Car Chat General discussion about Lexus, other auto manufacturers and automotive news.

Gas prices...

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 04-13-11, 06:22 AM
  #121  
spwolf
Lexus Champion
 
spwolf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 19,923
Received 161 Likes on 119 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by SLegacy99
Perhaps this shows how much I don't understand gas prices, economics, and so forth, but it amazes me that $106 a barrel translates to almost $4.00 a gal. (and in some places over $4) today, whereas 3 years ago we were seeing $4.00 a gal with a barrel costing $150. How does this work?
exactly like that :-)
spwolf is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 08:59 AM
  #122  
mmarshall
Lexus Fanatic
 
mmarshall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Posts: 91,327
Received 87 Likes on 86 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by spwolf
uhm.

how can you, in right mind, compare vehicles of different classes?

Why would anyone cross-shop between Scion xD and Prius?
I tried to make that distinction (and the reason why) clear in my post, but I'll explain it further here. I was comparing the typical purchase price of entry-level Toyota/Scion/Honda compacts and sub-compacts with the typical prices of entry-level hybrids like the Insight and Prius. A typical Toyota or Scion entry-level car like the yaris or Scion xD might rin in the low-mid teens, where the lowest-price entry-level hybrids you can find start in the low 20s (maybe 20K for a bare-bones Insight), and a Phase V Prius model, with options, can 30K or more. That's a significant price difference betwen the two, and to recuperate the extra money that hybrids run (even after some tax credits), you've got to buy a pretty fair amount of gas, over a period of time. if you keep the hybrid long enough, you might save some money in the long run, but it will take time.

Of course, with rising gas prices, the resale-value of some used hybrids might go up, and depreciation go down, which will affect the figures, but, at this point, nobody can predict just how much...it would be pure speculation.
mmarshall is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 10:44 AM
  #123  
IS-SV
Lexus Fanatic
 
IS-SV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: tech capital
Posts: 14,100
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by mmarshall
The average markup for 93-octane over 87-regular, in the VA-DC suburbs, seems to be around 30-40 cents or so, depending on the station, with 91-octane mid-grade about 10 or 15 cents..
Is that the usual or typical uplift on premium (30-40 cents) that people see in eastern US?
IS-SV is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:03 AM
  #124  
Joeb427
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
 
Joeb427's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SC
Posts: 11,670
Received 17 Likes on 16 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by IS-SV
Is that the usual or typical uplift on premium (30-40 cents) that people see in eastern US?
It is in my area and sometimes even more than .40.
Joeb427 is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:10 AM
  #125  
IS-SV
Lexus Fanatic
 
IS-SV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: tech capital
Posts: 14,100
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by Joeb427
It is in my area and sometimes even more than .40.
Joe - Thanks for update.

I've grown used to the roughly 20 cents uplift on premum in CA, not realizing some states are considerably different.
IS-SV is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:20 AM
  #126  
Joeb427
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
 
Joeb427's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SC
Posts: 11,670
Received 17 Likes on 16 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by IS-SV
Joe - Thanks for update.

I've grown used to the roughly 20 cents uplift on premum in CA, not realizing some states are considerably different.
I believe the big difference in Jersey is that 87 is cheaper than other states but the 89 and 93 is the same for whatever reason.PA for one state with that .20 or so.
Then you have south Jersey where the cost of all gas is cheaper than my north Jersey area but I believe still has that .30-.40 difference..

Last edited by Joeb427; 04-13-11 at 11:31 AM.
Joeb427 is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:36 AM
  #127  
kitlz
No, I don't play soccer!
 
kitlz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,652
Received 172 Likes on 146 Posts
Default

The price difference between regular, mid and premium used to be $.10. Since Katrina, it creeped up to maybe $.13 to $.15 between grades. NJ prices are still cheaper than the US average.
kitlz is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:41 AM
  #128  
Joeb427
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
 
Joeb427's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SC
Posts: 11,670
Received 17 Likes on 16 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by kitlz
The price difference between regular, mid and premium used to be $.10. Since Katrina, it creeped up to maybe $.13 to $.15 between grades. NJ prices are still cheaper than the US average.
Never in my area,K.
It's always been more than .20 at 90% of the stations..
It seems with the rising cost of gas most stations are .30 and under now.

Speaking of gas prices...
A barrel was down to $106 yesterday.Yet I don't see station prices being adjusted down as fast as when the barrel cost rises.
Joeb427 is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:48 AM
  #129  
kitlz
No, I don't play soccer!
 
kitlz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,652
Received 172 Likes on 146 Posts
Default

Joeb, I agree. That's why I like going to Shell. They don't jack up their prices when oil goes up. When it goes down, it's still lower than the other guys. Or if you time it right, you can hop on the Parkway since those stations can only change their prices once a week
kitlz is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:54 AM
  #130  
Joeb427
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
 
Joeb427's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SC
Posts: 11,670
Received 17 Likes on 16 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by kitlz
Joeb, I agree. That's why I like going to Shell. They don't jack up their prices when oil goes up. When it goes down, it's still lower than the other guys. Or if you time it right, you can hop on the Parkway since those stations can only change their prices once a week
Yeah...on Fridays!
I just pay whatever my local Shell station charges and get the Citibank Shell card 5% off.
Joeb427 is offline  
Old 04-13-11, 11:10 PM
  #131  
Squirrelz
Pole Position

 
Squirrelz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 239
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by SLegacy99
Perhaps this shows how much I don't understand gas prices, economics, and so forth, but it amazes me that $106 a barrel translates to almost $4.00 a gal. (and in some places over $4) today, whereas 3 years ago we were seeing $4.00 a gal with a barrel costing $150. How does this work?
Inflation and the value of the dollar at work here I think.
Squirrelz is offline  
Old 04-14-11, 03:34 AM
  #132  
dunnojack
Lexus Fanatic
 
dunnojack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: californication
Posts: 6,806
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 6 Posts
Default

that's it.
I'm getting a bus pass.
for the cost of 1 tank of gas, I can have someone else drive me around.

really though, i'm not driving as hard now, and i'm coasting more often.
The people who think i'm slow can go **** themselves.
dunnojack is offline  
Old 04-14-11, 05:51 AM
  #133  
LexFather
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Interesting article

Swipe fee revenue rises with gas prices


As Tasha Cain slid her credit card into the pump before fueling up her silver Infiniti on Wednesday, the digital readout showed she was paying nearly $4 per gallon for premium unleaded.

Enlarge photo

Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Robert Taylor fuels up his motorcycle at the QuikTrip gas station in Doraville on Wednesday. Taylor said a year ago he put only $8 to $9 to fill his tank. Now it's $14.
Related

But it didn’t show her the various groups — among them oil companies, governments and sometimes even banks — that get a piece of that money.

As gas prices rise, banks and financial companies that process credit and debit purchases also are making more money.

Banks and payment processors charge gas stations on average about 2 percent of the total when motorists pay with plastic, or about 7 cents per gallon of regular unleaded at current prices.

“That doesn’t sound like much, but when you think of the millions of gallons [sold] on a daily basis the cost is astronomical,” said Mike Thornbrugh, manager of public and government affairs for QuikTrip, which has 120 stations in metro Atlanta.

Nearly 80 percent of QuikTrip customers pay with plastic. QuikTrip profit margins are about 8 cents to 9 cents per gallon regardless of the gas price, Thornbrugh said.

Banks say plastic payments reduce the amount of cash in a store, make transactions safer and help merchants run more efficiently with fewer personnel. But there’s a cost.

Major processors like MasterCard actually enacted fee caps on fuel purchases a few years ago to help retailers.

“For only pennies per dollar in sales, the credit and debit card service retailers pay for allows gas stations to securely run a dozen or more pumps all day, all night, every day of the year with only one or two people on site,” said Joe Brannen, president and CEO of the Georgia Bankers Association.

Debit card fees are currently under the microscope of the Federal Reserve, which has proposed a hard cap of up to 12 cents per transaction. While retailers applaud it, banks say that cap wouldn’t cover costs and would amount to price fixing.

The cap could go into effect this summer, but two bills pending in Congress seek to delay implementation.

Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of CardHub.com, a credit card comparison site, said interchange fees tend to be higher at gas stations than at other merchants. Banks price it higher, he said, because of the risk of fraud.

Consumer spending could be curtailed elsewhere as fuel prices climb, but card companies will probably still see a net gain in revenue because of healthier fees at the pump, he said.

“They’ll come out a little bit ahead,” Papadimitriou said.

Cain, who fills up twice a week, said “I think generally gas prices are ridiculous. Banks get enough money from everywhere else.”

are about 8 cents to 9 cents per gallon regardless of the gas price, Thornbrugh said.
 
Old 04-14-11, 06:47 AM
  #134  
grabber2
Racer
 
grabber2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: NY
Posts: 1,363
Received 48 Likes on 38 Posts
Default

I don't beleive the credit company taking only 2% per gallon, if so, how do they provide 5% cashback on gas station. Its more like 7% per gallon
grabber2 is offline  
Old 04-14-11, 08:49 AM
  #135  
mmarshall
Lexus Fanatic
 
mmarshall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Posts: 91,327
Received 87 Likes on 86 Posts
Default

mmarshall is offline  


Quick Reply: Gas prices...



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:41 AM.