US Gasoline Pump Prices Poised To Catch Up With Crude Boom - $6/gallon is coming...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Since the beginning of the year, benchmark oil and gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have both increased by more than a third, but the average retail gasoline price in the U.S. has risen by only 22%.

So far, oil refiners and petroleum product distributors have absorbed much of the increase but their ability to continue to swallow losses and operate at razor-thin margins is limited.

...

If oil hits $200 a barrel, the upper end of Goldman Sach's prediction for prices over the next six months to two years, the gasoline picture changes quite dramatically. At $200 a barrel, crude alone would cost $4.76 a gallon. Add in the costs of refining and distributing as well as taxes, and pump prices could rise well within the range of $6-7 a gallon, according to analyst estimates, a level that's unfathomable for most Americans. In some states, where gasoline tax is a percentage of the per-gallon cost, rather than a flat tax, prices could be even higher.

...

At $6 a gallon, it would cost the owner of a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban $186 to fill the tank. The driver of a Toyota Corolla, which has a much smaller tank, would spend about $80.

...

Sustained prices at $6-$7 a gallon would have a dramatic economic impact, said Lynn Westfall, chief economist for Tesoro Corp. (TSO), an independent refiner based in San Antonio, Texas.

"If it sustains that for any amount of time, it will throw us into a recession, if we're not already in one," Westfall said. The first change will come from drivers who have the ability to switch to public transportation, he added.

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=223730

[Nagishkaw 510]

0h Lawd no!

[LaGreenEyes 0]

I never thought I'd see the day..but dang! Unbelieveable! Well I work in the airline industry and the 120.00 barrel of oil prompted most of the airlines now for job cuts, layoffs, etc. A lot of people are going to lose their jobs, and with the economy the way it is, there's not alot of padding there. I hate to see what 200.00 barrel does to us!

I just signed an oil lease on some old family land up in North Dakota that we inherited from my grandfather, that supposedly is a very important oil discovery there and has alot of potential..I guess if they get oil on our land any part of my profit from it will go right back into the tank!

[rebeccajo 14]

I never thought I'd see the day..but dang! Unbelieveable! Well I work in the airline industry and the 120.00 barrel of oil prompted most of the airlines now for job cuts, layoffs, etc. A lot of people are going to lose their jobs, and with the economy the way it is, there's not alot of padding there. I hate to see what 200.00 barrel does to us!

I just signed an oil lease on some old family land up in North Dakota that we inherited from my grandfather, that supposedly is a very important oil discovery there and has alot of potential..I guess if they get oil on our land any part of my profit from it will go right back into the tank!

Land leasing is going nuts in West Virginia. The courthouse record rooms are literally elbow-to-elbow with landmen and attorneys searching chain of title for companies looking to be the first to nab the heirs for a lease. Some companies are paying $2K to $3K per acre just for the leasing rights alone for properties along the Marsalis shale, even if they hit nothing.

[Sheriff Uling 3]

It is rumored that gas prices may actually reach $10/gallon.

[Scott & Lai 12]

It is rumored that gas prices may actually reach $10/gallon.

Good-bye 1st world prosperity....hello 2nd Great Depression

[nana_356 0]

Can anything get any worse? My goodness! I heard on the news that it is almost a guarantee that it will hit $8 per gallon, here in california gas in about 4.25 some 4.45. Its a real pain!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It is rumored that gas prices may actually reach $10/gallon.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

We saw this coming and did nothing to try and reduce our consumption. Reality bites.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

We saw this coming and did nothing to try and reduce our consumption. Reality bites.

Exactly.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Do you guys actually see a lot of Hummers on the streets? I don't. Never have. Maybe 1-2 a year.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Do you guys actually see a lot of Hummers on the streets? I don't. Never have. Maybe 1-2 a year.

Come on down here. There are still lots of them. Not as bad as it was but there are still way too many.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Interesting. I wonder why I don't see any here. Maybe they're in wealthier areas.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Do you guys actually see a lot of Hummers on the streets? I don't. Never have. Maybe 1-2 a year.

Come on down here. There are still lots of them. Not as bad as it was but there are still way too many.

I see them here as well but passing through. We have three christian missions which take them in for a time.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Do you guys actually see a lot of Hummers on the streets? I don't. Never have. Maybe 1-2 a year.

Over here it's mostly these: (and I'm still seeing many of them on my long commute from OC to LA)

Celebrities seem to spark the trends in fashion and pimped out SUV's are what's fashionable. I think that's changing though.