research initiatives until escalating oil costs threaten our national security and global stability -- a time that's fast approaching. 3. Wither the Middle East's clout This region that's contributed little to modern civilization exercises inordinate sway over the world because of its one significant contribution -- crude extraction. Aside from ensuring Israel's security, the U.S. would have virtually no strategic or business interest in this volatile, desolate region were it not for oil -- and its radical element wouldn't be able to demonize us as the exploiters of its people. In the near term, breaking our dependence on Middle Eastern oil may well require the acceptance of drilling in the Alaskan wilderness -- with the understanding that costly environmental protections could easily be built into the price of $8 gas. 4. Deflating oil potentates On a similar note, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently gained a platform on the world stage because of their nations' sudden oil wealth. Without it, they would face the difficult task of building fair and just economies and societies on some other basis. How far would their message resonate -- and how long would they even stay in power -- if they were unable to buy off the temporary allegiance of their people with vast oil revenues?
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