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View Full Version : Anyone else running out of gas?



waboom
09-28-2008, 09:45 PM
Today I took the kids out bowling. On the way home, I passed 11 gas stations.

Only 2 were open.

All 11 were open a few weeks ago, right up until Hurricane Ike decided to slam the Texas/Louisiana area. The Friday before the storm hit, gas stations around me (the metro Atlanta area) had longer-than-usual lines of cars, as everyone wanted to top off in case the dire warnings about the refineries being taken out by the storm were true. (Guess so. Last I heard, 6 refineries were still off-line, and another 18 were not running near 100% capacity.)

So any gas station near me that does get gas, immediately gets a long line of cars, with waits of 45 minutes to get to the pump not unusual. All the stations seem to be charging $3.99/gallon, except for Costco & BJ's, which charge $3.94 whenever they get gas (and you should see those lines!)

So..... any other parts of the country experiencing this?

Funny side thought - I was initially thinking that if I had my 75mpg V1, I would be sitting pretty, not having to worry about sitting in line to get my gas. Then I remembered the 4 gallon gas tank, and realized that I'd still have to get in line as often as I currently do, as the ~300 mile range is about the same as my current car! (Assuming no PHEV option on the V1, of course.)

Mike kZ
09-29-2008, 09:25 AM
It sucks right now!! I went by 12 gas stations that were closed until I found one open. Lucky I got there early and was second in line. After I finished the lines were 5 to 6 cars deep per pump, with lines going out onto the street! They say this should lighten up this week. We'll see.

Baja_Traveler
09-29-2008, 10:16 AM
I heard that the southeast is particularly hard hit because of the refinery shutdowns in the gulf from the hurricanes. Here on the west coast it's business as usual.

Hardtime11
09-29-2008, 10:56 AM
Is it a conspiracy? :-)

The shutdowns an attempt to overdrive the price of Gasoline in a short period? It could be an attempt to counter the governments action against price gougers. We shall see. There are so many angles (reasons) it could be, it is overwhelming. They may be losing profit now but the long term profit for the companies could be shocking.

bigandugly
09-29-2008, 01:22 PM
From OHIO - all gas stations open - paid 3.59 this morning

ziggy951
09-29-2008, 01:53 PM
Southern Colorado here

All open
$2.05 for 87 octane















h:u:h?1
bl:ink:1




Yeah I was kidding about the price




Z

meckman1
09-29-2008, 02:40 PM
From OHIO - all gas stations open - paid 3.59 this morning

Yeah, things are good here in Toledo too, but bear in mind, we have local refineries. My sis lives in Houston, and things are pretty rough there right now.

westonlgray
09-29-2008, 06:20 PM
This is the bad side of not allowing "price gouging." If the price was allowed to naturally go up as the temporary supply went down, not so many people would fill up 3 extra 5 gallon cans in their trunks, and then the gas situation wouldn't get this bad. Plus, if the price of gas was $7 / gallon, a couple of trucks may be diverted from the North to head down to the south.

Miracleman89
09-29-2008, 07:42 PM
Ziggy- That wasn't funny!!!! :COP: I started packing my stuff as I was scrolling down! Do you know how hard it is to Bubble wrap oddly shaped knik-knaks!!!! r:a:n:t:2:101

ziggy951
09-29-2008, 08:22 PM
Well, technically the "at the pump cost" of E85 here is around $2.85ish..not too shabby if you are willing to pay for the subsidies, increased food costs, and the petrol that goes into producing "CORN" based Ethanol. I am however working on a project to produce bio-fuels, bio-diesel and jet fuel specifically from algae. Its a local deal and I am working with a small contingent of students and professors to build a small scale plant and work on the creation or combination of better algae species. Its dirt cheap compared to current petrol, $0.60 per gallon cost, but our scale will only permit a small offset in production and for a niche market.




Z

AZEqualizer
09-29-2008, 08:59 PM
We are $3.22 - $3.35 a gallon for 87 octane in my neighborhood and everyone is open.... No AZ doesn't have refineries.

Mark Tomlinson
09-29-2008, 09:48 PM
Plenty of gas in Chicago Far Northwest Burbs. Paid $3.77gl, which is the lowest it's been in months.

Derwin
09-29-2008, 09:49 PM
I'm in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, and we sure don't have a shortage of gas here.

Derwin

Miracleman89
09-30-2008, 01:55 AM
BTW Big D,

Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago what do ya say? The Cubs Are Gonna Win today!!! THE CUBBIES ARE IN THE PLAYOOOOOFFFFFFSSSSS!!!!!!!!! WOOOOO WHOOO!!! che:ers:1 cl:ap)1 hy:per1) fir:st:pl:ace))1