Older Gas Pumps Don't Go Above $4; But Don't Expect To Get Cheap Gas Out Of Them

from the oops dept

Fri, May 2nd 2008 7:58pm — Mike Masnick

With gas prices across the country soaring to over $4/gallon, you may want to track down one of those (now mostly rural) gas stations that still uses really old gas pumps. It turns out that many of them were not designed to handle prices over $4. They go right up to $3.99 9/10... and that's it. While there aren't that many gas stations left that still have these pumps, it's causing a bit of a mess for them. The article highlights one station that has huge signs everywhere explaining that the price on the pump is inaccurate, and the station will apply a multiplier to the final amount to get the price right. While operating a gas pump with the incorrect price being shown is illegal, it sounds like (at least in Washington, where the story was written), state officials are making exceptions -- though it wants the stations to have plans in place to upgrade the pumps. I guess this is sort of the gas station industry's version of Y2K.

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Filed Under: $4 gas, gas pumps, old technology

98 Comments

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Pete B, 2 May 2008 @ 8:12pm

Deja vu all over again
This happens periodically over the years. Particularly when the pumps were electromechanical, they couldn't go above $1.00 per gallon. (Note "over the years"...) So, the price went to $0.55 per gallon on the pump and we multiplied by two. Later on, the pricing broke at $2.00 a gallon, then $3.00. My very rural gas station has had this problem for the past year.

Bonus points to those who remember gasoline sold by the liter in the USA.
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- JS Beckerist, 3 May 2008 @ 10:14am
  
  Re: Deja vu all over again
  Y2K.8, only affects Gas Stations.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 8:14pm
    
    Re: Re: Deja vu all over again
    Actually it'd be Y2K.008.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2008 @ 11:34am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Deja vu all over again
      I like Y2Kv2...
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- B W Antoine, 3 May 2008 @ 11:36am
  
  Re: Deja vu all over again
  Yep, I worked at a station while going to college that had the same problem, and more. I don't remember trying the price/2 trick, I think we simply set it to 99.9 and had a note on the pump that they actually owed gallons*price>$1 afterwards. We started getting people taking off without paying the extra, so my boss put up more signs saying they had to pay in advance and we'd figure out how many gallons they had to stop at depending on how much money they handed us. Yes, they had to stop themselves, the pumps had no way to stop automatically unless I threw the switch that shut down all the pumps, which they had me try and do for awhile also. It was a royal mess and it went on for about six months before I quit because I was tired of the abuse from the customers.
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- Audie, 3 May 2008 @ 2:54pm
  
  Re: Deja vu all over again
  As I recall it was during the late 70's. Really confusing because some stations were charging by the gallon and others by the liter. If every station had converted to liters it would have been no great problem, but as it was you were comparing apples to oranges; you couldn't tell if you were getting a good deal or a shafting.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- PopeRatzo, 5 May 2008 @ 6:28am
  
  Re: Deja vu all over again
  Seriously? Gas was sold by the liter in the US? When (and where) was that?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Peter D, 5 May 2008 @ 7:34am
    
    Re: Re: Deja vu all over again
    Gas was sold by the liter during and after the 1979 gas crunch. I was working for HP in Palo Alto, and the Shell station switched its pumps to metric. This was also a period where they were trying to force-feed metric on things like road mileage signs, so the gas pump could have been passed off at more of the same. It also gave the opportunity to charge $1.00/liter. I also remember the "helpful" sign giving the liter to gallon conversion to 4 places.
    
    As memory serves, that station changed to gallons long before the mile/kilometer signs disappeared on the local highways.
    
    Pete (used to working with most any units, including Angstroms)
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ich, 2 May 2008 @ 8:38pm

Cost of gas delivery
I read the story and it said that the retrofit kit cost $8500, but can't be acquired due to nation-wide shortages.

But many, many of the oilcompany-owned locations had upgraded to digital systems in the past two years.

One entrepreneur-owned station with digital Gilbarco pump recently closed and I thought it was odd that the pumps had been removed before they had removed all the product from the store.

$8500 retrofit kit. That's incredible!
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Jason H., 2 May 2008 @ 8:42pm

"Gas industry's version of Y2K..."
Loved that line. ;)
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Robber Baron, 2 May 2008 @ 9:16pm

Up Yours Peons
I'll charge what ever I want - and you'll pay
and pay - and pay
Ha Ha Ha
I'm soo rich
Ha Ha Ha
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- david, 2 May 2008 @ 9:36pm
  
  Re: Up Yours Peons
  Actually the gas stations and refineries are hurting as they have to pay more for the product. Its the exploration/pumping units that are making the larger profits. Not that they arent all often owned by the same company..
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 8:03am
    
    Re: Re: Up Yours Peons
    It appears that the market is being manipulated.
    For example - Oil exec calls refinery and suggests that it should be shutdown for maintenance thus causing a shortage of refined gasoline and an associated increase in the price.
    This should sound familiar. Remember Enron ?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 4:13pm
    
    Re: Re: Up Yours Peons
    Actually that is not true...read the financial news, it is trading that is jacking up the price. It does not cost anywhere near $130 a barrel for oil, it is price speculation that is letting Wall St. trade it for that much that is killing us.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Eric Fredericksen, 3 May 2008 @ 11:16pm
    
    Re: Re: Up Yours Peons
    That is a load of crap. The price of gas goes up on a daily basis around here and the crude oil prices are up down up up down up up up. So the refineries and stations are leveraging that inconsistency to make more profits also. Nobody is ever going to be able to prove to me anything else. Too many liars in this game.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
steveballmer, 2 May 2008 @ 10:25pm

They will find a way ....
to take as much of your money as they can carry! Don't worry about it
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Lonny Paul, 2 May 2008 @ 10:43pm

Wow... and the last time I remember too....
In the 70s when the price finally went over a dollar a gallon, right around the time they were rationing gas was it?? - well, whatever, I remember the pumps had little notes with 1 taped on the left of the price per gallon, or better yet some had signs saying "ACTUAL PRICE IS DOUBLE THAT SHOWN ON PUMP."

It was okay to wait in lines for the gas back then, the Exxon Stations were always giving away cool promo stuff with that cool very Kellogg-like Tiger on them... worthless gadgetry to soothe the brain.

When will people realize that there are greater, less expensive options available to most people? Look what we are doing to the planet. How much will gas have to be before we say, wow - the price of gas is killing me!? Realize the gas you use combined with everyone else is killing not only you - but the entire planet.
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- tubes, 3 May 2008 @ 7:55am
  
  Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
  "Realize the gas you use combined with everyone else is killing not only you - but the entire planet."
  
  I'm sorry to tell you this but we ARE NOT killing the planet. We are only killing ourselves on the planet. As soon as the planet is sick of us it will destroy us in some way or another. Humans are a virus with shoes. The Earth has been through a lot more devastating things than humans. Astroids, Ice Ages, Volcanos, etc.... and Earth will die eventually as soon as its gets close enough to the Sun, the Earth will be dead.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Panquee, 4 May 2008 @ 12:28am
    
    Re: Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
    Tubes: Are you serious?? Do you really think that humans have no affect on our environment?? Are you one of the those few people left in the world who still think global warming is a myth as well? The natural catastrophic world events you mentioned such as "asteroids, ice ages, volcanoes" cannot be argued as being "more devastating," inasmuch as car accidents being "more devastating" than cancer from long term smoking-- it's just a different timeframe.
    
    And I love to see the research you found regarding he Earth's planetary rotation around the sun indicating that we are actually collapsing INTO the sun. Laughable. If anything, the sun will burn out and go supernova before we'll fall into a blazing descent.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 3:46pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
      You are both right. While the earth has had plenty of global warming episodes not caused by humans, certainly the CFCs and CO2 given off by human activity is not helping matters.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- The Sock Troll, 3 May 2008 @ 11:21am
  
  Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
  Shut your bonghole hippie!
  
  We can't very well run our SUV's on Pot, Granola, and Rainbows.
  
  Mother nature started this fight with hurricanes, drought, and tsumani's... and now that she's loosing she wants a favor from us?
  
  Not bloody likely!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- UareAnIndiot, 3 May 2008 @ 8:51pm
  
  Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
  No it's not.... The planet is killing the planet. To believe that cars are having any significant on the climate of the entire planet shows how absolutely gullable and stupid you are. The earth, like all living things, goes through cycles. Ebbs and flows, ups and downs, hot periods and cool periods. This is true whether mankind exists or not. Remember the last ice age? There were no factories, no cars, no man-made greenhouse gasses to speak of, just volcanoes, the earth and nature. Remember a few years ago when they talked about the "hole in the ozone layer"? They tried to dupe you all into believing that was our fault as well and it turns out that the 'hole' is a naturally occurring phenomena.
  
  Please people, stop listening to all these environmentalists tree hugging wackos like Al Gore who server nothing but themselves and their own pocketbooks. Use common sense. You want cheaper gas? Drill in Anwar, slowly move oil production from mostly foreign sources to mostly american sources like Texas , the Gulf and Alaska. Put in strict controls on tankers to make them safer and stronger and be thankful God has provided nearly every corner of the globe with oil reserves. And also don't fall into this BS that oil supplies are running out. The earth itself produces oil. There are wells drilled over 50 years ago that were supposed to be empty by now, and they are just a full today as they were when the well was drilled. Explain that. There are areas in the ocean where scientists have recorded oil seeping from the ocean floor for dozens of years. Oil is not the enemy, it's gullable human beings who are hell bent on controlling others for sake of wealth and power that are the reason we have 4,5 and 6 dollar a gallon gas.
  
  There - There''s my rant.
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  - Gassy McGasser, 3 May 2008 @ 10:05pm
    
    Re: Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
    I think cheese pizza is killing the planet.
    
    That stuff makes for bad gas!
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    - Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2008 @ 11:50am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
      Cows.
      
      Methane's a greenhouse gas.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 3:50am
    
    Re: Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
    AHAHAHAHAHAHA
    You're so fucking stupid, it's funny.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2008 @ 12:22am
    
    Re: Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
    UareAnIndiot for the win!
    
    >>>No it's not.... The planet is killing the planet. To believe that cars are having any significant on the climate of the entire planet shows how absolutely gullible and stupid you are. The earth, like all living things, goes through cycles. Ebbs and flows, ups and downs, hot periods and cool periods. This is true whether mankind exists or not. Remember the last ice age? There were no factories, no cars, no man-made greenhouse gases to speak of, just volcanoes, the earth and nature. Remember a few years ago when they talked about the "hole in the ozone layer"? They tried to dupe you all into believing that was our fault as well and it turns out that the 'hole' is a naturally occurring phenomena.
    
    Please people, stop listening to all these environmentalists tree hugging wackos like Al Gore who server nothing but themselves and their own pocketbooks. Use common sense. You want cheaper gas? Drill in Anwar, slowly move oil production from mostly foreign sources to mostly American sources like Texas , the Gulf and Alaska. Put in strict controls on tankers to make them safer and stronger and be thankful God has provided nearly every corner of the globe with oil reserves. And also don't fall into this BS that oil supplies are running out. The earth itself produces oil. There are wells drilled over 50 years ago that were supposed to be empty by now, and they are just a full today as they were when the well was drilled. Explain that. There are areas in the ocean where scientists have recorded oil seeping from the ocean floor for dozens of years. Oil is not the enemy, it's gullible human beings who are hell bent on controlling others for sake of wealth and power that are the reason we have 4,5 and 6 dollar a gallon gas.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 5 May 2008 @ 3:43pm
  
  Re: Wow... and the last time I remember too....
  "It was okay to wait in lines for the gas back then, the Exxon Stations were always giving away cool promo stuff with that cool very Kellogg-like Tiger on them... "
  
  Ah yes, the Esso tiger. Put a tiger in your tank!
  
  They were called Esso back then. Changed the name to Exxon after they got rid of the tiger.
  
  I LIKED the tiger. Always regretted them getting rid of him.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ben, 3 May 2008 @ 12:54am

Forget cars... walk
It's times like this when I am so glad to made life choices that mean I can walk everywhere I need to go: work, church, shops, entertainment, city amenities, etc. Schools are nearby too.

Don't be a slave to oil, change your life.
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- Paul`, 3 May 2008 @ 1:56am
  
  Re: Forget cars... walk
  And those who lack the ability to walk? Or cant afford to move in city or closer to all the things they need to visit to operate in life?
  
  Great plan.
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- Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 6:18am
  
  Re: Forget cars... walk
  So what are you suggesting - that we all move in with you?
  
  Jeez, do you think people actually go out of their way to live far from stores, and businesses? Sometimes, it's what one can afford. Maybe it's the desire to stay away from seedy and dangerous neighborhoods.
  
  You're right, we shouldn't be a slave to oil, but we shouldn't be held at knife point by it either.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 8:05pm
    
    Re: Re: Forget cars... walk
    It is obvious that you can use the internet, so use it!
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- anon, 4 May 2008 @ 3:48am
  
  Re: Forget cars... walk
  We can't all live in your house and work at your job. How many locations do you actually think exist that allow for people to walk to work? It's people like you that think "all people need to do is move to a better location" There aren't 2,000 homes within walking distance of a school, there aren't 10,000 within walking distance of a skyscraper. There aren't that many skyscrapers located close to schools, so families with children can't walk everywhere either. It just doesn't fucking work and I don't see why it so hard to understand.
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- No So Short Sighted, 4 May 2008 @ 5:16am
  
  Re: Forget cars... walk
  Travel in this era is a given. Fact is that businesses move, churches too, and shops, entertainment, amenities. Schools move too. Nothing is permanent. It seems to me that you confine yourself to a small world.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
dennis, 3 May 2008 @ 12:59am

screw the planet. Save my wallet
Lonny Paul was right when he said "When will people realize that there are greater, less expensive options available to most people?"

I think he's right. When will they finally find a way to power cars with freshly squeezed kitten juice? kittens are every where, over populated, cheap AND self replenishing.
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- Old Guy, 3 May 2008 @ 5:30am
  
  Re: screw the planet. Save my wallet
  I'm sorry, I live over 12 miles from my job, I ain't walking, running, biking, etc. 25 miles per day. Property prices and taxes prevented me from buying a home any closer. And before you say it, I would be happy to use mass transit...except for the fact that there is none between my home and my job. I have been working on hang gliding to work, but getting proper elevation and cooperative winds has been a bitch.
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  - biker, 4 May 2008 @ 1:40pm
    
    Re: Re: screw the planet. Save my wallet
    If you get a road bike, biking 25 miles a day isn't really bad at all. Consider it.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 3:19pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: screw the planet. Save my wallet
      >If you get a road bike, biking 25 miles a day isn't really bad at all. Consider it.
      
      Used to do that, But showing up wet and smelly to work doesn't score points with the bosses or coworkers.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2008 @ 11:55am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: screw the planet. Save my wallet
        Then ask then to pay for your gas. :p
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        Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2008 @ 12:22am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: screw the planet. Save my wallet
        >>> Then ask then to pay for your gas. :p
        
        Naah, I'll just make you work harder. It's good to be the king.
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the gas nazi, 3 May 2008 @ 3:23am

Ok, I have worked, and am still working at a gas station for over 11 years here in Canada and I can safely say to all of you that whatever the price of gas may climb too, people will still buy the crap. Let me point something out to all of you who may find this interesting. When gas was .85/ltr, my three old tolkeim pumps pushed an average of 6-7 thousands ltrs per day. That really sucks, can't cover my overhead that way. As soon as gas started to climb, my literage went up, and up and up. The higher the price goes the busier I am at the pumps. Why? Simple, fear. You put the price of gas up let's say 1.18/ltr, the news comes on and tells people that gas prices are 1.25/ltr in another town or large city, so the next day I run around like a chicken with it's head cut off filling poeple up because they FEAR that they are going to have to pay 1.25. It's absolute lunacy! I took marketing in college and this is textbook scare tactic marketing. Also there is another trend emerging from all this, my credit card sales are way down and my cash sales are way up, and i mean way up. That is scary.
I honestly beleive that people will still drive, and drive what they want no matter what the cost of fuel is.
Just like people still eat at McDonalds. Even though the hamburgers taste like crap, they cost a fortune and will eventually kill you.
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- Paul`, 3 May 2008 @ 3:35am
  
  Re:
  Might taste like crap to you, but I love them. :P
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Crazy Coyote, 3 May 2008 @ 4:56am

planned obsolescence
The date on my 8 year old VCR won't go past 2007. Ain't technology great. At my job I work on technology no one has seen yet, but at home call me Fred Flintstone. Just sick of it.
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- Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2008 @ 5:15am
  
  Re: planned obsolescence
  Wow, you're quite self centered.
  
  It's all about you isn't it.
  
  So what you've got an 8 yr old vcr that won't go past 2007.
  
  LOL..so it's someone else's fault that it won't go past 2007?
  
  You should be grateful that your vcr lasted that long, instead of whining.
  
  Either deal with it or get another one, either way just grow up.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 5:34am

Hang on to this article
Keep this file in the archives. In a few years you will be able to write it again, simply changing the $4 to $10.

Probably, though, with the coming hyperinflation we will have to adopt some of the tricks that they used in Germany in 1923. Everyone will just have a chalkboard (OK, it will be a plasma screen) in the front of the store with the multiplier on it. It will make it a lot easier to change the prices when they go up by the hour.
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Richard O. Langley, 3 May 2008 @ 6:53am

gas prices
If every US citizen stayed home for 1 workday,it may wake up the fuel oil industry as well as our goverment.There is no need for these ridiculous prices.As long as we let it continue,they are going to continue price increases.With autos being built to use less fuel they are not making the money they want to,greed is the driving force,not the price of crude.We cannot, not drive to work because of long commutes,but staying home 1 day can reach out and smack someone back into reallity.Help take back control of our country,stand up and shout!
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- Nurse Betty, 3 May 2008 @ 12:29pm
  
  Re: gas prices
  Wish I could stay home one day a week. Or two. I was there bright & early at 5am today on a Saturday. Will do the same on Sunday. Funny, those sick people having little blood clots and heart attacks keep coming into the ER wanting care.......
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 4:16pm
  
  Re: gas prices
  Wow, one whole day will hurt them? How do you figure...oh you been getting email messages again.
  
  We would have to go for over a week to get any attention, 1 day is not even going to phase the big oil companies.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Richard O. Langley, 4 May 2008 @ 9:18am
    
    Re: Re: gas prices
    1 day of no gas purchases and you would see the oil industry reel in agony.As would our goverment,imagine the tax dollars they would loose,its really simple if you just think about it.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 11:06am
      
      Re: Re: Re: gas prices
      A Gas Holiday is simple but impractical. Too much commerce relies on oil.
      
      What would help is to concienciously choose not to frequent those that import from middle east-- If oil is sourced, and refined fully in the US, all the money stays in the US- even providing Americans with jobs. What a concept!
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 5 May 2008 @ 12:00pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: gas prices
      And on the second day, profits are doubled. You solve nothing.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Phred, 3 May 2008 @ 7:43am

Oil and Gas Prices
Y'know, we should be looking at longer term solutions. Yes, we have hybrids now. Yes, fuel cells are being put in cars. Yes, there are alternate sources of energy. But really, the gas prices are regulated by supply and demand and tampered with by government regulations. However(!), maybe until we have the alternate solutions in place, we can get rid of the primary reason for the HIGH and CLIMBING gas prices: DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. Why do we depend on countries where their cultures hate ours? And I do mean, hate. Some, not all, countries that we buy oil from really do hate us with a deep hatred. Why buy from them? Yeah, I know, we have laws prohibiting us from exploiting our own natural resources... But really, are we so stupid as to not realize that in this particular case (energy), we might be better off being more self-reliant and get off our butts and actually use alternate energy sources instead of just talking about it, or waiting until the market prices "justify" an investment?
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- Karl, 3 May 2008 @ 8:57am
  
  Re: Oil and Gas Prices
  I really hate to be that guy who blames the gov't but really you have to wonder why the gov't isnt working extra hard on green energy. I got in a debate with a guy at work about this issue of "use less", he drives a big ass truck that gets like single digit mpg, well after words were exchanged we agreed that the govt doesnt want us to use less because they tax the hell out of gas and heating oil. just like smoking they dont want you to stop, just to feel really bad about it.
  
  I have made a personal choice to use less energy by consolidating trips to town and biking to places. Its all about lifestyle. I know that in some areas it is hard to walk/bike or mass transit but there are ways to save your wallet you just have to work at it.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Urza, 3 May 2008 @ 3:24pm
  
  Re: Oil and Gas Prices
  Phred: Why do we depend on foreign oil? Because we don't have enough domestically. That's all there is to it. It's not even that we _can't_ drill it, it's that even if we did, it'd all be gone in a couple years. Sure, prices might stabilize (they'll never drop) for a couple years...but by 2050 we'd be at $40 a gallon, if not higher.
  
  What we really need to do is build more nuclear power plants. Yes, there is fear of another Chernobyl...but that only happened because the Russian philosophy was 'they say nothing can go wrong, so we don't have to worry about it'...while ours in the US is 'everything can go wrong. plan on it.'. Sure, we had three mile island...but nothing actually happened there. No radiation even escaped the plant. The people living nearby weren't even really aware that anything had happened at all...it just got blown up the further away you went. In other states, it was a major catastrophe...and in other countries,some people heard that the entire state of Pennsylvania had been wiped off the map. But nothing happened.
  Anyways, point I'm trying to get to here is that we have enough oil to last maybe a hundred or two hundred years...assuming we drill every known oil deposit. We have enough Uranium _already mined and sitting in warehouses_ to power the US for three _thousand_ years. Possibly more if we legalize breeder reactors. Yes, there's some waste, but if we were smart that could be easily taken care of. It's not that dangerous. It's a hell of a lot safer than the waste from oil.
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  - Scott Halvorsen, 3 May 2008 @ 5:30pm
    
    Re: Re: Oil and Gas Prices
    Agreed, but it's this "Not in my Backyard mentality" against progress. It permeates throughout many other projects. Consider the I355 project in Chicagoland.
    
    I saw a documentary on National Geographic Channel recently on this project- "Man-Made: Super Roads" where the Sierra Club blocked the I355 South-expansion due to a dragonfly.
    It ended up adding possibly billions of dollars to the project because the road needed to be 25-feet above the marshlands to protect an endangered spiecies.
    
    I imagine Sierra lobbied Congress to get a dragonfly added to the list after the plans were announced (originally published in 1970s) And litigation ensued until 1990s.
    
    Until people realize that Sierra's real goal is that they hate people, it's nuts. I'm married to a Sierra club member. So I can say that you guys come up with the most crazy ideas at your meetings. I have to bring her back to reality. What the hell do you talk about? Sometimes I think I am crazy, but that's another post. I just hope our children turn out okay.
    
    Aagh! Thanks for letting me vent.
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    - Tom, 3 May 2008 @ 6:52pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Oil and Gas Prices
      Speaking about backyards, have you checked yours? I suppose that your tree hugging wife drives her SUV to the store to buy grocries, drives her big gas sucking pig to soccer games as well, and then go to a meeting (again driving the gas sucker to that meeting)and then BITCH about it... Get a clue ...
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - alternatives, 4 May 2008 @ 11:30pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Oil and Gas Prices
      Until people realize that Sierra's real goal is that they hate people,
      
      Naw, they just hate people named Scott Halvorsen.
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Jake, 3 May 2008 @ 8:15am

A European Perspective
You know what? The hell with a thoughtful, reasoned response. I'm just going to take one of the regular, reasonably clean buses into town and browse my favourite bookshop, then stroll down to the station and watch the trains go through every half hour heading almost everywhere I'll ever need to go. And I will laugh at virtually the entire population of the United States the whole time.
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- Iron Chef, 3 May 2008 @ 10:23am
  
  Re: A European Perspective
  As for the bus well, the US hasn't been friendly to transit solutions as much as the EU zone. Just look at Am Track vs France's TGV. France's change in rail design greatly increased reliability, decreased derailments (to zero) which I am sure attributed to more public support and increased the general image for transit throughout EU.
  
  As for transit solutions in general, a recent conversation comes to mind- I was talking with a neighbor about her job, and the topic came up of an employers new benefit addition- Bus service with WiFi.
  
  'I can put in a few hours of work while going home.' "What do you mean?" I asked with a hit of jealousy. She continued and said she leaves work at 4:00 and still be online and getting things done until I gets home around 5:15, 'It's like rolling travel time into work time. I get a few hours of extra productivity.'
  
  So the idea of transit solutions is interesting nonetheless, especially now that gas prices have out paced young thirteen-year old delivery infrastructure (pumps)!
  
  Maybe it's a sign of the times, and transit should be re-evaluated.
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- Smaca, 3 May 2008 @ 12:00pm
  
  Re: A European Perspective
  Great, you can ride a train. Grats dude thumbs up! Call me when once you get to your destination.
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- Ljlego, 3 May 2008 @ 9:08pm
  
  Re: A European Perspective
  That's quite mature of you. While you're doing that, are you going to kick a crippled dog and throw Monopoly money at homeless people too?
  
  Mean-spiritedness isn't becoming. It renders your whole point moot (however valid it might be) and only makes you seem uneducated. I doubt this is the case, but the fact remains. If you want to say something, make sure it has just an ounce of worth.
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inc, 3 May 2008 @ 9:01am

I feel so bad that this may cut into the oil companies record profits.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 2:08pm

Best way to counter it is to not buy any extra junk at the gas station - that's typically their real bread and butter in terms of profit margin.

I only buy gas at gas stations now, the rest I go elsewhere for.
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- Iron Chef, 3 May 2008 @ 3:04pm
  
  Re:
  Best way to counter it is to not buy any extra junk at the gas station - that's typically their real bread and butter in terms of profit margin.
  
  I only buy gas at gas stations now, the rest I go elsewhere for.
  
  Eh, I agree, but as the cost of gas goes up, many of the smaller independents are having have trouble competeing. I saw this a few years ago in a test market.
  
  Company-owned stores, being under the auspice of their parent, have additional flexibility that independents lack. For example, they could lower retail gas prices to match, or be below an independent's cost, which forces an independent to focus on value-add. Company-owned locations may leverage economies of scale and single distribution strategy. (Similar to a WalMart Strategy- Own as many pieces of the business inhouse as possible.) If pricing is longstanding, it could potetially drive an independent out of business.
  
  You can typically tell if you're at a company-owned store if they ask for a Zip code at the pump when you fill up. An "ask" like this usually is driven by a lower credit card processing rate, which an independent usually doesn't usually pursue.
  
  It becomes very tough to compete with a large refinery like Exxon, Shell, et al, who can discount last-mile sale for inflated refinery margins.
  
  This is especially true if you're wholesaler isn't say, Valero or Amoco/BP which lacks a last-mile strategy.
  
  Personally, I only buy from Costco.
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- Brad, 5 May 2008 @ 6:42am
  
  Re:
  Okay, that's gotta be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Convenience stores make virtually no profit at all on the gas they sell. In fact, they can't simply because there are legal limits on the price they can charge for gas in relation to market values. The only way they can stay in business is by the sales inside the stores. Keep going with that attitude, and there won't be any gas stations left to buy gas from, because NOBODY can make a living from just selling gas the way things are now.
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Overcast, 3 May 2008 @ 2:18pm

It's ok in a way too - as the prices rise, work seems to be more amiable to us working from home. Plus, I did move a lot closer to work, that helped more than anything.

I drive a V8, but don't drive far, and skip almost all unnecessary trip. Heck, I just recently went from a super efficient 4 cylinder to a V8. The 4 cylinder small car thing - is over hyped, I think. It's ok, but no freakin' power and always have someone right up on my tail.

If nothing else, the higher prices just make alternative fuel possibilities much more lucrative ventures. It may be the best thing that could happen for ending our reliance on Oil.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 3:33pm

Here are some large companies that do not import oil. By supporting them, you support US refinement. If your grocery store has gas, ask where they get it from. Chances are, they come from one of these fine stateside companies-

ARC0, BP/Phillips, Sunoco, Diamond Shamrock, Conoco, Sinclair, Valero, and Hess.
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meri, 3 May 2008 @ 4:19pm

Gas Pricing
The economy is going to affect usage. When we move from the recession into the depression, bicycles and walking will be rediscovered, soccer moms will encourage using local parks within walking distance, many events can be rescheduled to areas that are closer to the potential audiences, etc. and community may be the winner. Status with who has the biggest SUV/Hummer/Whatever will suffer a deserved disappearance.
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Billy Jones, 3 May 2008 @ 5:49pm

How do I change the name of a post? Please change the name to #39 to anonomous or something like Billy Jones.

Thank you!
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Idiot paying the price in Wasington State, 3 May 2008 @ 6:37pm

Got a laugh at a local gas station's readerboard yesterday.
Advertising that they have new pumps!, now there prices are twenty cents above the average. The only people around here making money are the company's selling gas pumps and Haliburton.
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- Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 7:17pm
  
  Re:
  I wonder where Haliburton's HQ is these days. Surely, they are still a US company, based still in Texas..?
  
  Dubai? Surely that's a misprint.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 8:04pm
    
    Re: Re:
    For everyones information , the address to the headquarters of
    Haliburtons is The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
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Pissed off, 3 May 2008 @ 6:43pm

How mutch a gallon are they paying in Irac?, And I dought they have new pumps...
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- tubes, 3 May 2008 @ 8:15pm
  
  Re:
  "by Pissed Off...How mutch a gallon are they paying in Irac?, And I dought they have new pumps..."
  
  Are you pissed off because you are so fuckin retarded? How old are you? If you're 6, I apologize but I seriously doubt a 6 year old is reading techdirt. You seriously don't know how to spell Iraq!! You can't even figure out that doubt is spelled with a "B" & much doesn't need a "T". Seriously I'm far from perfect, I almost failed English every year in school. I would be completely embarrassed if I didn't know how to spell Iraq. Its only been in the news everyday for about 6 years now, plus if you also include Bush #1 add in another 2 or 3 years.
  
  TIP: Download Firefox in has a spell checker built into the browser.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 8:49pm

Dominos next to Chevron
I love Domino's Pizza. Their online ordering system ROCKS. When I ordered, it said it was coming from a location next to a Chevron Station, and my pizza was being made by Dan. When it came out of the oven, James was doing the delivery.

What an awesome system. Try it out for yourself!
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- Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 4:11pm
  
  Re: Dominos next to Chevron
  not to stray too far off topic, but please dont use online ordering systems for things like buying a pizza. youre just axing out some low paying job that is keeping some dude off of welfare, so that a corporation can make an extra couple hundred bucks a month. phone it in, people. phone it in.
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  - Scott Gardner, 4 May 2008 @ 6:30pm
    
    Re: Re: Dominos next to Chevron
    I don't believe in preserving outdated business models just for the sake of keeping some minimally-skilled phone monkey employed. How would you like if it every time you wanted to order a book from Amazon or a song from iTunes, you had to place your order with a phone operator? That would go a long way toward keeping people employed, wouldn't it? Never mind the fact that compared to automated order-processing systems, the high-school dropouts that man those phone banks usually have the accuracy and reliability of a fortune cookie.
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    - Ken S., 4 May 2008 @ 9:07pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Dominos next to Chevron
      I suppose it could be worse-
      
      http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/technology/11fast.html
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Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 9:12pm

Dude, where is my hydrogen car ?
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- La Bamba, 3 May 2008 @ 10:02pm
  
  Re:
  Or electric car for that matter. Do you know how much electricity is needed to create hydrogen from water? What a waste of resources.
  
  What the car manufacturers should do is sell electric cars... Extra Bonus Points if they plug into nuclear power!
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  - Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 9:13am
    
    Re: Re:
    La Bamba said:
    "Do you know how much electricity is needed to create hydrogen from water?"
    
    Quite a bit I understand ... but I did not suggest that did I ?
    There are many ways to obtain hydrogen, the trick is to do it efficiently and store it in a manner that does not explode upon container failure.
    The brainiacs are closer than you think. For example:
    http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2007/11/hydrogen_bacteria
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    - Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 11:27am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Quite a bit I understand ... but I did not suggest that did I ?
      There are many ways to obtain hydrogen, the trick is to do it efficiently and store it in a manner that does not explode upon container failure.
      The brainiacs are closer than you think. For example:
      http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2007/11/hydrogen_bacteria
      Well genius, that article isn't even about getting hydrogen from WATER.
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      - First Guy, 4 May 2008 @ 12:55pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Anon said:
        "Well genius, that article isn't even about getting hydrogen from WATER."
        
        Ummm, what ?
        Of course not. That is the whole point now isn't it.
        Let's recap:
        1) 1st guy - where is my hydrogen car
        2) 2nd guy - it cost a lot to get hydrogen from water
        3) 1st guy - I never said anything about water, here is a link about getting hydrogen from elsewhere.
        4) 3rd guy - Well genius, that article isn't even about getting hydrogen from WATER
        
        Obvious troll, but I had to respond ...
        
        I still want my hydrogen car, and an economical means of obtaining hydrogen. There are ways to accomplish this.
        But I suspect that big oil will try and stop it.
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        Second Guy, 4 May 2008 @ 3:14pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        I don't care.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 May 2008 @ 10:00pm

Gas Prices
If the government was interested in helping reduce our need on gas with the intent to find alternate or reduced cost solutions what could they do?
Ex.. Cut Saturday mail delivery everywhere the mailman or mailwoman can still get paid for saturday just no mail add the dollars and reduction of fuel for that day. Sure it is along the lines of the earlier post however this is practical do we really need to get junk mail and bills on Saturday and will the mail carriers really get upset having Saturdays off with pay not likely.
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Anthony, 4 May 2008 @ 5:02am

I remember an article on techdirt or some similar site that mentioned a compandy that sold future gas based on the prices of the current time.

The funny part is that the article scoffed at the idea saying it was horrible.

Well if that company still exist today, I bet all their customers are just sitting back and laughing their asses off!
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- ich, 4 May 2008 @ 8:46am
  
  Re:
  I remember at least one of those products. I think there were a few of these that popped up, but the one I remember trying was Priceline Gas. I remember that I had a 2nd card with them too, I think it was for groceries, which I never got around to trying.
  
  As for Gas, it worked well, but I had to fill up at some real obscure places. Then one day *pop* the whole thing dissappeared.
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Jimmie, 4 May 2008 @ 12:25pm

Oil is going up not only because we burn it up driving all over the place because plastic,fertilizers, and other oil based products are eating into demand. No body realizes that it takes more energy from oil to produce ethanol than gasoline.
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g, 4 May 2008 @ 1:27pm

Buy a Prius
I'm super ticked about having to pay so much for fuel. This is beyond inflationary.

I bought a prius back in november. I'm getting about 45mpg which certainly helps.

I wrote a blog about my prius adventure:
http://tenasillahe.wordpress.com/
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- hsrob, 5 May 2008 @ 12:26am
  
  Re: Buy a Prius
  Oh that's great that you bought a Prius except that you're retarded. You just paid well over $20k for a dangerously slow, crappy car that doesn't even get great mileage. My 2003 Corolla got 36 MPG, a Honda Fit gets what, 39? You get a whopping... 45.
  
  Good job genius. I'm sure you'll be making up for that $10,000 you wasted in short order with your extra 6 MPG. That goes for all the other Prius drivers too, good choice. I guess at least you can sniff your own farts now.
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Obie, 4 May 2008 @ 2:26pm

Screwing Gas Companies?
hmmm.... or you could find out what the price of a credit transaction is based on the credit card network the gas station utilizes. For instance around here it costs $0.50 cents per transaction on a credit card, therefore if you were to buy gas in $0.50 increments the company would break even on selling gas. This is based on the idea that your credit company does not charge you as well per transaction (most don't). However ill-efficient, it would certainly light a fire under their asses, and would be more effective than not driving for one day. As it stands most people that only work 5 days a week stay home 2 days a week to accomplish chores.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 May 2008 @ 10:06pm

This looks like a good opportunity to try and move into to 21st century and sell by the liter!
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Anonymous jerk, 5 May 2008 @ 3:01am

RE: Re: Up Yours Peons by david
Dude, BP just announced a 69% increase in profits from this time last year. They are wiping the floor with us. Shell reported similar profits.

It's only a matter of time until the Gov't steps in and puts price controls in place, and I, for one, can't wait!
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Crazy Coyote, 6 May 2008 @ 5:34am

Re comment #83
I'm not whining. I use my vcr maybe once every couple of months that's why it lasted so long. The technological evolution is evolving so fast I spend all my time learning.
I remember the PDP8 days when you had a position for maybe a year or more. Now it's 3 months max. My analysis leads to purchasing paralysis.

Having said that... Technology has been very good to me over the years.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2008 @ 7:17am

wow, the high gas prices are really bringing out the bad in people.

For the tree huggers: You should be happier than a pig in slop over these high gas prices. Why wag your finger at the masses about how we are killing the earth? High gas prices means less consumption. Think of how many millions of third worlders have gotten priced out of their cars in the last year. Hell, think of how many first worlders have voluntarily cut back on their driving over higher gas prices. High gas prices lead to high food prices which leads to consumers looking to more localized sources of food which leads to less oil consumption.

These should be the salad days for hippies, yet they are screeching louder than ever. Enjoy your day in the sun for a change.

And to the dude/soccer mom driving their 4x4 gas guzzlin' suv two blocks to get a latte, wtf did you expect from globalization? All the benefits and none of the sacrifices? Did you think the third world countries accepting all our manufacturing jobs would be happy remaining in third world squalor and wouldn't imagine ever emulating our lifestyle? Well, all those cheap imported chickens are coming home to roost. The bill has come due and it's time to pay up. So you can either pay by continuing to drive your SUV and have less disposable income, or you can pay by getting on the bus and being inconvenienced a helluva lot more.

And to the rest of you that want the government to save us from ourselves and protect us from big oil, be careful what you wish for. Congestion toll pricing and the national 55 mph speed limit are the types of solutions the government comes up with.
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Scott H Florance, 14 May 2008 @ 3:45pm

You cant trust certain people witha terreble secret.
We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Its nescessary to be on the look out for people with the mark of the beast 666 on their right hand or forhead. I call the beast demon Trovias and the evil cult members are Trovians. These are the kind of wicked losers that dont love babies. They have a top secret organization set up thats purpose is to switch babies at the hospital or elsewhere with a clone duplicate. Their guilty of Satinism and child abduction. Their jelouse of babies with a radient healthy glow.
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gayle barnett, 29 May 2008 @ 1:03pm

don't drive this sunday
lets all not drive this sunday and lets hurt the oil company. lets all stay home with our loves one like they use to do in the old days. don't drive this sunday june 1st. DON'T GO TO THE GAS PUMPS THIS SUNDAY. ONE DAY COULD DO SOME DAMAGE TO THESE OIL COMPANY AND BRING DOWN THE PRICE. BETTER YET WE SHOLD DO IT EVERY SUNDAY UNTIL THE PRICES COME DOWN. UNITED WE STAND! COME ON JUST ONE DAY CAN MAKE A DIFFRENCE. DON'T GO TO THE PUMPS THIS SUNDAY!
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gayle barnett, 29 May 2008 @ 1:08pm

don't drive this sunday
lets all not drive this sunday and lets hurt the oil company. lets all stay home with our loves one like they use to do in the old days. don't drive this sunday june 1st. DON'T GO TO THE GAS PUMPS THIS SUNDAY. ONE DAY COULD DO SOME DAMAGE TO THESE OIL COMPANY AND BRING DOWN THE PRICE. BETTER YET WE SHOLD DO IT EVERY SUNDAY UNTIL THE PRICES COME DOWN. UNITED WE STAND! COME ON JUST ONE DAY CAN MAKE A DIFFRENCE. DON'T GO TO THE PUMPS THIS SUNDAY!
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Scott H Florance, 22 Sep 2010 @ 6:09pm

Your heart knows loves somewhere
What if they arrested me in the middle of the night injected me witha drug and said your going to the mental hospital. Just becuase I was out side of my apt for a few days missed a haldol pill that was not required by the courts. How do I know that the universe is not 50,000 times 92 light years with 1700 planets in size. Yes the universe was a ray gun in a locked box in a stump an 8 year old Mr Oliff got 102 small stabs from Mr Brickney an alien nonhuman, he ran through the forest shedding intelligent tears from his inner eye..... What do you do? it was a bigger universe no criminal charges can be held. There was the new life power crystal and the 19 buttons where pressed for 6 minutes The ray gun downloads starving peoples blood and takes a sample to make an living life form inside the 50,000 times 92 LT Yr inside the box in the forest stump. The box with the magic ray gun fell underground they will never put this universe on a labbench to save the vulnerable. It will not create another immortal 4 year old boy with ever living flesh heart beat ever again. I dont know how this process works Im ordinary dude I swear. There making holographic projections of some 179 humans that where part of Mr Oliffs essence including Vig Vigura the Starfighter pilot to be the patients at mental hospitals where they have dorms. That movie Gamers showed a few of the 11 people that where made from that 6 minute download of a suicidal Mr Oliff he wanted to kill himself 6 inch centerpede creatures just stung him over and over before he smashed the lock on the box with our universe in it . Mr OLiff needed 6 meals a day and 10 cups of water his gift of the Spirit was hes anti demonpossion. Robot driods that own Mr Oliffs world think hes worth 31 dollers as a live specimen and they love Mr Brickney who stocked him since age 4 under directions from Mr Drake another killer of children. Vig Vigura Mr Oliff's great grand father starfigher pilot went to an ocean world by himself saw many new life forms under water and some land Dinos.
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