Over $3.00 a gallon in America........
Discussion
Just seen on the news, petrol stations in America are having to close, as they cannot select a price over $3.00 a gallon at the pumps (yes that is dollars not real money).
God, what would these poor people expect when they travelled on our 'Safe', better looked after (well you got to have a laugh) cheap roads in Britain!
God, what would these poor people expect when they travelled on our 'Safe', better looked after (well you got to have a laugh) cheap roads in Britain!
....Less than £2.00 a gallon (albeit smaller) Give me "half price" anytime........trax said:That seems ridiculous ... more than USD9.99 I could understand. Maybe they are older pumps with mechanical drums, rather than electronic displays - Streaky
Just seen on the news, petrol stations in America are having to close, as they cannot select a price over $3.00 a gallon at the pumps
See this amusing flash animation:
http://toccionline.kizash.com/films/1001/178/index.php
See also the Safe Speed crisis fundraising appeal:
www.safespeed.org.uk/appeal.html
http://toccionline.kizash.com/films/1001/178/index.php
See also the Safe Speed crisis fundraising appeal:
www.safespeed.org.uk/appeal.html
Yeah, but come on. The Americans aren't used to paying those kind of prices so it is a big deal for them.
And let's face it, if we weren't being raped with 300% tax on petrol then we'd probably be agreeing with them rather than rolling our eyes and doing an imitation of Python's "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch.
Edit: Although having said that, I would be more than happy to be paying an equivalent of 35.9p/L
>> Edited by JonRB on Sunday 4th September 20:51
And let's face it, if we weren't being raped with 300% tax on petrol then we'd probably be agreeing with them rather than rolling our eyes and doing an imitation of Python's "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch.
Edit: Although having said that, I would be more than happy to be paying an equivalent of 35.9p/L
>> Edited by JonRB on Sunday 4th September 20:51
Vipers said:
Sad as it is the damage caused by the weather in the states, bout time they payed for their petrol, they wont build smaller cars, Bush wont join up to reduce emission gases etc etc.
Dear oh dear, my heart bleeds for them, hope it hits $7 a gallon, then they might rethink......
One station went from 1.99 to 7.99 in a day!
The local senator threatened to sue the garage owner unless he could provide a good reason as to why...
I deal with people in the US and they are absolutly *raging* about fuel prices.
OK, it's easy to say they should downsize etc, but they have a culture of having large cars - typical family SUV does about 15MPG (US gallons) and they tend to drive greater distances then we do. So the average family in the US is probably already spending more on fuel than its equivalent in the UK.
Also (slighty perverse argument, I know) but the fixed fuel duty we pay means that while our fuel prices have gone up 20% in a year, there's have doubled.
OK, it's easy to say they should downsize etc, but they have a culture of having large cars - typical family SUV does about 15MPG (US gallons) and they tend to drive greater distances then we do. So the average family in the US is probably already spending more on fuel than its equivalent in the UK.
Also (slighty perverse argument, I know) but the fixed fuel duty we pay means that while our fuel prices have gone up 20% in a year, there's have doubled.
Yes people over here do have fuel-ineffecient Yank tanks, yes most don't need them and should change, yes they should cut down on their emissions - I don't disagree with any of these points, but as another correspondent above points out, petrol has doubled in price in many places.
While it may not be anywhere near what motorists in the UK pay, it is still a massive increase and to say they should in effect go
themselves is a bit harsh IMO. There would be similar ructions in the UK if tomorrow they started charging 1.70 or 1.80 per litre.
There are some in the US who should cut back as they are wealthy, yet still run large new Hummers, Escalades, Explorers etc., but they can absorb the increase. It's the lower end of the economic spectrum that this is hurting most, guys who earn maybe half of what they would do in the UK in a similar job and run an old gas guzzler as its all thats available to them for $100 to buy. If Katrina has highlighted anything, it's that there is a large underclass in US society, not just in the South but everywhere.
To be fair also, I've seen more hybrids like the Prius or Insight out here on the roads in 6 weeks than I ever did at home, and I don't live in California....
While it may not be anywhere near what motorists in the UK pay, it is still a massive increase and to say they should in effect go
themselves is a bit harsh IMO. There would be similar ructions in the UK if tomorrow they started charging 1.70 or 1.80 per litre. There are some in the US who should cut back as they are wealthy, yet still run large new Hummers, Escalades, Explorers etc., but they can absorb the increase. It's the lower end of the economic spectrum that this is hurting most, guys who earn maybe half of what they would do in the UK in a similar job and run an old gas guzzler as its all thats available to them for $100 to buy. If Katrina has highlighted anything, it's that there is a large underclass in US society, not just in the South but everywhere.
To be fair also, I've seen more hybrids like the Prius or Insight out here on the roads in 6 weeks than I ever did at home, and I don't live in California....
Highway Star said:
Yes people over here do have fuel-ineffecient Yank tanks, yes most don't need them and should change, yes they should cut down on their emissions - I don't disagree with any of these points, but as another correspondent above points out, petrol has doubled in price in many places.
While it may not be anywhere near what motorists in the UK pay, it is still a massive increase and to say they should in effect go
There are some in the US who should cut back as they are wealthy, yet still run large new Hummers, Escalades, Explorers etc., but they can absorb the increase. It's the lower end of the economic spectrum that this is hurting most, guys who earn maybe half of what they would do in the UK in a similar job and run an old gas guzzler as its all thats available to them for $100 to buy. If Katrina has highlighted anything, it's that there is a large underclass in US society, not just in the South but everywhere.
To be fair also, I've seen more hybrids like the Prius or Insight out here on the roads in 6 weeks than I ever did at home, and I don't live in California....
You have my sympathy Highway Star. I notice from your list that you have driven a mixture of small AND larger cars!
Over here in the U.K. my 4 ltr V8 Jag is regarded as large, I use a 2 ltr Ford "Granada" (which I had before that) for general use, really, I SHOULD get something smaller but I've had it some years, it's reliable and can still give 35 mpg.
It seems to me that our two countries are approaching this crisis from opposite ends. Our cars are pretty much "fuel efficient" but our fuel is loaded with 300% tax, whilst your cars are inefficient and the future fuel price hike is inevitable and there is no way to protect you from it save for new technology.
Your course must better use of "the small car" for everyday trips and using the bigger one when req'd. Actually I rather like the idea of a European small engined well tuned sports car in America! Cheap to run, fast and good handling!...
For us? Well we HAVE to reduce that damned fuel tax! 300% tax on anything let alone on a basic like fuel is just plain crazy!.........
The other thing that MUST change here in the U.K. is the taxing of just "owning" a car......because that makes it more expensive/difficult for lower earners to use two cars intelligently. What's the situation in the U.S....... H/Star?
Do you have a tax on: "ownership"?
>> Edited by 8Pack on Tuesday 6th September 02:29
mcflurry said:
One station went from 1.99 to 7.99 in a day!
The local senator threatened to sue the garage owner unless he could provide a good reason as to why...
Sounds like mega rip off merchant, the way it's going it'l be mega punch up at the pumps soon, and it wont just be fisty cuffs either.
Is our petrol THAT expensive compared with years ago?
I did a quick calculation and it seems as though, in terms of salary levels, it is cheaper now than in the mid-60's.
In 1965 a gallon of 5-star cost around 5/- a gallon (that's 25p, children). So, you got 4 gallons for a pound. Now it's 16 times that much.
However the sort of mid-range job then paying £1500 a year would be paying about £35,000 now (trust me, I'm in engineering recruitment). In other words, petrol has gone up 16 times, whilst salaries have increased by a factor of 23.
Also, my 1.5 litre car in 1966, a Cortina GT, gave never more than 30 mpg. My 2 litre diesel Mondeo now gives over 50 mpg, and that at higher average journey speeds than my old Cortina. Cars are, in relative terms, much cheaper too, especially when you consider equipment levels and performance envelope.
We may not like the cost of fuel, but are we really so hard done by compared with 40 years ago?
I did a quick calculation and it seems as though, in terms of salary levels, it is cheaper now than in the mid-60's.
In 1965 a gallon of 5-star cost around 5/- a gallon (that's 25p, children). So, you got 4 gallons for a pound. Now it's 16 times that much.
However the sort of mid-range job then paying £1500 a year would be paying about £35,000 now (trust me, I'm in engineering recruitment). In other words, petrol has gone up 16 times, whilst salaries have increased by a factor of 23.
Also, my 1.5 litre car in 1966, a Cortina GT, gave never more than 30 mpg. My 2 litre diesel Mondeo now gives over 50 mpg, and that at higher average journey speeds than my old Cortina. Cars are, in relative terms, much cheaper too, especially when you consider equipment levels and performance envelope.
We may not like the cost of fuel, but are we really so hard done by compared with 40 years ago?
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