Regular is $1.499 several places here in Casper, Wyoming.

 

I grew up around South Bend, Hudson Lake, actually and attended IU.

Be that as it may, you are seeing the result of the consolidation in the oil industry. Gas stations used to be small businesses. Now stations are extensions, or branches of the major oil co. I can't even remember how many oil co's there once were. Now you can count the number on one hand, or several fingers.

I think prices will continue to fall, perhaps south of 35.00/barrel. The oil co's will attempt to maintain a large spread to maximize their profits in a contracting market. Prices are dropping, but the larger question is:
Who will benefit if there's not enough jobs?

In LA, ridership in public transport is down, so trundle out those SUV's.

 

Although our economy is in a great big slump downwards, gas has been going down. I live in Tampa, Florida, and gas was 1.87 for regular. How is this?

 

No money, prices too high, people out of work don't drive very far or very much, or your guess is as good as mine. I'm sticking to my prediction of oil at south of 35 bucks/barrel which is a better indicator. I think we're back in 2005 as reported recently.

Hope you still have a job.

 

Interesting. What do you think about the bailout for the big 3 car corporations?

 

It's a mess, and probably under happier circumstance I would not be for it. But, with thousands of union jobs being lost, not to mention all those dealers I'd give them the money.

The discussion is at a couple of levels. The most obvious is whether the companies' management deserve that money.

Another is the fact that once the companies shutter, or go into bankruptcy there goes the last of the industrial unions, not to mention a homegrown industry.

There's also the appearance that the administration is willing to bailout, "people who shower before they go to work", against those who, "shower when they come home from work."

White colors get the cookies, blue colors get the blue slips.

This is also whether those workers (union) who were the cutting edge of the growing middle class in the post-war US are being demonized and made responsible for the failure of management decisions going back decades.

So we're not only pitting white collar (Wall Street) against blue collar (auto workers) but states which accept unions against the right-to work states.

Well, there's more but if those 3 go down, to paraphrase an earlier wag, "as the auto industry goes, so goes America".

 

I do thinks it's necessary for the bailout but I think the executives or higher staff need to be replaced effective immediately. I know the CEOs are cutting their wages down but still.

People with an edge and more innovative enthusiasm should come in and replace all of them. American cars really need to evolve to better standards (even if gas goes back down).

Since cars are directly dependent with oil companies, I think oil companies should step in and strategies innovation with car companies. Also it would be a great marketing strategy for the oil companies that did help with bailing out the auto industries.

 

Good idea. Do you think those oil companies would work against their own interests? I think, however the oil companies should cough up the 34 bil instead of us. Otherwise we're getting screwed twice.

 

Gas is between $1.58-1.69 here.

 

Your about .20-.30 cheaper than out here at Vons (Safeway).