$12 a gallon

[Draigflag]

Fuel has now hit £9 a gallon ($12) in some parts of the UK, due to the war in Eastern Europe, and rising inflation. When will this madness end?

Politics aside, how would these fuel prices affect you? What would your cost per mile be now? Discuss...

[LDB]

I've had my car 210 days and have 1570 miles on it, 7.5 miles per day so far. That works out to roughly 3 days driving per gallon and I drive 4-5 days per week so roughly 3 gallons used per 2 weeks. "Normal" fuel prices of <$2/gal would be ~$3/wk. At $12/gal it would be $18/wk. I doubt it will reach that high here but an extra $15/wk would definitely be a sizable and noticeable and harmful increase.

I was out to the dentist yesterday and fuel was $3.999, a 150% increase from 18 months ago. A portion of that increase is due to stupid policies enacted by the fool in chief foisted on us by fools and frauds.

[JockoT]

When I was at the filling station a guy at pump 3 was putting in £10 worth of petrol. Where was he going, pump 4?

[luv2spd]

I'm a bit indifferent about oil prices. If the price of oil becomes high, Canada just ramps up the oil-sands production in Alberta and they make big profits. But now it's not just about the money, there are carbon taxes and emission regulations and it's not as simple as ramping up production anymore. The question becomes what is best for the environment, and not how we can make more money. I'm glad that we are starting to focus on sustainability. I didn't know until recently that Canada imports a lot of oil from Russia.

I learned in school that Canada has more oil than Saudi Arabia; but the oil is in the sand and we need to use fresh water to separate the two. I wish more countries were like Norway, using their oil money to get away from fossil fuel dependency.

[Draigflag]

I just filled up today as I have a 300 mile round trip today. I will work out my MPG and cost per mile when I get back, although I won't be focusing on efficiency, I'd rather just get there and back promptly.

It's not just oil we import from Russia, we buy natural gas off them too, and this conflict has had a knock on effect of energy prices too. People who bought electric cars have seen thier prices quadruple. In some cases, a car that gets 40 MPG has the same fuel costs.

[Airstreamer67]

Wow!

Twelve bucks a gallon gets attention really fast!

We're lucky in the US to be self-sustaining relative to fuel supplies because we have the reserves and the technology to satisfy our needs while selling excess production to the world. This fact was achieved and so proven by the past Federal administration.

But we're unlucky in the US because then we elected the present Federal administration, which ran on the premise that petroleum is bad, and so it immediately began discouraging petroleum production. As a result, the US now is begging its enemies to sell it more fuel because now the US doesn't have enough fuel, and most of the voters don't like running short and paying more.

Because of all this, I've gained respect for the movie "Idiocracy." We've proven the case. We got one.

[trollbait]

Lifetime cost per mile average is 8 cents. The last month is 12 cents, and I haven't entered the last fill up that was over $4 a gallon. Think I might go back to actively hypermiling.

Originally Posted by luv2spd

I'm a bit indifferent about oil prices. If the price of oil becomes high, Canada just ramps up the oil-sands production in Alberta and they make big profits. But now it's not just about the money, there are carbon taxes and emission regulations and it's not as simple as ramping up production anymore. The question becomes what is best for the environment, and not how we can make more money. I'm glad that we are starting to focus on sustainability. I didn't know until recently that Canada imports a lot of oil from Russia.

I learned in school that Canada has more oil than Saudi Arabia; but the oil is in the sand and we need to use fresh water to separate the two. I wish more countries were like Norway, using their oil money to get away from fossil fuel dependency.

Shipping costs are a factor. It might be cheaper to ship Russian oil to California than from Texas for instance.

Being free of Russian oil wouldn't protect a country from the rise in prices, as the countries for which they are a major supplier will start buying from other sources. Energy independence is myth. It is only possible when a country has an excessive, cheap supply and/or a central authority dictating production; i.e. Russia or Saudi Arabia. With oil companies free to chase profit as they will, it won't happen in the US.

Tar sands technically isn't oil; it's bitumen, a thick sludge. It may take less energy, but getting it to an oil state is basically turning asphalt roads back into oil. So Canada's supply isn't cheap.

[trollbait]

Originally Posted by Airstreamer67

Wow!

Twelve bucks a gallon gets attention really fast!

We're lucky in the US to be self-sustaining relative to fuel supplies because we have the reserves and the technology to satisfy our needs while selling excess production to the world. This fact was achieved and so proven by the past Federal administration.

But we're unlucky in the US because then we elected the present Federal administration, which ran on the premise that petroleum is bad, and so it immediately began discouraging petroleum production. As a result, the US now is begging its enemies to sell it more fuel because now the US doesn't have enough fuel, and most of the voters don't like running short and paying more.

Because of all this, I've gained respect for the movie "Idiocracy." We've proven the case. We got one.

The US was a net petroleum exporter only briefly. Part of the reason was because people stopped driving during the pandemic, leaving the now excess oil available for export.

The oil import and export balance isn't just raw petroleum from out of the ground, but also some refined products and distillates. Part of the US exports were Canadian tar sand oil further refined into lighter material. When converted to lighter compounds, the oil's density decreases and volume increases. A 44 gallon drum of petroleum yields 47 gallons of finished products. The balance sheet is measured in volume.

[luv2spd]

Here are my ownership costs in US dollars for the two cars I owned so far, including every cost I spent on the car ie.: MVI, insurance, registration, etc.:

1998 Honda Accord (driven 80,000 miles):
Vehicle $0.24/mile + Fuel $0.15/mile = $0.39/mile

2006 Mercedes C55 (driven 100,000 miles and modified as well)
Vehicle $0.55/mile + Fuel $0.18/mile = $0.73/mile

I read somewhere that the average mid-size American sedan costs about $0.6/mile. I haven't done any math yet, but I'm pretty sure the Chevy Volt will become the cheapest car I ever owned; I just need to take good care of it so that it lasts a long time.

[Draigflag]

My stats for the journey, adjusted for the actual MPG as the computer over estimates by about 10%.

It cost me £60 or $78 to travel 300 miles. At these costs, taking a train is starting to look more appealing.