Soaring Gas Prices = Soaring Profits

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
"Clearly" It ain't a cartel if you can't prove they are getting together to set prices. The petroleum industry has MANY different players. And I notice a difference in prices among just about every pump station .

And are you really asserting that crude prices aren't going up? The only cartel is OPEC.... and the only way to break that up is by invading every country .

Just because the good is inelastic doesn't mean jack. It's just a characteristic of the industry.

God, what is it with Reagan avatars at the moment?

Well if profits are soaring for these companies and one is clearly not trying to compete with the other, then it is indicitive of what is going on. They are taking advantage of the situation...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well if profits are soaring for these companies and one is clearly not trying to compete with the other, then it is indicitive of what is going on. They are taking advantage of the situation...

Well if profits are soaring for computer companies in the 90s and one is clearly not trying to compete with the other, then it is indicitive of what is going on. They are taking advantage of the situation...



Where do you get the 'one is clearly not trying to compete with the other' anyway? There are gas stations down the road from each other which engage in price wars (within reason, compared to the price of crude).

When an industry has good times, most companies within that industry has good times.

[MrFun]

What is everyone's take on these four choices:


2003 Dodge Neon

2003 Nissan Sentra

2003 Honda Civic (hybrid) -- already got Asher's comments

2003 Toyota Corolla

[MrFun]

I got consumer and editor reviews for each of the four I listed, but I want to see what anyone else thinks.

[Asher]

Originally posted by MrFun
What is everyone's take on these four choices:

2003 Dodge Neon

Crap. Never buy a Dodge car. Ever.

2003 Nissan Sentra

2003 Honda Civic (hybrid) -- already got Asher's comments

2003 Toyota Corolla

These three will treat you well. Nissan's quality has gone downhill the past few years, but still way better than what you'll find with a Dodge, especially once the warranty expires.

[MrFun]

Is Asher the only Apolytoner looking out for hapless car buyers?

[Verto]

I can't help you. Come back when you are considering decent cars.

[MrFun]

None of those four are decent? Then what would you consider buying?

[Verto]

If I was going hybrid? I would probably wait for the Ford Escape Hybrid. If all they say remains true, it will maintain power similar to the current V6 model, providing you with actual cargo and passenger space, without having to sacrifice good looks for better mileage.



Ford is aiming to get 35-40 mpg for city driving.
LINK

[MrFun]

One, I'm not planning to have a family of six children anytime soon that I need something like that.

Two, I cannot wait -- I need to get a car this summer BEFORE my current junker breaks down -- not AFTER it breaks down.



But tell me what you find to be wrong with my four choices -- I want opinions from as many different people as possible.

[Asher]

Originally posted by MrFun
One, I'm not planning to have a family of six children anytime soon that I need something like that.

Have you ever been inside a small SUV like the Escape/Tribute, CRV, or Rav4? You have more interior space in the cars you mentioned than those, especially with legroom and rear passenger space.

And if you get a hatchback, you get about the same cargo space if you fold the seats down.

They also get about 35mpg without a hybrid, even.

BTW, the hybrid system they're using in the Escape is actually licensed from Toyota, since Ford can't do anything complex by themselves.

[MrFun]

interesting

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Verto
Just saw on Drudge that Bush is refusing to open up the strategic reserves.

And that is useful how? The strategic reserve program is a pork barrel joke. Pay to pump it up, then pay to pump it back down, and maybe later, pay to pump it back up, if a phantom threat to the total US domestic crude production capacity ever materializes.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Intersting the thing that made money in the consumer business whilst my wife worked at Exxon was not so much the gasoline prices as much as the Quickie-Mart quick shop items.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe
Intersting the thing that made money in the consumer business whilst my wife worked at Exxon was not so much the gasoline prices as much as the Quickie-Mart quick shop items.

Gas stations have pretty thin margins on gasoline - that's exactly why so many jumped into the Stop-and-Rob convenience store business.