Can It Get Any Worse? Some Analysts See $7 per Gallon Gas Coming

never mind locking the doors, better start locking those lids!

It's already happening. By where I live, someone broke into a farm and stole 300 gallons of gas. And someone cut the tank out of a hospital van and took the gas inside that. And someone held a guy up at a gas station and took his gas. It's only going to get worse.

Should have a fake lid that is easy to open but with real bad sugar-saturated gas behind it. Whoever steals it will ruin their engine.

If these analysts are correct and we do hit $7 per gallon, rest assured that demand will drop significantly as nearly everyone switches to more fuel-efficient vehicles, cuts down on driving, and uses mass transit more often. Reduced demand will reduce or stabilize price at that point.

i need to get myself a motorbike

more like good for $hit . kind of like making more than enough money today but knowing the company you work for is going down the toilet

Can't wait for the New Ford 4.4L Baby Diesel to power the next gen of Crossovers. Then we will have true 50MPG and performance.
Wow. I see the Audi R8 Diesel produces 500HP at 25MPG. What a great new milestone!

I was interested in the Audi A6 Wagon, but the 4 wheel drive GAS engine gives about the same mileage as a Ford Explorer.

I will wait for the coming Diesel transition.

Audi R8 Diesel Supercar Video:
http://magazine.windingroad.com/windingroad/200806/?folio=91

My freind has a Nissan Exterra SUV. He gets lousy gas milage at 14MPG on the Highway.

Wow, that is pitiful!

I wish these "analysts" would STFU!!! We all know its coming... we don't need reminding daily!!!

I wish thease analysts would shut TFU

I think the price of gas will go above $7.00 a gallon. Lets see for a 25 gallon tank fill up that's $175 or $200 for a 30 gallon tank(at $7.00).Large SUV's and Pickups will be for the ultra rich soon.Diesel Hybrids are the most practical in the near future until we can develop better alternative fuels then corn bred Ethanol.Also Diesels can be converted bio.At the moment I think this is our best bet.

I think hydrogen is our best bet. I'm guessing in the next couple of years, the FCX Clarity will be mass produced.

I'll double that and raise it to 14.00 / gal. , oh heck , soon we won't need check cashing services , just pull up to the gas station and fill it up. There, I out hyped the media mongrels . Actually , these shills down at Wall street can bid it up to an infinite number . We will need it no matter what the price . Now they just wish they did it 50 years ago

Save gas. Switch to Touring Tires. The smoother tread means less rolling resistance.
Noisy Tires rob kinetic energy by wasting the energy in forms of Heat and Sound energy.

Same reason people take snow tires off the car for the summer. The softer compound on dry pavement is less efficient.

I’ve been using Bridgestone Turanzas touring. Great, premium tires.

Bah, get the Potenza's much better!

Potenza G009 on my beater, G019 on my Forester.

I'd switch to a fuel efficent vehicle before I try to squeeze 1 mpg out of my curtrent car by reducing it's road worthieness.

Fuel Efficiency 101

Make sure you have 32-35psi in each tire.

I'm amazed at the people I see at stoplights with low air in their tires. Especially these green planet times.

How about not flooring the engine to go only 500 feet from one signal light to the next. Yet another common wasteful practice.

How about coasting to the next light? Your breaks and transmission will last longer as well.

Everyone seems to be late for something these days.

When your car goes 0-30 in 1.5 seconds, you will not care if gas is $30 per gallon. FLOOR IT!

I am never late, I just like to drive like an ass.

Potenza's are performance tires. I guess Cornering and handling are more important than Fuel Efficiency.

I'm not sure we are really ready to solve the energy crisis yet.

Why didn't you put 1 ton truck tires on your Marquis. They make a size that fits your ride that handles 80psi. I'd bet your mileage will improve substantially. Nevermind the horrid ride, braking and cornering. It is an energy crisis afterall.

Toyota Prius sure is looking good right about now...

That's never looked good before. I like the Civic Hybrid better. If only it didn't have a blue interior and wheel covers.

It will get even worst as the US$ plummets, because Crude is measured in US$/Barrel. So the less the US$ cost, the more of it that it takes to purchase a barrel. Simple math.

You have no clue. Crude oil is traded in dollars. A dollar is a dollar. Those using Euros are actually getting more for their money but the current cost of crude is not because the dollar is weak. We do import a small amount of refined gasoiline. The dollar will work against us there but the crude is expensive because China is using 6 times the amount that they did in 1998 - 10 years ago and oil futures are jittery because of tensions in the middle east and Venezuela.

I'm not saying its primarily because of the dollar. Any idiot can understand supply and demand. the only problem I have with commodity futures is that they are a catch 22 situation in which large entities hedge against rising prices by contracting a certain price, which in turns influences the prices. As the price is influenced by market activities, other large entities have futures contracts, which in turns influences the prices.

I am not saying that there are no adverse outside factors in Crude pricing, such as growing demands of industrializing nations, but supplies are plenty. Prices are more easily influenced by other factors than supply/demand in an oligopoly.

drive a stick.

These days automatics are just as good on mileage, if not better, than manuals.

you'll get better mileage on a true stick. and I can't stop the enjoyment of 3 pedals under my feet.

I wouldn't have so much of a problem with the gas prices (and jump on the leaner cars bandwagon) if I felt the gas companies were sharing the pain with me. It's one thing to say gas has gotten expensive from the source and there's nothing anyone can do but it's different to be paying these prices at the pump and then see the BILLION (with a B) dollar profits (again, PROFITS) these companies are making. Last year, Exxon had $40Billion in profits, BP: $31Billion, Shell: $27Billion. They're laughing all the way to the bank.

Thats going to end soon. Something is going to give

I have Exxon stock. Last quarter they made about $10B net on the sale of $100B. That is 10% net profit.

I run a business. I couldn't survive on a 10% net. Nor could Microsoft who made 30%. Yet I hear nobody whining about MS.

Stop listening to the talking points on cable TV news and do some research..

And yet they're still posting record profits. So it's not like they're still making profits but it's less now because of the "hard" times. Their profits keep climbing.

10% profit in commodities is different than 30% profit in manufactured goods/services.

My car is a flexfuel vehicle. But I havent seen E85 Ethanol anywhere. Where is it all going?

We have it available in many places here in Iowa. I wouldn't use it though, if I had a flex vehicle. Not enough BTUs to make it worth while. Fuel cost is one thing, frequent trips to the station is another issue.

All Automatics have slippage, they will never match a stick.

Well some we need a business-level sedan without the need for BMW price and performance. The employees at my company drove from New York to Boston for company training, bringing a few suits and a week’s worth of luggage including briefcases, books and binders.
Those who drove the small imports had to take everything out of the back seat to make room for passengers in the drive from the Hotel to the office. It just took too much time. Everyone just jumped into my car, it was just easer. Everything was already packed into my spacious trunk, including the full size spare.

I was amazed watching people trying to shove the last suitcase through the back window and sitting on trunk lids to get the trunk closed. One guy had all his stuff scattered all over the parking lot, and he was looking for someone to help. Good grief.

I had ample room to even shuttle a few people to the train station in the next town over.

Small cars are good if you are picking up a quart of Milk at 7 Eleven, thats about it.

With Flex Fuel and Diesel here, driving an econbox isn’t the answer.

lexusis350- “These days automatics are just as good on mileage, if not better, than manuals. “

You are probably referring to the Lexus 8-Speed Auto.

I agree this is a great idea, and probably more efficient due to the extra gears. But compare it to an 8-Speed Manual, and the Manual will still be more efficient.

Apple to Apples that is.

Ford should have built 6 and 8 speed Autos years ago. This is where they are behind the curve on efficiency, not in the engine department.

Would anyone with any russian knowlege care to chime in . They are sitting on a mega oil and gas reserve and no mention is made how they are doing over there . Europe is selling it over here because it is more profitable . It seems to be the same old story, over and over but now it's played to a newer format . We are runing out , just like we did in the 70's . I hope sooner than later all the prices for everything will level out like they did back thaen and we will have all the oil we need for the next 35 years.

Prices can only go up so far (assuming no supply catastropy). If prices hit $150/brl (realistic) we will start seeing huge changes in driving habits (we already are seeing some). Also, world economies will start to falter. All this will reduce demand and the prices will stabilize. I know I'm talking out my ass on this one and don't have the credentials, but I can't see $200/brl in the short term. It's all supply and demand. At $200, there will be a LOT less demand.

Spicy , you are making up what comes to mind like evryone else is here. I'm even going as far as to what's going on at Wall st. during bidding time and who is doing the bidding . When you start to see a pattern as we are are seeing now such as the price going up a penny a day for the last couple of months and possibly resting at that point. Now someone comes along as says , prints or forcasts that it will double that figure , something is starting to smell like $hit. Could it be that someone or some group is bent on making this counrty fail or the whole world for that matter . Except where this blck gold comes from? These points may be over the top . Getting back to reality , maybe Exon needs money to drill these two and three mile wells five miles out in the ocean . After all when the power company needs money to build a new power plant , rates go up overnight . I wish we would get some answers , something our government seems to be glossing over

Currently paying around £1.18 a litre for diesel, and some areas are up to £1.20 here in the U.K. Absolute rip off! And it's only going to get worse.

Buying a Florien Car isn’t really the answer.
These foreign cars are really gas-guzzlers in disguise.

I looked at the Audi Q7. It is a GAS 4x4.

Subaru Forester is bigger this year. And is again a Gas guzzling 4x4.

Toyota Sequoia is a GAS 4x4, and bigger than ever.

All these foreign vehicles are similar in size and Horsepower and have 4x4.

They get about the same mileage as a Ford Explorer.

The BMW 5 and 7 series are guzzlers as well, although somewhat less since they are 2 wheel drive.

Why does Audi and Subaru insist on the dinosaur technology of 4x4?

This market needs 2wd, Diesel sticks, today, not a decade from now.

"looked at the Audi Q7. It is a GAS 4x4."

it uses an awd system. 4x4 and awd ARE DIFFERENT.

"Subaru Forester is bigger this year. And is again a Gas guzzling 4x4."

whats your point? would that mean the whole compact utility vehicles segment are gas hogs? and the forester will come in a diesel as soon as the boxerdiesel meets US regulations. and again, THE FORESTER ISN'T A 4x4. 20/26 in an auto with the inline4 isn't a gas guzzler

"Toyota Sequoia is a GAS 4x4, and bigger than ever."

so is the :

ford expedition
chevy suburban
dodge durango
anything making less than 20mpg.

"Why does Audi and Subaru insist on the dinosaur technology of 4x4?"

again, they use awd. awd and 4x4 are different. why don't you ask jeep about the reasons that they use 4x4 in their vehicles? they couldn't be any less of a gas-guzzler. look up subarus and audis history with AWD.

My Friend has a Nissan Xterra. He get 14mpg Highway.

The Explorer is All Wheel Drive also. The fact is, there are extra gears and transfer cases with heavy gear oil slowing things down.

Take your foot off the gas pedal of a rear drive sedan, and you coast for some distance. Take your foot off the gas of AWD or 4x4, and it feels like you are dragging anchor. Foreign or domestic.

In Germany we are currently paying Euro 6.35 per gallon. That's US$ 9.81 per gallon (exchange rate as of may-12-2008).

Since gas deals are still cashed in US-Dollars, the States are somewhat privileged regarding gas prices. However, imagine the OPEC switching to Euro as official "gas currency"... then US$ 10 per gallon will be a reality.

Btw, just in case someone thinks that I may be anti-American - I am riding a 2008 Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special. Due to the high German gas prices I cannot afford to drive a Mustang GT, a car I would really like to have.
German car manufacturers sell their big gas-guzzling cars in the US, while they sell rather small ones in Germany and Europe.