Gas price check up

[Snowman]

The Rigid Digit, the Winged Weenie, Wonderful Wiggler, Friendly Phlange, and the Nifty Knuckle.

Most of you were born 20 years after this prestigious award was handed out on a weekly basis….so move along. For us old farts I will reactivate the famous Flying Fickle Finger of Fate award:



Getting hosed at the pumps?
DAN enters from stage-left, as DICK enters from stage-right. DICK is holding the FFFF Award, while DAN has his ever-present cigarette in his hand.
DAN: Well, here we are once again.
DICK: Yes, it has been a while. What brings us together again, Don?
DAN: Well, Dirk, uh, Dick, we’ve been ask to present the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate award to a prestigious national corporation who out-did themselves recently in their field of excellence.
DICK: Who is it? Chrysler? Nabisco? General Electric?
DAN: You were close…..Winter is coming north of the 49th and the  award goes to Canadian Petroleum Retailers.
DICK: You don’t say?
DAN: Yes, I do say, he quipped.
DICK: But what do the gas retailers do to deserve such an award?
DAN: It all comes down to Automatic Temperature Compensation….ATC for short.
DICK: I’ve heard of ATC, but I’ve been too busy with my nightly rounds.
DAN: Your nightly rounds? I thought you spent your nights picking up women.
DICK: Believe me, if you saw how fast I go through those women you would think of it as my --
DAN & DICK: -- nightly rounds.
DICK: Yeah.  
DAN: I don’t want to hear about it, Dick. Besides we still have an award to hand out.
DICK: Well, let’s get cracking. I’ve got my duties to fulfill tonight!
DAN: As I was saying, and the oil industry has been using it for years to provide consistent measurement of gas as it's transferred from oil refineries, to terminals, to gas stations.  
Temperature compensation is a form of measurement which makes up for the fact that the volume of gasoline changes with the temperature; when it's cold, gas shrinks. When it's warm, it expands. With temperature compensation, gas is always measured as if it's 15 degrees.
DICK: What’s so wrong about that?
DAN:  Critics say there's a problem with that method in Canada, because the temperature of gas is closer to the mean air temperature in that country, which is 6 degrees. And because of that, they say for most of the year, you're paying for gas you're not getting.  
DICK: I think it's been a bit of a sneaky price increase by the major oil companies that's been inflicted on consumers….That is kind of sad, but what’s the big deal?
DAN: Takes a long drag from his cigarette…As a consumer you don't know that its temperature compensating, the vast majority of Canadians can't make an informed choice. They believe that a litre is a litre is a litre….*cough* The Independent Retailers estimate that temperature compensation is costing Canadian drivers $180 million a year, and half of that would go to taxes. A $90 million annual windfall for the government.  
DICK: In that case, this week’s Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Aware goes to the Canadian Petroleum Retailers, for your diligent work in ensuring the consumers pay a fair price for thier products.
DAN: Good work, Dick.
DICK: Good to just work with you again, Dan. Hey, how are things were you are?
DAN: Oh, it’s great, especially in the smoking lounge up there. Talk to Einstein nearly every day. And it’s one of the few places I can get away from Tiny Tim for a while.
The two walk off-camera together as they continue talking…


(Message edited by snowman on November 25, 2004)

[ovr50]

Here we go with the gas price rants again. When will people learn that: 1. the retail operator/gas station makes very little from gas prices and occassionally can lose money if a price war develops, 2. something like 43% of gas prices is taxes, 3. gas pricing contains tax-on-tax, 4. oil is a global commodity and trades as such and thus the oil price (which determines gasoline pricing)is set in a world market, and 5. quit your bitchin' as Cdn. prices are cheap on a world-basis. In the UK, as Bob Delfy said above, it's $2/L. We need higher prices to really start conservation moving.

[safristi]

Nice one Snowy..those ATC adjustment are just that ATotal Crock of hydrocarbons.
   Well Ovr and others just HOW high do you want ME to raise your pump prices before YOU conserve...DO I hear $3.00 in the back row..I have $3.35 in Victoria..c'mon cheapskates..do I hear $4.00 down here in the cheap seats..I have $4.25 in the peanut gallery....please send the extra $$$$ to   "Valley of the Rich & Willing"
         c/o Safristi's Humungous Holdings
              Hole IN the Ground,Arab Emirates.

 I'm thinking of switching to B.P....C'mon ya lil feckers in this can.....sheesh drink up
you bunch on bumble heads....

[Turbo Bob]

Woohoo !! Go Ovr !!

Well said, I think our petrol is something like 85% tax, plus 17.5% sales tax added on top. Now that's not much product for your money...

[safristi]

Hey BOB GREEN & OVR the TAUPE...YOU BOTH like paying 80-90-95% taxes...what ya been sniffin..petrol distillates..that'll be $100 a snort/sniff if you both had yer way.....

[Snowman]

I don’t live in Europe…nor do I ever want to…..I live in Canada…..but what a wonderful idea….lets charge $2.00/Litre for gas in Canada. Let’s give more money to Perto-Canada, Esso, Shell, and who ever…..they are losing millions in Canada selling gas.

I agree that something should be done to curb fuel consumption…..right. I drive a 14l/100km 350 hp WRX.  

I do not want to give oil companies another $1.00/L…..I want to give the extra loon to fund research and development for alternative automobile propulsion systems.

[ovr50]

All I'm saying, Snowy, is that ppl will not conserve until they are forced to, and one way to force it is for gas prices to become really painful (of course, there will be a chaotic time for national economies in getting there - the old economy vs the environment trade-off again). Most ppl in Europe drive smaller cars, use diesel more and probably drive less. The price of (say) 95c/L is not painful enough to cause any change in way ppl waste fuel. I like big, powerful engines as much as anyone here; but reality is coming (hopefully down the road a bit yet).  
Would you pay an extra $1/L on gasoline if the $1 were truly dedicated to research and devel. of alternative auto propulsion systems? Maybe that's what should happen, but ppl would still scream about it.

[h20ski]

Bullit;
Toronto - Brampton , Ontario;
Its yoyoing up & down I've seen it as low as 68.9 but mostly 70.8 in morning up to 80+ in the evening....

[Mdxtasy]

78.9 today.

[barrie1]

I don't mind paying high prices but when the oil companies like Shell pay less Income Tax then me then I have a real problem with that. In 1980 I paid more income tax then they did as I was studying Business at the University of UWO. This was a case study and very revealing as they only paid $5000. for the year. I paid more then double that in 1980 alone. The Gov showers these Companies with Tax incentives and free money on a regular basis instead of making them pay their fair share like the rest of us. The Dorks did'nt even spend my money wisely.

[Turbo Bob]

Why the hell does the price go up and down at different times of day???  Never seen that before.  Surely everyone would buy in the evening then (or vice versa), from what you are saying?

[S60]

Barrie1 the policy makers(Oil companies) have to get a break somehow.

Bob_defly, there is no pattern to when the stations rise and lower the prices. If it was the easy, then everyone would fill up at the designated time.

[barrie1]

The gas station people wait by the phone for the call. They then go out and change the price on the pumps. The oil companies run the show as the Gov dosen't care as long as they get their Tax Money.

[Mdxtasy]

I think they roll the dice.  They take those three numbers and that's the price.  YATZEE!!!

[ovr50]

The reason the prices change all at the same time (wintin a few hours or days sometimes) is that no one brand wants to be higher than any other brand so all graviate to the same price; and because gas prices are very visable to all parties and since the product is basically the same no matter whose pump it comes from, the driving public will re-act quickly to a lower price at any station. Thus, they all fall in line again. It's not magic - it's just market re-action to a closely watched product.

[si]

yeah... tell that to the manopolizing gas stations here in Victoria.  It was 93.9 for well over a month.  maybe 2+ ?

I just put 30$ in at 89.9 (the lowest priced gas that has been in my car since spring)

We're getting screwed here... Is there any other major city in Canada with a higher price???

rrrrrrrr   I know it's only a few cents but we seem to always pay more.    

So not only do we pay more, we don't get any snow! Victoria sucks...

[ovr50]

The gas station business is about the furthest thing from a monopoly as you can get. There are many of them, too many often, and there is still 4 or 5 majors and a bunch of local operators. The fact they all sell for the same price or close to it does not make them a monopoly.

[si]

easy for you to say...

[tpl]

One way the Brits got to $2/l is the infamous plan in the nineties over there... every year, increase the price of gas by inflation + 2%...I think it was that much Bob will confirm...called the accelerator or something.
They did it to tobacco ( and booze?) as well and then whined when the whole population of South east UK came back from france every w/e with the poor old volvo on the bump stops... ( no "legal" limit on imports from another EU country although the customs tried it on).

And for Bob, that another thing about Canada;  Canada Customs are about as anal about booze as say, Saudi Arabia, they collect taxes for the provinces as well on booze .

anyway Gas should be say $1.00 with a known rise to $2 over say 4 years ( the length of a lease) but only if combined with a) the money actually spent on roads ( fat chance) and b) Cdn goverment allowing more choices in cars...more euro models, more diesels, etc etc.

[Mdxtasy]

Main Entry: mo·nop·o·ly  
Pronunciation: m&-'nä-p(&-)lE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -lies
Etymology: Latin monopolium, from Greek monopOlion, from mon- + pOlein to sell
1 : exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action
2 : exclusive possession or control
3 : a commodity controlled by one party

Big oil companies operate in a competitive industry.  Whether it be selling refined fuel or drilling for crude oil....it's NOT a monopoly.  OPEC is a different story.