Originally Posted by Krasch

Soooo close, but like a poor marksman you keep...missing...the target (William Shatner moment over...)

Diesel (not counting the less common and newer variants like biodiesel or GTL diesel) are hydrocarbon mixtures derived by a fractional distillation of crude oil, as is gasoline. So we're not talking about apple juice and orange juice. A much better analogy would be apple juice and apple cider prices going in different directions when the price of apples themselves is going up.

You talk about people looking to purchase less fuel so the companies lose out. Well that would be great IF it really happened in quantity. The sober reality is that in North America we are a culture of car drivers, because in many cases other methods either can't efficiently get you where you're going, or because they fail to be effective for some other reason. Sure we could all drive Vespas, but try that with a family of four or more, a week's load of groceries and other items, and you quickly realize you need a larger vehicle, like a car or SUV.

The hikes don't bring competition, because all the companies realize that if customers will pay the higher price, which they will BTW, then they all can be making those greenbacks. One raises prices and people still pay, the others follow suit in minutes so that they too can make the extra profit. They have us over a barrel, somewhat literally, and they know it. And the government isn't going to care enough to really change things because they make a whack of money any way you slice it.

For example, the municipal government here in Toronto has outlawed smoking in public establishments, the provincial government has had all stores remove their "power walls" of cigarettes, or at least put them behind opaque doors. All level of government know that the stuff is bad for us, yet they give only lip service to really solving the problem, all because of those lovely taxes. It's pretty much the same way with fuel costs... It's not in their interest to make the companies reduce the price at the pumps when they get all those taxes from it. And the more we pay, the more they get.

Originally Posted by ddoubleez

Sulfur is also the lubrication in diesel, so they have had to develop and add lubricants to the new diesel, which also effects price dramatically...

Originally Posted by ddoubleez

One historic example of in your face wrong, is after the oil shocks of the iran iraq war and the period that iran withheld 5% of its oil... That sent us into a world wide recession, that some argue lasted over a decade......... This was followed by a drop in oil consumption and a very long stall in the economy where oil companies lost, and the government lost out on a fantastic amount of money....

And I like how you ignore the fact that US refineries are not set up to enterchange cracking of diesel and gasoline.....


You have yet brought any evidence to the table that there is any price fixing.... Let me know when you do.........

And can you answer me why they are price fixing the different fuels at different rates?


And your analogy of tobacco is way off base, because there is evidence that smoking will harm you, and that is why you have pictures of diesed lungs wrapped around your ciggerate packs.........

Originally Posted by zpr

I don't want to get to deep in this argument, but I have to point out that this is very wrong. You didn't gather your facts before running with this. I understand that this is off topic but I want to make the point that diesel fuel is an oil. The sulfur is not the lubricant in the fuel, the fuel is the lubricant. The process of reducing the sulfur content of the fuel is what reduces the lubrication properties. Lubrication additives are not needed in new engines because they are being built to compensate for thinner lubricant. Many places are also offering a bio mixture that restores full lubrication with as little as 3%. Additives are not the cause of diesel prices rising.

Originally Posted by ddoubleez

Please do not get deep into this argument if you do not even check your statements..... Bosch spent the all of the later portions of the 90's on r&d on seals and casting along with a number of other issues that came up from the removal of sulfur, because their parts were failing using europes 5 ppm diesel fuel....

Look at it this way, to make things simple.... Throw a bag of sulfur on a marble floor and put some dress shoes on and see what happens.....

You are right that b20 fixes this problem and that biodiesels fix the problem, but that is not mandated here... Also there were some gas stations here that were offering traditional diesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel at the same time and there was a 50 cent price difference.....

Sulfur is a lubracant and in addition removing sulfur causes a loss of lubracation, because of the process.... It is a one two punch....



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubricity

Originally Posted by LOCOprobe

I love how people try blaming gas prices on the gov. and say we are just overseas to steal oil, blah blah blah lol

its simple really. Gas companys can charge as much as they want because we will pay it. They dont care that its ruining the economy, its making their pockets fat so a hurting economy is not hurting them at all.

Gov has no way to stop them, although I really wish they did. Gas prices is 75% of why the economy is as bad as it is.

But hey, lets just blame it on bush right?

Originally Posted by Juan.©amaney

Well if you really want to look at it, their profit margins are actually small compared to hedge funds, percentage wise....but lets not let that get into this argument.

There has been a decrease in use, and it's already been noticed on freeways, on public railway systems etc. The oil companies noticed and claimed they had a little more stored than they normaly would...so this would mean lower prices, right? Wrong! A few days ago, they lowered production, so now they have less in storage again. They can keep doing that as long as we keep buying, so you are absolutely right.

Sure, the supply is finite, but it is nowhere near empty, and as long as powerful people keep waving taxes, and as long as morons buy into global warming, they are laughing all the way to the bank.

I filled up today....for ~120.00 which is odd considering last week I filled up for a 12 pack less (hehe yeah I think that way) and oil prices are pretty much the same as they were last week.

Originally Posted by LOCOprobe

oh and what do you mean buy into the globle warming thing? you cant deny the oceans being warmer then they ever have and iceburgs melting. The earth goes through cycles, but its going at a much faster rate now