I put eight gallons in the car yesterday at Ramrod Key which is known as a slightly less expensive alternative to key West gasoline, perhaps 25 cents a gallon. I noticed the cost was down to four dollars a gallon even- the nine tenths bullshit doesn't actually fool me, I always round the price up to the nearest while number. Speaking with some Italian tourists in Key West struggling to understand metered parking they touched on the price of gas and I pointed out that unlike Canada and Europe we pay for our own medical care. Fancy a 50,000 dollar co-pay I asked, thinking of my colleague who got that bill from the hospital last month. Their eyes widened. 
I am waiting for Saudi Arabia to go up in flames. It seems to me they are barely tamping down dissent in their country, paying through the nose to improve conditions but not offer meaningful social change. When Saudi Arabia goes the way of all the other Middle Eastern countries in crisis the world will lose ten percent of oil production. In a bidding war China has three trillion of our dollars they don't need and we have sixteen trillion in up front debt. I'm guessing we aren't going to win any bidding war when oil goes into seriously short supply. We may well look back at four dollar gas with the same affection we remember the buck fifty gas of decades gone by.
I am waiting for Saudi Arabia to go up in flames. It seems to me they are barely tamping down dissent in their country, paying through the nose to improve conditions but not offer meaningful social change. When Saudi Arabia goes the way of all the other Middle Eastern countries in crisis the world will lose ten percent of oil production. In a bidding war China has three trillion of our dollars they don't need and we have sixteen trillion in up front debt. I'm guessing we aren't going to win any bidding war when oil goes into seriously short supply. We may well look back at four dollar gas with the same affection we remember the buck fifty gas of decades gone by. 
12 comments:
Unleaded regular here in southern Ontario is now C$1.39/litre.
Gas prices in San Diego are similar to Key West. I paid $4.89 for premium (my car requires it) the other day. If my wife would agree with me that two wheeled transportation is perfectly safe, I would be at the showroom tomorrow shelling out money for a new scoot. My commute to and from work is horrendous. The mileage doesn't hurt; it's the stop and go traffic. I fill up about five times a month at about $60 per tank.
Happy I can ride the bus to work....last time I filled up my vehicle it was 70+ dollars.
Bryce: If I calculate correctly at 1:05 to the Canadian dollar that's close to $6 US per gallon. Which I would pay happily to have your provincial medical card, you socialist!
Dear Rob: Tell her it is, I've been riding for 42 years on three continents and here I am. 40,000 people die every year in cars only 4,000 die on motorcycles. If you are sober and properly dressed, between 25 and 54 years of age and not riding something excessively large your odds are excellent. There again your wife driving while distracted might easily squish you on the way to work.That happens every day thanks to iPhones.
Sandra. $5 is my bus pass break even point. It would cost me two hours and a collapsible bicycle to make bus commuting a reality.
The funny thing about gas prices (here in WV) is this: Our prices are identical to those you posted in Key West.
HOWEVER...that gasoline has to be hauled in by truck, down A1A, to get to the islands. Ours comes 5 miles by truck, from the Marathon Oil refinery I can literally see at night with unaided vision.
Yet...it costs the same. Odd. Welcome to WV.
The average car on American roads costs about $25,000 new. The average car (spending on driver) costs about $1200/year to insure.
The way I figure it (assuming one keeps their car seven years) and its residual value covers the cost of maintenance - the cost of ownership is $500/month. That's $500 a month just sitting in the damned driveway.
We don't have a national debate about the cost of ownership - but we do bitch about the one thing that's not completely under our control.
I have a solution.
Move to Key West.
Sell off all your expensive toy cars and never-been-off-road SUV's.
Buy a bike.
We have a crappy purple 15 year old Geo tracker in which fuel economy is measured in months per 7 gallon tank. I don't remember when we filled it up last - in six months, we've driven it about 300 miles.
I figure between vehicle expense, heating bills, insurance, gas, etc. I've given myself a $25,000 raise by moving. Sure - houses are small end expensive, but the $$ saved can be moved towards a house payment.
And besides - when was the last time you heard anyone refer to land north of MM107 as paradise?
Pragmatic in Key West,
Chuck.
"Bryce: If I calculate correctly at 1:05 to the Canadian dollar that's close to $6 US per gallon. Which I would pay happily to have your provincial medical card, you socialist!"
No problem there.Our taxes are high, however have yet to pay anything substantial for health care in the five years of major Lupus and Cancer problems. And as my Houston Texas dwelling brother has noted, he would have to earn three or four times as much as he does now to survive and have the same levelof care
that we in Ontario have. He pays a fairly high fee for health insurance.
I also should note, medical in the USA is on a for=profit basis. In Canada it is a for service basis. Less costly yet it is still costly; the profit factor is simply not there.
Hence there are still gaps.
I priced travel insurance for me a single person with major (as noted)pre-existing conditions. Would you believe $1475.00 per week plus 13 percent sales tax!
Am staying here!
It's all swings and roundabouts as they as say, Bryce. You forget to factor in peace of mind. Something our Republican overlords don't think about for the masses.
Greg: Gas prices are claculated on zip codes. Everytime you shop the bar codes sends a signal to our corporate overlords who calculate what products should be stocked on your shelves and how much you will bear to oay for gas. "West Virgina" is a huge number of zip codes. The cost of transport means very little. gas comes to south Florida from the Hess Refinery in St Croix, lands at port everglades and is cheaper in Port St Lucie than it is in Key West. We have more millionaires is all.
Moving to key west is a terrible idea. yet the paper says we have more millionaires moving in than before. becuase they don't need loans to buy.
Mr Conchscooter:
the last time Gas was high, a few years ago it hit $1.50/ ltr there were only half the cars on the road making it safer for 2 wheeled transport. Also bus ridership when up.
Bus is not an option for me as it takes over 2 hours each way, plus a mile walk at each end. It would cost $5.00 each way (3 zones) = $10.per day. Even if gas was $2.50/ litre I would break even using my car. The bike gets twice the mileage.
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
As if I needed *more* of a reason to move to the Keys!
Get rid of the damned car. Seems perfectly acceptable to me.
Unless I'm taking a very long trip (say, to Portland) I don't fill my car's gas tank. Even going to Seattle and back (~100 miles each way), I just put enough in it to get down there, and buy more before heading back, gas in Seattle being significantly cheaper than in Bellingham.
The scooter takes exactly 1.75 gallons if I wait until the low-fuel light comes on. That's enough for 130 miles, give or take. Which takes a while to accumulate, even during club rides.
__Orin
Scootin' Old Skool
Amen. Time to start some meaningful changes away from petroleum. If the Saudis get pissed, the whole world is going to be in a sad state.
Brady
Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life
http://www.behindbarsmotorcycle.com/
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