what's going on?

[The111 0]

Ok, there have been lots of posts about the price of gas in the near future, etc. Tonight I saw something that puzzled me.

I was driving through Orlando and EVERY gas station I passed had dozens of cars lined up waiting for the pumps. My first thought was that some stations ran out already so the ones that were still up and running were seeing more customers than usual. But then I realized that I didn't see any closed stations. I passed 10 in a row that were all open and all overflowing into the road with customers. The price wasn't that high yet either (relatively speaking), in the $2.6x range.

So what's up? I'm guessing these people are either anticipating a price increase or shortage of gas soon, and are trying to stock up early. Are people seeing this in other areas?

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[cave_nate 0]

not here.
30 miles north of Philly on way home from work.

that is odd. what gives ?

[Plaedouh 0]

Gas prices will be going up 30 to 50 cents over the next few days. there are projections there will be a gas shortage by mid weekend.

this is all a result of the dammaged if not cripled oil processing system in the southeast. Places accustomed to ordering gas and getting deliveries in under 24 hours are being placed on 7+ day wait lists.

Fill while it's cheap, and it's accessable.

[dixieskydiver 0]

Gas is up from 2.52 before the Hurricane to 2.70/80 the day after to 3.20 today. There were also lines at gas stations near my house that were still selling it for 2.80. Things are about to get interesting folks.

Dixie
HISPA #56 Facil Rodriguez
"Scientific research has shown that 60% of the time, it works every time."

[The111 0]

In the grand scheme of things it's only a few bucks if you fill up today vs next week. No reason to panic.

EDIT: Comment not directed at you, DS. At all the people who appear to be panicking...

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[dixieskydiver 0]

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In the grand scheme of things it's only a few bucks if you fill up today vs next week. No reason to panic.

EDIT: Comment not directed at you, DS. At all the people who appear to be panicking...

Well for my dad's avalanche if the price goes from 2.50 to 4.00 (forecasted price peak) he could be looking at a significant difference in cost from the 60 dollars it costs him to fill up at 2.50.

Dixie
HISPA #56 Facil Rodriguez
"Scientific research has shown that 60% of the time, it works every time."

[ACMESkydiver 0]

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In the grand scheme of things it's only a few bucks if you fill up today vs next week. No reason to panic.

EDIT: Comment not directed at you, DS. At all the people who appear to be panicking...

Well for my dad's avalanche if the price goes from 2.50 to 4.00 (forecasted price peak) he could be looking at a significant difference in cost from the 60 dollars it costs him to fill up at 2.50.

Mine will go from $75/tank to $120/tank.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[The111 0]

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Well for my dad's avalanche if the price goes from 2.50 to 4.00 (forecasted price peak) he could be looking at a significant difference in cost from the 60 dollars it costs him to fill up at 2.50.

Hehe, I'm in a weird mood right now, so in the interest of getting this moved to SC, I'll add this obligatory comment:

If your dad and half of America wasn't driving Avalanches, but Corollas like me, we wouldn't be facing such a serious problem. Sometimes on the way home from work, when I'm bored, I make a tally count of the SUV's I see and how many passengers each one has. Usually about 75% have ONE person (the driver) inside.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[The111 0]

On a serious note, as a skydiver, I guess I have no right to talk about wasting fuel. But hey, I get out at the top to conserve fuel for the plane's descent!

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[cave_nate 0]

biodiesel anyone ?! soon it will be cheaper than "dinosaur" fuels.
unfortunately no stations around here. just in CA...

[skymama 35]

It's like that up where I live too. I did stop and top out my tank. A friend told me that Orange County schools have cancelled all of their field trips for the rest of the week and if there is a fuel shortage they will have to cancel school because buses won't be able to run. Weird happenings.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[flyangel2 2]

I don't understand why people that live in Florida drive SUVs anyway

And if gas does go up by a few dollars, that's a few dollars I won't have in my pocket. So, yes I did fill my tank on Monday.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[dixieskydiver 0]

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Well for my dad's avalanche if the price goes from 2.50 to 4.00 (forecasted price peak) he could be looking at a significant difference in cost from the 60 dollars it costs him to fill up at 2.50.

Hehe, I'm in a weird mood right now, so in the interest of getting this moved to SC, I'll add this obligatory comment:

If your dad and half of America wasn't driving Avalanches, but Corollas like me, we wouldn't be facing such a serious problem. Sometimes on the way home from work, when I'm bored, I make a tally count of the SUV's I see and how many passengers each one has. Usually about 75% have ONE person (the driver) inside.

Trust me thats what I keep telling him

Dixie
HISPA #56 Facil Rodriguez
"Scientific research has shown that 60% of the time, it works every time."

[Guest]

We'll then you'd both be wrong. Fuel costs have increased mostly because of demand from China's (and others, like Eastern Europe) expanding industrialization. Takes oil to feed the economies that make all the goods Wal-Mart sells!

That said, I don't drive an SUV, too damn gluttonous. Off to SC in 3, 2, 1, C-ya :)

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

[The111 0]

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And if gas does go up by a few dollars, that's a few dollars I won't have in my pocket. So, yes I did fill my tank on Monday.

I don't know a lot about economy, but I would think all the people overloading the stations today actually has an even more adverse effect on an already struggling market. Sort of the same way when traffic gets thick, people start driving more aggressively, cutting each other off, refusing to let mergers in, and basically making the flow of traffic even less smooth. A few dollars is a few dollars and I would fill up today if I could, but if I'm not near empty I will not go add to an already huge line of cars at the station.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[Plaedouh 0]

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And if gas does go up by a few dollars, that's a few dollars I won't have in my pocket. So, yes I did fill my tank on Monday.

I don't know a lot about economy, but I would think all the people overloading the stations today actually has an even more adverse effect on an already struggling market. Sort of the same way when traffic gets thick, people start driving more aggressively, cutting each other off, refusing to let mergers in, and basically making the flow of traffic even less smooth. A few dollars is a few dollars and I would fill up today if I could, but if I'm not near empty I will not go add to an already huge line of cars at the station.

This time next week, gas is projected to be above $4 per gallon. Parts of western Carolinas and Georgia have already seen stations run out of gas.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/wyff/20050901/lo_wyff/2911958

It makes sense to fill up now and see if you can save some money while the market corrects itself. Look around the net, plenty of stories discussing this. But no one can predict the future, so if you want to wait and see, more power to ya.

[dixieskydiver 0]

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We'll then you'd both be wrong. Fuel costs have increased mostly because of demand from China's (and others, like Eastern Europe) expanding industrialization. Takes oil to feed the economies that make all the goods Wal-Mart sells!

That said, I don't drive an SUV, too damn gluttonous. Off to SC in 3, 2, 1, C-ya :)

Very true, China and India in particular have seen extraordinary growth in their demand for petroleum products and it is only going to grow more. However I believe right now the US is still the #1 consumer in the world of crude oil, largely due to our love affair with giant gas gussling vehicles.

Dixie
HISPA #56 Facil Rodriguez
"Scientific research has shown that 60% of the time, it works every time."

[Guest]

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/quickfacts/quickoil.html

U.S. Motor Gasoline Consumption – 9.1M barrels/day (382M gallons / day
U.S. Petroleum Consumption – 20.7 M barrels/day (879M gallons / day

Wild-ass-guesses
Lets say that 30% of all gasoline usage is SUVs = 114M gals / day
Lets say all SUVs together average 12 mpg, so 12 * 114M = 1368M miles / day driven by SUVs
Then wave a magic wand and replace two-thirds of those 12 mpg SUVs with 32 mpg Honda Accords.

1368M miles / (32 – 12) mpg = 68M gallons saved.

So, 68 million gallons out of a daily consumption of 879 million gallons, some 7.7%. I'd peg it at less than that though, because 1) I suspect the number is less than 30% SUV overall gasloine usage, and 2) Many people would drive their Honda cars more miles than their SUV since they are so much cheaper to drive. (I sold my non-SUV gas guzzler last year, and I know I myself drive the cheaper car more.)

Certainly not nothing, but it isn’t like SUVs use all the US oil. And I used WAGs, I'd be interested in how many miles are driven by SUVs as opposed to all other vehicles combined. Another big unsureity is that I don't know if a barrel of gasoline counts as a barrel of petroleum 1 for 1 or not.

Blue Skies

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

[Guest]

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I believe right now the US is still the #1 consumer in the world of crude oil, largely due to our love affair with giant gas gussling vehicles.

You are correct about the US being the largest oil consumer. However, worldwide, North America will be overtaken by Asia before the end of this decade. I'm pretty sure they won't be overtaking us due to a newfound love of SUVs, but their overall economy's use of oil. The only thing keeping us close is the oil being used by Mexico's rapidly expanding economy.

Eighty-five percent (85%) of the net increase in worldwide oil consumption from 1980-2003 is due to Asia - 11,526 out of 13,522 thousand barels per day.

From :
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/table12.xls

Blue Skies

Thousands of Barrels per Day


1980         2003      net change  % change


Canada      1,873        2,193        320          17%

Mexico      1,270        2,015        745          59%

US         17,056       20,033       2977          17%

North America      20,203       24,250       4047          20%



China       1,765        5,550      3,785         214%

Japan       4,960        5,578        618          12%

S. Korea      537        2,168       1631         304%

Asia & Oceana      10,729       22,255     11,526         107%



Total              66,576       80,098     13,522          20%


You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two. 

			
		

[Frenchy68 0]

China:
- Ever growing middle class (who tend to love having their own car)
- During the SARS outbreak, car sales in China went up 26%, as people were afraid of using public transportation.
Yes, I'd say China has majorly contributed in the late increase in oil use/demand.

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[gmittar 0]

I like that we're feeling it!!!!! I LOVE THAT GAS IS HELLA EXPENSIVE!!!

It's finally to the point that Americans give a shit and we're finally noticing that gas fuel is no longer reasonably priced. Wake up people, start buying hybrids and economy cars. Wake the fuck up people!!!

Only when we start to care will we start to really think about the impact of our 2 fucking ton vehicles. WAKE THE FUCK UP PEOPLE!

Your truck doesn't do you dick if you can't afford to drive it, get it?

|>.<|
Seriously, W.T.F. mate?

[davadikian 0]

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EVERY gas station I passed had dozens of cars lined up waiting for the pumps. My first thought was that some stations ran out already so the ones that were still up and running were seeing more customers than usual.

I saw the same thing just north of orlando when I was driving to work, and when I got to work (I work nights) people were talking about some emails that were saying they would be closing all gas stations for 2-3 days and you should get gas before they close... I believe it was all bullshit, that being said my wife and I have the next 7 days off and we filled up just in case.

• Quote

[Guest]

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- During the SARS outbreak, car sales in China went up 26%, as people were afraid of using public transportation.

That's very interesting, I didn't know that. That leads me to believe they have savings or unused credit available for emergencies, another sign of a healthy middle class.

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

[Stacy 0]

I stopped last night. 2 gas stations near my house were out of gas. The third was down to premium only @ over $3/gallon.
not so good!

[skymama 35]

I found a few stations like that. I already had a half tank of regular in my car and I wasn't sure if I could mix premium with it, so I drove on. Does anyone know if it is ok to mix gas like that?

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon