Stock up on gas now or pay $5 later

[dex]

$5 for a gallon of gasoline in 2012 - Dec. 27, 2010

The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, says Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012.

 

[NW-Bound]

How do I stock enough for my RV trip to Alaska? Pulling a tank trailer behind the motor home?

 

[dex]

How do I stock enough for my RV trip to Alaska? Pulling a tank trailer behind the motor home?

Fill up the black, gray and fresh water tanks, and add a tank to the roof.

 

[chinaco]

I invested a some money in VG Energy. I think energy prices will continue to rise. I believe as the world's economies recover demand will outstrip supply.

 

[foxfirev5]

I invested a some money in VG Energy. I think energy prices will continue to rise. I believe as the world's economies recover demand will outstrip supply.

A much better alternative to storing large quantities of gasoline - which doesn't store that well anymore.

 

[Zathras]

It isn't an either/or question.
You will be paying for increases in oil prices if you:
Buy anything that was transported, the further the more costly or buy anything grown with fertilizer.
If you really want to minimize your person transportation costs buy electric as EVs that match your driving needs come to the market.

 

[teejayevans]

I invested a some money in VG Energy. I think energy prices will continue to rise. I believe as the world's economies recover demand will outstrip supply.

Not if prices go up 70% they won't, can you say "double dip"?
TJ

 

[REWahoo]

Not if prices go up 70% they won't, can you say "double dip"?

Yep. Sustained oil prices over $100 per barrel will pull the rug from under the current anemic recovery.

 

[chinaco]

Not if prices go up 70% they won't, can you say "double dip"?
TJ

We will no doubt have another recession at some point.

If prices go up 50% I plan to be getting out of it. If not, then I can take the dividend and wait. The PE is 12.9 which is lower than its comparative index and lower than the PE on the 500 index fund.

Of course it is a sector fund and a little more risk comes with the territory.

 

[chinaco]

Top 10 energy picks for 2011 - Fortune Finance


http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/12/28/n_cmr_hofmeister.cnnmoney/

 

[braumeister]

Back in the 70s, when the first big oil crisis hit (long lines at gas stations, rationing by license plate number, etc.), I had a friend who decided not to put up with those long lines.

He had a 500 gallon tank installed in his back yard (buried several feet deep), and had fuel delivered to his home by the same trucks that delivered to gas stations.

This was a guy who stayed pretty close to home (small town in the midwest), and never did any long distance driving, so one filling would last him a long time. The cost of the tank and associated pump was significant, but he had plenty of money (owner of a successful business) and just hated the idea of not being able to fill his tank when he wanted.

I often envied his maneuver, but that situation really didn't last all that long, and after I moved away I always wondered if he kept filling that tank or went back to normal operations.

 

[MichaelB]

I doubt it. Crude petroleum prices > $100 and gasoline @$5.00 x gal will push the US into recession, weakening demand and bringing prices back down.

 

[Zathras]

I doubt it. Crude petroleum prices > $100 and gasoline @$5.00 x gal will push the US into recession, weakening demand and bringing prices back down.

As prices go up there is some decrease in demand, but not by as much as it used to. Also, non US demand is growing quickly. To a greater and greater extent oil demand is supported more and more by China and India.

 

[MichaelB]

As prices go up there is some decrease in demand, but not by as much as it used to. Also, non US demand is growing quickly. To a greater and greater extent oil demand is supported more and more by China and India.

Increasing demand is driven by China, India and subsidies around the developing world, but the US is far and away the largest consumer. Historically when petroleum exceeded 4% of total US GDP recession followed. The impact is likely to be greater now because economic growth is below historical average.

Sustained petroleum prices over $100 will drive the US into recession.

 

[Thingamajigger]

Back in the 70s, when the first big oil crisis hit (long lines at gas stations, rationing by license plate number, etc.) ...

oh, the memories of the locking gas caps ....

 

[Walt34]

oh, the memories of the locking gas caps ....

That, and when gasoline hit $4.00+/gal. While I do enjoy my full-size 4WD GMC pickup truck, I also realize that unless I hit the lottery it is the last one I will ever own.

An interesting read is $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better by Christopher Steiner.

While some may have issues with the effects and timing of his predictions, and there will be ups and downs along the way, I do believe that the day of $20/gallon gasoline is inevitable. The only question is when, hence I will never again buy a new full-size 4WD pickup truck. At $20/gallon a fill-up is $500 and that ain't gonna happen often.

 

[Leonidas]

...I do believe that the day of $20/gallon gasoline is inevitable. The only question is when, hence I will never again buy a new full-size 4WD pickup truck. At $20/gallon a fill-up is $500 and that ain't gonna happen often.

In your lifetime? I just don't see that happening. Two generations hence, maybe even in my kids' lifetimes, but I don't see $20 a gallon gasoline in anything close to the near future.

 

[BigNick]

$5 a gallon? You guys crack me up. Please point us Europeans at anywhere we can get gas at less than $6.50 a gallon today (that's about the price in Luxembourg or Spain; more like $8.00 in France and Germany). And we drive pretty much the same cars you do nowadays too, unlike a few years back when y'all were getting 15mpg.

 

[Leonidas]

And we drive pretty much the same cars you do nowadays too, unlike a few years back when y'all were getting 15mpg.

15mpg? You guys crack me up. The best my F150 will do is about 11mpg.

Ah, I'm sorry, I should take this more seriously. And actually, we do. In fact, here in the states we have been researching the applicability of european style cars for years. Here is some footage of our crack fez-helmeted ace engineers and test-drivers driving experimental [-]clown[/-] cars.

YouTube - Shriners drive tiny gaseous cars, Gt Falls, MT, 07/15/06

 

[Westernskies]

15mpg? You guys crack me up. The best my F150 will do is about 11mpg.

Leonidas, that's what my old F-150 with the little 4.6L V8 was getting; the new Dodge Ram with the 351 CID Variable-Displacement Hemi is getting 17.5 AVERAGE in city/hwy driving, close to 20MPG on flat,open road. And it's the big crew cab with room for 5 people, the old Ford had bucket seats for 2.

 

[ERD50]

In your lifetime? I just don't see that happening. Two generations hence, maybe even in my kids' lifetimes, but I don't see $20 a gallon gasoline in anything close to the near future.

Why not? Gas was $1.03/gallon 12 years ago.

Vehicle Technologies Program: Fact #364: March 21, 2005 Historical Gas Prices, 1919–2004

So we have had a 3x-4x increase in just 12 years. I fully expect a 5x-6x increase over the next 30 years (about 5-6% growth). Unless some affordable alternate energy form takes off before then, but we didn't get that in the past 30 years either.

-ERD50

 

[Walt34]

In your lifetime? I just don't see that happening. Two generations hence, maybe even in my kids' lifetimes, but I don't see $20 a gallon gasoline in anything close to the near future.

Not a certainty but a real enough possibility that I'm not going to buy something that I think there is a real chance I can't afford to fuel later on. Bear in mind that I fully intend to keep my 8-year-old truck for at least the next ten years barring theft or accident.

Even at $8/gallon I'd choke at a $200 fill-up. At that price a Honda Rebel (250cc motorcycle) starts to look very attractive.

I'd keep the truck, but it wouldn't be driven unless I truly needed the truck's capabilities.

 

[mb]

My bicycle is my hedge against higher gas prices.

 

[teejayevans]

My bicycle is my hedge against higher gas prices.

My sailboat is mine , wind power, and the solar panels provide electric...plus when we go 3rd world, I can move to a better country...
TJ

 

[ziggy29]

Sounds like I need to buy a little USO again to pop this thing.

Seriously, though, the speculators are going to wreck any recovery by dampening it with much higher oil prices. The correlation between oil prices, economic indicators and the stock market has never been higher in my recollection.