I Hadn’t Bought Gas Since January
Yesterday, on July 14th, I filled the gas tank on my recently purchased 2004 Corolla. It was the first time I bought gas since January 20th 2008. Granted for February through April I was in the hospital and certainly in no position to drive.
On January 20th I filled the tank on the scooter for less than three bucks. Yesterday I spent just shy of forty bucks to fill the Corolla (and it wasn’t empty yet). So I missed out on seeing gas go up 50% ($2.69 to $3.99) while I was in the hospital.
Recently the Bush administration stopped adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve but now calls are coming in to sell some of the oil to relieve price pressures:
Bush initially opposed an earlier call this year to stop shipments to the country’s strategic oil reserves before Congress forced him to take that step. Now, Pelosi is asking him to go even further by drawing down a small portion of that stockpile for commercial consumption “to help reduce the record (gas) prices that are helping push the economy toward recession,” according to a copy of the letter.
“The severe energy price crisis facing millions of Americans compels strong presidential action to assist consumers and strengthen the economy,” the speaker says in her letter to the president.
The two parties are locked in a bitter fight over high gas prices, and congressional leaders have only taken a few superficial steps to reach across the aisle in search of a remedy.
With that in mind, Pelosi’s missive is hardly an olive branch; rather, the speaker points out that the price of a barrel of crude oil has nearly quintupled since Bush took office, with a gallon of gasoline now selling for the average price of $4.11.
In her letter, Pelosi points out that Bush, his father and former President Bill Clinton all tapped into the strategic reserves at one point during their respective presidencies. George H.W. Bush did small test sales in 1990 and again in 1991 right before the initial Gulf war. Clinton released 30 million barrels from the reserves during his final year in the White House to help lower the costs of home heating oil. And Bush himself withdrew 11 million barrels (after offering to withdraw 30 million barrels) in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina damaged refineries and pipelines along the Gulf Coast. Â (source: CBS News)
As painful as filling as today’s prices are I think the long term benefits will be real. Those that bought any vehicle regardless of mileage and thought nothing about driving many miles without consideration of the impact will now change their behavior. Â Some will take gas costing $7+.
The current gas prices are doing things we could never accomplish before with cheap gas. Use of mass transit is up, sales of gas sucking trucks & SUVs are way down and people are more mindful about the number of miles they drive on a daily basis.
With my scooter I got into the habit of combining trips and planning my route in advance so as to be able to take care of several errands per trip. Things like stopping at the store on the way home rather than running back out again. At the time that was more about saving time as the scooter averaged better than 85 MPG. So now with the car I think ahead to what I can accomplish while I’m out with the goal being a savings of miles driven.
The Corolla is proving to be as thirsty as promised. The sellers had filled the tank right before I bought it so I know my MPG for the last few weeks – just over 31 mpg in mostly city driving with the A/C on most of the time.  Next month I’m driving back to Oklahoma City to visit family and I hope to get at least 40mpg on that trip.
One member of congress is revisiting the fuel savings achieved by the old national 55mph speed limit. Virginia Senator John Warner, a Republican, is talking about real conservatism:
Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.
Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon. (source: AP via CNN)
I think a lower speed limit would help save fuel and save people money. Averaging 55 mph rather than 65 mph on my 500 mile drive to Oklahoma City will add over an hour to my travel time — just shy of a 20% increase. A real savings in fuel is worth a little of my time.But perhaps my car would do better at 60 mph? Like Sammy Hagar, I can’t drive 55. 60 I can do. 70 is out of the question.
One of the new applications I’ve downloaded for my first generation iPhone is a mileage tracker. It will be interesting tracking my mileage and fuel expenses. It show the MPG on the last fill-up as well as an average.
I’m also finding other drivers frustrating. I know that Jack Rabbit starts are good at wasting gas but so is taking forever to go when the light does turn green. If that 6th car back misses the light and has to sit through another cycle they are just wasting gas. Someday more cars will have to technology to shut off the engine at such stops but in the meantime we all need to pay attention and get through the lights. We don’t have to race to the next signal but we shouldn’t take forever either. Getting the lights timed better would also help.
These gas prices are here to stay. They are not high at all, just higher than what we’ve grown used to.  They will go higher too. Interesting times ahead as the general public grapples with this new reality.
Over the last few months, I’ve made an effort to drive slower on the highway, and my gas mileage has been great. Wish I would have slowed down a long time ago.
Now that I’m driving the speed limit, it’s amazing to see how many people drive extremely fast like I used to, and it seems to be mostly SUV drivers. Nothing like getting passed by a Suburban that’s doing 80+.
I am now using an gas additive and have changed my driving habits.
It’s not a small bit of double-talk on the part of Democrats, who on the one hand say “we can’t drill our way out of an oil shortage” by allowing off-shore drilling and production in ANWR, but on the other hand, claim that releasing a few barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will “assist consumers and strengthen the economy.”
…except that everything the Democrats say about coastline destroying offshore drilling and the pathetically small thimblefull of oil available 7 years from now is true, and everything a diseased republican says is completely full of crap. The country is in such a foul state now because of three decades of diseased economic policy and ignorance of environmental issues, and we’d like to now finally be cured of Ronald Reagan-emia. I’ll take Democratic double talk over Republican lies, filth and disease any day of the week. Throw something blatantly partisan into a discussion thread, you’ll get it thrown right back at you.
Shocking that the oil man in the White House would be in support of off-shore drilling as he prepares to return to the private sector.
I’m feeling your pain Steve. I haven’t put gas in either my my VW vans in over a month. Have put over 1,200 miles on my new Genuine Buddy 125 in a little over 2 months, and getting a lifetime avarage of 96mpg currently.
but just last week the wife and I were in San Francisco and for a couple of the days we rented a small car to go visit Muir Woods NM, Point Reyes NS, and other sites beyond the reach of MUNI. Filling up even a small cars tank at about $4.70/gal sure stung!
OTOH however – I just have to say that for such a big California city, with so many cars on the road – getting around was a total breeze! I was stunned! Just goes to show what well-timed signals and an INTACT street grid system will do for you.
The only thing that had me worried was having to keep such a sharp eye out for pedestrians! Something we’re not familiar with here. lol
Also – a good site to track gas prices & gas related news, and has an online fuel logbook/calculator is http://www.stlouisgasprices.com
I only drive a few miles a week, mainly walking and using public transit for errands and getting to work. The reward is only having to fill up my tank every 3 months. Try checking out the Drive $marter Challenge ( http://www.drivesmarterchallenge.org ) for gas-saving tips and resources. – Kat, Alliance to Save Energy
We can choose to drive 55, but the fact is that when it was the speed limit most of us drove faster. I’m at least within quick deceleration distance of the speed limit most of the time now. 🙂
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but seriously … the drilling thing is ludicrous, and even McCain admits it. The best thing we can do to reduce gas prices is reduce demand through conservation.
I doubt you’ll hit 40 mpg in your Corolla – probably closer to the low 30’s on the highway, but good luck . . . with an aging mom in Louisville, I do that drive about once a month along I-64, and I’ve seen a marked drop in average speeds by most drivers out on the open road (but not so much with local commuters). We got the 55 mph law back when gas was in short supply, so that we would have enough to go around. Over time, it evolved into a money maker for local governments. This time, we have adequate supplies, only at much higher prices. If government feels like they need to do something to modify public behavior, let’s raise taxes (and pump prices) even higher and devote the newfound revenues to public transit and other alternative modes of transportation. Higher costs have already slowed a lot of people down – there’s no reason to be going back to wasting police time on speed traps along rural interstates!
Uh yeah, 55 MPH speed limits suck. I want a choice to drive slower, not a mandate. If I’m driving 700 miles back east to visit family and I have to go 55 the whole way, which means I’d be averaging like 40-45, I would probably want to shoot myself. That’s making a 10.5 hr drive closer to 17! OMG!
Note: the speed limit on I-44 between the city and I-270 is already 55, so if you’re just talking about commuting speeds, check.
Also, what would be the impact on our commercial transportation industry? Increasing the speed limit gets trucks, and their merchandise, to market faster.
The market is solving this problem. Getting the government involved (lower speed limits, releasing oil from the reserve) can only screw it up.
I have no idea what kind of mileage I get. I can’t imagine why I would even care. I guess I have more interesting things to think about.
What problem is the market solving and how is it solving it?
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And, are we really convinced we have adequate supplies? While we haven’t seen shortages here in the US, even Warren Buffet says that worldwide demand is 86.4 million barrels/day while production are 84 million/day. Prices are high because (among other reasons) the market is inadequately supplied and some have been priced out. Any decrease in the price of oil will bring those people back into the market and push the price back up again. The ‘market’ will not solve the problems because everyone is operating under the expectation that prices will either come back down or stabilize and supply will grow or stabilize. Not going to happen. We’re going to keep struggling on the best we can and destruct demand until every last drop is gone.
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The only way I see to get out of that cycle is to develop lifestyles (and patterns of occupying the landscape) that are inherently less-(and in-)dependant on fossil fuels. And that lifestyle simply can not include the private automobile. Unfortunately, no one, including the government, is willing to take that step until there is no other choice.
price of oil dropped $6 today. i shorted oil a month ago and am ahead a couple a grand already. i suspect it will be well below $100 by year’s end if not sooner and all this talk of mileage etc will be so retro.
markets folks, governments only cause interference.
As trillions of our dollars go overseas (though Canada is our largest supplier) for oil, had America decided to drill for some of its own, that transfer of wealth could be signifigantly reduced. Right now the only thing an individual can do is buy less gallons of gas.
Way off topic, but as an OKC boy, do you have any thoughts on their willingness to subsidize the Seattle Sonics move to town with a 1% sales tax (and Washington state’s voters’ refusal to match OKC’s “bribes”)?
No, a lower speed limit will not help.
In the 70s, terribly overweight cars had terribly inefficient 3-speed transmissions and big wheezy engines that made more noise than anything else.
These days, a family sedan has a CVT or 6 gears to offer low cruising RPMs (below 2000) at 70mph and at least 200hp (in most cases) available for easy acceleration. A V8 engine in 1975 could have as little as 130hp. The slower we drive, the more cars remain on the highway, the more congestion, the more pollution.
So, because of changes in technology (efficiency, aerodynamics) many cars get better fuel economy at higher speeds.
Another local pet peeve is our love of four-way stops and the inability of too many motorists to figure out how to use them smoothly. Yes, it’s nice to be courteous, but there are rules for a reason, and somebody, just go! And if we want to save fuel, how ’bout getting rid of at least half of ’em and make them into two-way stops – there’s no reason why even a secondary street should be stopping every block or two. Pedestrians already have the legal right of way and safety isn’t improved with cars stopping and then starting abruptly out of frustration. Just let the professional traffic engineers do what they’re trained to do, move traffic both smoothly AND safely!
Lowering the speed limit will have unintended consequences and is an antiquated response. As others have mentioned, automotive mechanics have changed in three decades. My four cylinder econo-box gets about 35 mpg when I’m driving 75 on open interstate. I’ve measured the numbers and only got about another 1 mpg when I significantly lowered my speed.
To the people making highly partisan statements (Dems vs. Repub’s), don’t you realize the only people winning in those arguments are the political bosses of those parties? The energy problems we face are not going to get fixed while we snipe at each other over politics. We need people to have the bravery to cross party lines…We need Republicans to start conceding that there is merit to fossil fuel alternatives and there is nothing wussy about looking at wind/solar. We need Democrats to stop assuming everything Republicans do is part of an evil plot to conquer the world. Although I don’t know enough about him yet, I’ve seen the commercials by T. Boone Pickens (a man that made his fortune in oil) who is now pushing his investments in alternative energy.
Long story short, it might be easy to see this as a political fight, but the real enemy is not your political foe in the USA, but rather a series of events unfolding globally. Any slack we create by conversation will quickly be guzzled by the millions of new cars hitting the roads every year in developing markets. To show you how short-sighted Americans are about our power to lower oil prices, I saw a survey that gave three choices of who to blame of the high cost of oil (A. President Bush B. Congress C. Oil Executives) and I could only think they should have added two more options! (D. Rising Demand E. Leaders of OPEC nations that have realized how nifty it can be to make a speech threatening supply and watch the price of a barrel immediately climb several dollars)
Southsider, what are you basing this ‘sub $100 by year’s end’ prediction on? Where do you see all this extra production coming from? The Saudis and OPEC have been talking out of both sides of their mouth, saying both adding a couple hundred thousand barrels a day on the one hand and saying the market is well supplied and thus no increase in production on the other. Cantarell and the North Sea are both declining, Tar Sands are realizing higher production costs than realized. Nigeria is still a mess, not to mention Iraq. Sure, our transporation useage has gone down slightly, but India and China are still rapidly modernizing, so demand certainly isn’t leveling off, forget about declining.
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What is your scenario for getting back to $100/barrel? And that $6 drop, or 4%, I wouldn’t confuse volatility with long term trends.
Fighting over a common problem instead of utilizing the full array of solutions has become the MO of our political system. In addition, xenophobic descriptions of our allies is doing the same thing. In fact, the Saudis have responded with increased production in the last ten years as our demand grows. However, they clearly enjoy their new wealth and look forward to more years of Americans refusing to address their dependencies.
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As T Boone explains, “we cannot drill our way out of this problem”. Conservation is a quick fix and should be advocated immediately. The subsidization of auto-truck use particularly through low federal/state taxes needed to fund adequate maintenance (The Perfect Storm according to Rahn) needs to end along with tax subsidies to vehicles weighing over 6000 lbs.
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We have painted ourselves into a corner in the last 30 years as we failed to address the growing imbalance between reserve growth and consumption. We are making higher fuel efficient vehicles but consume those savings and much more as we have become more dependent on auto use then ever before. It’s high time to find more sustainable strategies and that starts with car pooling, mass transit, walking, higher gas taxes and cycling. The urban core needs to be designed to make these alternatives more acceptable and having Complete Streets should be the legal standard.
Dole, the point of my retort was to illustrate exactly what you’ve laid out in your admonishment, but you apparently missed. You’ll get a pass b/c you’re absolutely right about the need to put divisive partisanship into reserve while we agree that the energy problems facing this country (because of the actions of the entire world) can best be solved by recognizing the common ground and encouraging private business to work alongside government to loosen the gridlock caused by competing philosophical directions. T. Boone Pickens, the stereotypical oilman and no friend to the political left otherwise, has said “Enough… let’s admit that searching for new veins to poke with hypodermic needles is no way to break a junk addiction, so let’s humbly admit our problem and get busy exploiting the alternative means known to us for decades. A certain Democratic president called for this very thing nearly 30 years ago, and his successor fully dismissed it, so I’ll happily acknowledge the declaration of our national addiction and need to fix it by a Republican oilman seeped in… well… oil.
john, you are right on. We have painted ourselves into a corner over the last 30 years and the only way out is to design our environment to not require automobiles. And one of my largest fears in the transition to post-oil is that we will even expand subsidized auto use at the expense of infrastructure maintenance untill the roads are so bad you couldn’t drive on them even if you had the gas.
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And I’d hardly say I’m being xenophobic. Saudi Arabia announced that they will increase production by 300k barrels/day, a 3% increase, starting this month. Yet in May, OPEC announced that the world markets were adequately supplied and that there is no shortage of oil in the market.
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But the data shows that Saudi Arabia production has been basically flat or declining since 2004 with a slight uptick over the last year. Ghawar, which makes up over 1/2 of their production, has been flat or in decline since 1994.
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All of this, including the mention of our primary non-OPEC sources of oil, is to show that counting on increased produciton is a mistake and meant as a way of asking southsider what he’s basing his $100/barrel play on.
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Hey, I’m all for solutions as long as they don’t involve hoping and wishing for new oil that simply isn’t there. I’ve got serious reservations with Pickens’ idea to shift Nat. Gas from electricity production to vehicle use, but he’s the only one with a national presence that seems to be taking the issue seriously, and that includes what I’ve heard from both presidential candidates to this point. There’s a lot of apporoaches I prefer, but let’s face it, CNN is a lot more likely to stick a mic in the face of T. Boone Pickens than Richard Heinberg.
“What problem is the market solving and how is it solving it?”
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I read recently that people are driving 3% (or something around there) less because of high gas prices. The problem the higher prices are solving is too many cars on the road.
oil’s down another $4 today. the wind is coming out of the sails for over priced commodities. just wait until the chicoms head into a recession. we’ll be through this gloom and doom before the media types realize our resilient economy has pasted them by (again).
I’ll assume that last comment was satire.
FYI – I get 40 mpg in my corolla – 2002 – on the highway, but no more. Thats at about 65 mph.