Gas prices may hit $5/gal by Memorial Day

I bought my first C-Dory, a 1989 22' cruiser about 10 years ago after learning about them on the original c-dory owner's web site, the c-dogs.com which if I remember correctly started out as a yahoo group. It was a red cruiser with a 75 hp Honda. Suprisingly, the 75 was plenty of power to move the boat even when fully-loaded. The main thing I remember is that it sipped fuel, 5 gallons per hour all day long.

Well, long story short is that I decided I needed something larger, sold the C-dory and bought a Penn Yan inboard.

I bought it for $3,500 when it was a chalking, sun-faded white elephant and completely painted it from top to bottom. It was a beauty but the lesson learned is that the Chevy 350 carburated inboard got gallons to the mile instead of the other way around.

With the way gas prices are, I'll be in the market for another 22' Cruiser soon.
 
Interested":2movu4r7 said:
There is a simple answer ( temporary at best though, till others money runs out) sit home like the other 1/2 and collect free money
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I believe Maggie Thatcher properly analyzed that very outcome years ago in her famous quote.
 
I just bought gas in Eureka, California yesterday and diesel fuel was 4.70 a gallon! Just getting crazy. All I can say is that I'm glad I am the owner of a C Dory.
 
An Interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal today, pointed out that Gasoline is one of the most visible prices in the entire economy. However, during the last 100 years the "Real Price" adjusted for inflation, has historically been between $2.00 and $4.00 in current dollars. So when you got 25 cents a gallon gas, you were buying a new car for less than $1,000, and maybe not earning much over $750 to $1,000 a year (1919).

Another example in 1946 gas was $.27 a gallon, a new car cost about $1120 and the average income was $3150 a year.

Today gas is getting close to $4 a gallon, A new car can go from $15,000 on up to over $100,000 and the average salary for a new college graduate (lucky enough to get a job) was about $51,000 a year. (No political slant intended).

There are multiple reasons for the increasing price of gasoline, but much of the "fault" lies with increased demand in other parts of the world, such as China and India.
 
Mark Just the other day I was talking to an owner of a Nissian Leaf, He stated he was getting almost 70 miles a charge. And what he said was that hills are the real range killer on those cars. As far as Hybrids go we just bought Kathy a Toyota Prius new in Sept. And she loves it. Being a itinerant elementry band teacher that drives between 4-5 schools a day she is still getting almost 45 mpg. But I hear you about diesels I dont drive my Dodge diesel unless I am towing the boat or hauling beauty bark or dirt for Kathy. And I can get over 15mpg around town
 
It's time we in the US engineer the technology to solve our energy requirements. If we be smart we will do this. If not we will pay.
 
Dang, Chuck...Kathy's getting 45 per...may have to re-think that hybrid. :| Now to convince Meredith.

I've never gotten over 14 mpg's w/ the F-250. I had a friend telling me he gets 18 mpg's (city) & 21 (hwy) w/ the exact same truck but non-stock, w/ a lift kit, roof rack and big tires etc. I called BS, as I track my mileage every fill-up, w/ "Gasbuddy", on my Droid. He disputed it. Whatever. I know I average 14 and get 11 when towing the boat. But whatcha gonna do? We need to pull our "cabins". :lol: :
 
How true...the Nissan Titan can pass anything but a gas station...try 12 mpg day to day, and about 8 mpg towing...


localboy":2ieugus9 said:
Dang, Chuck...Kathy's getting 45 per...may have to re-think that hybrid. :| Now to convince Meredith.

I've never gotten over 14 mpg's w/ the F-250. I had a friend telling me he gets 18 mpg's (city) & 21 (hwy) w/ the exact same truck but non-stock, w/ a lift kit, roof rack and big tires etc. I called BS, as I track my mileage every fill-up, w/ "Gasbuddy", on my Droid. He disputed it. Whatever. I know I average 14 and get 11 when towing the boat. But whatcha gonna do? We need to pull our "cabins". :lol: :
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Pat Anderson":1iqsgtgh said:
How true...the Nissan Titan can pass anything but a gas station...try 12 mpg day to day, and about 8 mpg towing...


localboy":1iqsgtgh said:
Dang, Chuck...Kathy's getting 45 per...may have to re-think that hybrid. :| Now to convince Meredith.

I've never gotten over 14 mpg's w/ the F-250. I had a friend telling me he gets 18 mpg's (city) & 21 (hwy) w/ the exact same truck but non-stock, w/ a lift kit, roof rack and big tires etc. I called BS, as I track my mileage every fill-up, w/ "Gasbuddy", on my Droid. He disputed it. Whatever. I know I average 14 and get 11 when towing the boat. But whatcha gonna do? We need to pull our "cabins". :lol: :
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Similar to my Tundra - 13MPG for day-to-day part city driving and 8-9 for towing the TomCat.
 
Dang, Mark and Pat,

Our diesel pickup gets 18 mpg or better when not towing. Towing varies between 8 and 13... depending on what we're towing, where we're towing, and just how much headwind Mother Nature decides to toss as us. Ever notice that you have a headwind way more often than a tailwind? :roll: Most of the time, we see double digits when towing; better with the boat than the 5th wheel... weight and aerodynamics do matter. We keep a fuel log.

High fuel prices do more than just hurt your wallet while you're standing at the pump. Fuel spikes are followed by economic slowdown. Swell.

We bought this boat partially because it is towable. I can slow down with the boat to increase the mileage on the water; there is a limit to that when towing. :crook
 
It's ironic that, as a nation, we are indeed conserving, using less gas overall, and the result is that the price per gallon goes up! Why do you suppose that is? :roll:
 
dotnmarty":2zk3cj6b said:
It's ironic that, as a nation, we are indeed conserving, using less gas overall, and the result is that the price per gallon goes up! Why do you suppose that is? :roll:
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Simply cause they can. Wait to see how much electricity is when all cars are electric. I can only guess the excuses.
 
If, and when I ever buy another truck it will be another diesel. Not so much for the mileage as much as I just like the way they tow. Gobs of torque and respectable HP. The mpg indicator on my Dodge shows that I am getting 15.6 mpg since I last reset it. This is non towing, unloaded around town mileage. I can get almost 15 mpg highway towing a loaded 22' CD. But what really chaps my behind is what they charge for a gallon of diesel. As much as 12 cents more than premium gas. Diesel is not much more than stove oil! My gosh you used to get 2 gallons free with every Happy Meal you bought. Sign of the times I guess
 
Then there is the legal "price fixing." It would be illegal I think in other industries as anti-competitive. It is "zone pricing." It is the gas industry's dirty little secret. In our area, for example, going from Snoqualmie Valley to Monroe, we see Monroe selling gas for typically 25 cents a gallon less than in Snoqualmie Valley in Snoqualmie Valley, and all the brands have the same differential.

Here is how the GAO describes it, this is not really satisfying at all. I don't think there is much difference in "local competition" between Snoqualmie Valley and Monroe. You can examine whatever you wan to, land price, regulatory climate, traffic - you just are not going to find anything that is a rational explanation. It does not seem "supply" or "demand" is driving this price difference. Here is a copy and paste from the GAO, it seems more like an apology than an explanation to me.

The extent of local competition is at the heart of a practice in gasoline marketing known as “zone pricing” that helps explain why prices may differ at stations located in neighboring markets, such as neighboring towns, or between pockets of stations within the same area. As described in the 2002 Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report, oil companies typically group the retail stations that sell
gasoline under the companies’ trademark (brand) into geographic or market zones, which can comprise several stations or as few as one station.
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The companies then charge different wholesale prices to retailers by zone. Oil companies create zones essentially by determining how high a station can raise its price before it starts to lose market share.
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Since retailers typically seek to set their prices to cover their costs and make a profit, the wholesale price charged within a given zone plays a large part in determining the retail price charged to consumers.
 
It's ironic that, as a nation, we are indeed conserving, using less gas overall, and the result is that the price per gallon goes up! Why do you suppose that is? Rolling Eyes
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How about because of this: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-09/17/content_13725715.htm

BEIJING - The number of automobiles in China has surged to 100 million due to a rapid increase in private car ownership, according to a statement released Friday by the Ministry of Public Security.

China registered 219 million motor vehicles as of the end of August, with automobiles accounting for 45.88 percent, the statement said. The ministry separates motor vehicles into four categories: motorcycles, tractors, trucks and automobiles.

The statement said that from 2006 to 2010, the country posted an average annual growth of 9.51 million automobiles.

The first eight months of this year saw 9.83 million new automobiles hit the country's roads, 79.45 percent of which were passenger cars, according to the statement.

China's major cities have had to deal with recurring gridlock and other traffic-related issues in recent years, as China is now the world's largest auto market. Several cities have tightened automobile purchase policies in an effort to combat traffic jams.

Beijing created a car-quota system on January 1, allowing only 240,000 new cars to be registered in the city this year.
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