What price will cause real change?


Olde Hornet

Well-Known Member
There is an article in USA TODAY this morning saying gas use last month was 0.6% less than a year ago, I thought we would see a bigger decrease, because of the increase in gas prices. Is $4.00 the new mark that will cause a bigger decrease in demand? I think most have accepted that $3.00 or more will be the price we will pay this summer.

I have stopped making frivolous trips and I plan stops along my normal commute. I am working from home at least one day a week through the end of summer. Have you made any changes?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-04-19-gas-use-usat_x.htm

Americans have cut back gasoline use in apparent response to increasing prices, separate surveys by the government and a petroleum trade organization showed Wednesday.

Gas use last month was 0.6% less than a year ago, the American Petroleum Institute reported, because "high fuel prices have led to decreased demand for gasoline and other refined oil products."

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gasoline use the past four weeks was up a slight 0.6% vs. a year ago. Typical is an increase of 1.5%, and that's the growth rate assumed in many industry, analyst and government forecasts.

Cutting back just a little more could cause gasoline prices — which average $2.801 nationwide, up 57.7 cents from last year, according to motorist organization AAA — to drop dramatically, one veteran analyst says.

"If everyone decided to drive 3% less the next 30 days, prices would crash," says Tom Kloza, senior analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.
 
I don't think there is really a ceiling as long as the price keeps rising gradually. When it jumped to 3+ last year after Katrina people made a big deal about it. But now that its edged its way back up to that price over a little more time its not such big news. Of course media coverage could have played alot in that.
 



When it his $4.00 that's when Im going to hit the bus out to Chesterfield.

Like KAT the commedian said....."Its s_d when you have to make life descisions at the pump".

:shame:
 
As a whole, I doubt if any price would make a real change here in the U.S.

The muscle car industry is back in a big way. People are not gonna buy under-powered cars like they did in the 80's, and the U.S., nor the foriegn car industry is going to build them in-mass again.:xeye:

PEOPLE TALK ABOUT GREEN CARS BUT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BUY THEM AS A WHOLE AND IT DON'T MATTER IF THE CAR'S GET 80 MPG's.:p

People will complain the entire time they are filling up that F150, Hummer, or wide body Lux model car.:bump:

My personal change has been walking to places in my neighborhood..................the corner store, neighbors that live "around the corner" or a couple street's over.
Ain't much, but that's it for me...................ain't gonna do TOO MUCH WALKING in this Mississippi sweat box.:kaioken:
 
BLAQUE PRINCE and staggalee83 - I think you are correct.


SONNY - This reminds me of when cigarette prices when up, people who smoke, kept saying, if the price per pack reach $xxx they would stop, the prices kept going up and they kept smoking.
 
While the city of Houston, everything is far away. You have to drive to everything. It is too hot and too far to even walk to go get grocery. We already don't go too many places. Just work and back. it costs me $40 plus a week just to come to work. used to be around 12 or 15 bucks.

I'd rather move to the country and live closer to my job...but where could I live and make the money like this and be close enough to walk or ride a bike? I could use the exercise, but I be darn if I ride a bike up and down a freeway or in major traffic.

not much we can do.
 
I don't think any real changes will be made anytime soon. People panicked when gas hit $3 last year, but since then most of us know how to budget and work around the rising prices. $40 to fill my tank as opposed to $30-$35 is not going to kill me, but if I starts to get to $50 or $60 then it may be time to start worrying.

J4J, Atlanta is like Houston in respects to having to drive everywhere. I have a very short commute to work, but I make up for it after work or on weekends when I have to go across town for meetings, events, functions, family, and so on.
 
The only change I think will happen is, people will have less money to play with.

Here in the DC area, I'm noticing more people taking Metro (subway system) to, and from work than before, because of the long commutes, and sky high parking rates. Also I see more people bringing their lunch, and breakfast to work instead of going out to eat. Also people making fewer trips to fast food eateries, waiting for movies they're not sure about to come out on DVD instead of going to the theater (which is sky high as well), fewer concerts, and the like.

People are still willing to drive, but they are really cutting back on a lot of other things to compensate for the money spent at the pump. At least in this area of the US they are.

NICE
 
D-NICE said:
The only change I think will happen is, people will have less money to play with.

Here in the DC area, I'm noticing more people taking Metro (subway system) to, and from work than before, because of the long commutes, and sky high parking rates. Also I see more people bringing their lunch, and breakfast to work instead of going out to eat. Also people making fewer trips to fast food eateries, waiting for movies they're not sure about to come out on DVD instead of going to the theater (which is sky high as well), fewer concerts, and the like.

People are still willing to drive, but they are really cutting back on a lot of other things to compensate for the money spent at the pump. At least in this area of the US they are.

NICE

It's pretty much that way everywhere. Unless it's a dramatic sudden increase, people generally adjust their spending habits around the price of gasoline opposed to adjusting their driving habits.
 
There is nothing we can do about the price of gas. Our lifestyle is our lifestyle. If your job is 20 miles from your house, you can't make your job 15 miles from your house can you? You still will drive 20 miles one way if the gas if $1/gal or $5/gal.

Now, we may take out the increase in gas on people like our hairstylist. Instead of every week, we may go every other week. Instead of eating out for lunch everyday, we may change that to every other day. In the end, it all balances out.

Now, if the price of a Big Mac goes up to $10, then I just won't buy the Big Mac. I need gas, so there is not much I can do.
 
Da_Sperm said:
There is nothing we can do about the price of gas. Our lifestyle is our lifestyle. If your job is 20 miles from your house, you can't make your job 15 miles from your house can you? You still will drive 20 miles one way if the gas if $1/gal or $5/gal.

Now, we may take out the increase in gas on people like our hairstylist. Instead of every week, we may go every other week. Instead of eating out for lunch everyday, we may change that to every other day. In the end, it all balances out.

Now, if the price of a Big Mac goes up to $10, then I just won't buy the Big Mac. I need gas, so there is not much I can do.


If they got sense, this is what they do...
 

Basically, we gotta get to where we wanna go. I've just learned to cut back in OTHER areas to make allowance for the gas price increase.

Damn.....remember when we paid 66 cents, 78 cents and 85 cents for a gallon of gas? I put in fifteen bucks yesterday and got MAYBE five gallons.:lol:

SUUUUUMMMMBEEEOOOOTCH!!!!! :redhot:


 
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