$2.00 Gas by Thanksgiving??!!?!?

[Bachstrad37]

I'm skeptical, but USA Today states OPEC is satisfied with $70 per barrel. With demands fading as summer dies, that works out to roughly $2.00 gal. by Thanksgiving.

Here's the article http://www.usatoday.com/money/industrie ... usat_x.htm

Will this change anyone's driving habits or choice of vehicles? How long do you think this will stay? Will it turn true at all? What does this tell you about possible price gouging now that OPEC says $70 barrel is satisfactory?

Discuss.

[CNF2002]

Do I think people will jump at the opportunity to get back into their big SUVs? I think so.

These guys are smart. Truck and SUV sales are down because of gas prices. High prices have lined oil company profits, and they risk losing a good source of income as people are more used to the idea of conserving, changing vehicles, becoming more economic and efficient.

So they drop gas prices, everyone feels comfortable wasting resources again, SUV sales go up the following quarter and we wait. As soon as an excuse comes along, gas prices shoot back up above $3.00/gal. Americans are once again overconsuming in Hummers and Excursions, so oil company profits spike again, and SUV/Truck sales are back in the black. All the companies are happy.

I'll continue commuting by bike and will buy an economical car when my 'regular' car dies, although that will not be for a very long time since I only put a couple thousand miles a year on it now. The gas hike was a wakeup call...gas prices fluctuate, and natural disasters can send gas prices skyrocketing. Question is, do you learn from it or keep making the same mistakes?

High gas prices hurt consumers because they have no wiggle room in their budgets. If people would live within their means, instead of living on credit and debt, they would have been fine. Then you get the folks trading one car note for a bigger car note, plus fees, to get into a car that's more economical. This country has a negative savings rate...we've plunged into debt and tighten our budgets around monthly finance payments. When a universal utility cost, like gas, goes up...no one can afford it.

Yes, I think people will go right back to overspending and overconsuming if gas prices go down. Living in luxury and sacrificing our future to make banks rich is the American way.

[9000white]

are you suggesting that the oil companies raise or lower the price of gas to make more profit??? how absurd.

[JC Viper]

Yes but in the U.S. motorcycles aren't seen as an alternate way of commuting by the majority. The usual fears and misconceptions about mc's crop up:

But you can't ride them in the rain; I've seen/ known someone in a terrible accident on one and died etc.

The sad thing is that other countries such as India and China are having more of a middle class so motorcycles/ scooters will become a luxury item and the car will be something you should have.

It happened here after Henry Ford introduced a method to gain cheaper cars so motorcycles started making no sense and was deemed as a tool for menacing.

Now once gas prices go down will mean more SUV's (well it is winter) will grow in numbers and dimensions for "safety" while in turn means more probability for fatal accidents, esp. involving motorcycles. The Gov't will step in and limit the 2 wheelers, make it harder to earn a MC license as such in the EU. I know this sounds like fear mongering but it seems that many people would love to have motorcycles off the road.

Hell, personal responsibility is thrown out now that manufacturers are making cars that can detect collisions, help you park while having all the latest creature comforts.

My parents' SUV is great when we have a big snow storm, so there are uses for SUVs.

[ofblong]

pfft I am already getting flack for riding in the rain. The comments like "You actually rode that thing here in the rain?" Then again my comments back are always "Yup all it is is water not like its frozen or anything." Whats funny is now I see a few people who ride only if its dry starting to ride even if it might rain since I started saying that lol.

I dont see motorcycles ever going away since they do sell alot of them in this world and I can see a rather large uproar (esp from the HD crowd) if we lost the privelage to ride our bikes. However gas prices at $2 well we shall see although this is the time of year when gas prices tend to drop because people dont go on vacations and do crazy shiiitt during this time of year.