Anyone else out there with a 5.4 feel like they are starting to have a collectors item on their hands yet? I know I am..... Here we go again.....


Here's the story.....click here.

 

I have to agree with ya. There are a lot of guys like myself, that claim they need their truck. In all actuality, we just use our trucks on occasion. When I use it, I need it. Whether it be hauling trimmings, 4x4 for hunting, you know, a truck is just handy. With gas prices going through the roof, guys like myself will start buying smaller cars with better gas mileage.

My company currently pays for my gas. The prices do not hurt my wallet, but they are a drain on my conscience, and fiscal responsibility if I were to change jobs. For now, I own an 07 KR. I do not plan on getting another vehicle until 2014 or 15. As to the value of my truck, I got 11k off of sticker, 8k for my trade in, and put 15k as a down payment. There is no way that I would get rid of it, I am in to deep, and am happily stuck with my truck as long as my gas is free.

I have seen comments that guys are tired of gas price posts. Why does this surprise them? I am spending over 400 bucks a month to drive my truck, and another 400 bucks to drive rentals when I fly. 800 bucks? Sorry, but I dont care who ya think ya are, most people cannot afford a quarter to a third of their paychecks being plopped down for gas. In Dallas, a decent one bedroom costs 800. Something has to be done. Things are gonna get ugly.

A week or so ago, a turd commented that we Americans need to get second jobs to pay for gas, and work harder. With layoffs in the airline industry and automobile industry, looks like many are going to be searching for a job to replace the one they lost. End of rant.

 

To me the question is at what point does the economy just completly crumble from these gas prices. Oil companies continue to make billions while the entire United States Economy crumbles. Sad thing is, we do all this complaining and gas arent going anywhere but up and quickly at that. I try not to complain too much because I drive my truck more for pleasure than necesity. I can only really afford it because my commute is less than 3 miles. I really feel for people like my dad, who love their trucks (A 4.6 Sport Trac) but have to drive 1 1/2 to work. The will end up losing the vehicles they love because they can no longer afford to drive them. Another thing that bothers me is that the only thing that will force Ford and other companies to increase MPG in their vehicles is the consumer because no one will by a new car unless it will drasticly increase their MPG. I suck at ranting, but there was mine.

 

Good post. I too have my company cover my gas but recently I have been paying out of pocket at times just because it is so expensive and I feel guilty.

 

You have to be one cold SOB not to feel for those that have to pay for their gas. I spent 95 bucks on a tank today. Felt a little guilty expensing it. I did get over the guilt fairly quickly when I squealed the tires as I was driving away

 

US oil companies are only making 4-13 cents per gallon. Even if they sold gas at zero profit, it wouldn't make any difference at the pump. They make billions due to volume sales. On any given day, the US consumes 638,000,000 gallons of gasoline (figure 22 million barrels a day producing 29 gallons of gas per barrel). That doesn't even factor in diesel! At just 4 cents a gallon, that comes out to nearly $10 BILLION dollars profit per year on gasoline alone. Those pennies really add up!

Oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, etc... are getting VERY rich. As there is no shortage of oil on the market, they aren't price guoging us either. Oil speculation on the stock market (oil futures) is why oil prices are so darn high.

At $125 a barrel, gas would cost us $5+ per gallon if it wasn't for the US oil companies using domestic oil production to keep prices below the global average of about $6.50 a gallon. We only produce a fraction of the oil we use, so we depend on expensive foreign oil to meet the demand. We even have to export our oil to Canada to have it refined because we do not have enough refineries CONUS. To top that, we even import gas from the UK.

So, before one bashes oil companies, they may want to get a bit educated. Politicans put on a good show, but they're just lying to you that the oil companies are robbing you blind. It's quite the opposite.

 

I kind of think that both my '05 F-150 and my '08 Mustang will be the last vehicles of their genre that will not somehow be compromised for fuel consumption considerations. I'm glad that I got them when I did, and since they are not my daily drivers, gas mileage is not even a blip on the radar screen for these two vehicles.

Now when it comes time to replace my daily driver Ranger, I see a 30-mpg Focus in my future......

 

I have gone back and forth on this for the last month and I have decided I am one of those guys who absolutely needs his truck. Actually, I need a big van, like a sprinter, but thats not in the budget so the truck has to cut it. Even if I get a van, I still need the truck to haul trailers and plow snow. My truck is crammed end to end with tools and materials for jobs I am doing, there is no way I can fit this stuff into anything smaller.

The crappy thing is I, like everyone else, has to pass it on to my customers just to make any profit at all. There is days I feel as if I am loosing money when I fill my truck vs. what I profited that day.

Gas prices are forcing small business owners like myself out of the market. Its how the rich get richer and the little guy like me can never get ahead.

Fawkin system.... there has to be a better way, but what?

 

Theres has to be a country we could invade and steal their oil. Oh wait! Ain't we in Iraq? I could have swore the Libs claimed thats why we were there...

 

Didn't you read the memo, haliburton got all the Iraq oil and in their evilness they are hoarding it so when everybody else runs out Chaney makes trillions.

 

I do not believe it for a second, in the congressional hearings the big ceo's said nothing about only making .13 a gal profit and as far as the "world average" of 6.50 a gal 75% of that is taxes, http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...bal_gasprices/

so the world average means nothing. when profits go from 11.5billion to 40.6 billion there is something going on and BTW gas is not the only thing that comes out of a barrel of crude yes 20 gal of gas and on top of that there is diesel/kerosene, fuel oil and solids that are sold off so the amount of waste is very minimal, and the oil companies make money on all of it there is no defense it is simple profiteering and should be handled as such.

P.S. I just looked something up heres the link we actually get 48+ gal of product from 1 42 barrel of oil

http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/wh...arrel_oil.html