Detroit Sees Cheap Gas as History

[NashVegas]

The Chrysler Group, which depends more heavily on sales of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles than any other Detroit automaker, said Monday that it expected gasoline prices to remain at $3 to $4 a gallon for the rest of this decade.

...

Mr. LaSorda, who had traveled here for the start of production of a four-door version of the Jeep Wrangler, was asked whether gasoline prices had peaked. “I would hope so,’’ he replied, “but we’re planning internally as if it is $3 to $4 a gallon.”

Mr. LaSorda said Chrysler had prepared a business model based on the assumption that gas prices would remain in that range for the next three to four years. That is about the period of time it takes for an automaker to develop a new vehicle.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/29/business/29auto.html

[Kagemusha]

1. Only just now, huh.

Smooth, guys. Smooth.

[Demeter]

19. It's Only Been 34 Years Since 1973--Nixon's Oil Embargo

Only a generation and a half.

[soothsayer]

2. So they're going to start turning out energy efficient smart cars?

Right?

Right?

(crickets)

[Tesha]

10. Daimler-Chrysler, viewed as a whole, already does make efficient cars.

> So they're going to start turning out energy efficient smart cars?
>
> Right?
>
> Right?
>
> (crickets)

Daimler-Chrysler, viewed as a whole, already does make efficient cars.

In Europe, Daimler sells the Smart Car as well as a zillion
diesel cars including many Baby Benzes.

It was just Detroit's foolish read of the American market
that said we'd keep thinking with our dick extenders (SUVs
and monster trucks).

Tesha

[Bassic]

12. The Smart is also sold in Canada. nt

[pinniped]

3. The cabal has successfully doubled the price of gas at the pump....

in a few years.

Good job.

[NashVegas]

4. How to Get Americans Out of SUVs Without Legislating

Sometimes I think it was a brilliant plan ... then I remember: they're not smart enough.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. ...after bitching about $1.50 gas.

[mccoyn]

6. Meanwhile, the price of gas has droped below $3 in Michigan.

And thats before the typical winter drop. If nothing goes wrong I wouldn't be surprised to see $2.50

[4dsc]

11. Its below $2.50 in Des Moines

I guess Des Moines has some of the cheapest gas in the country.. I guess big oil wants Jim Nussle(R) as our governor!!

[freethought]

7. You wouldn't know it by some of the new car designs

that are being displayed at some of the big auto shows. One would think that rising gas prices would
lead to some more fuel-efficient/hybrid vehicles, wouldn't you? But what does GM unveil? A new design for the Chevy Camaro with a huge V-8 cylinder engine. A modern "muscle car". Oh yes, and then there is Chrysler! They are resurrecting one of the quintessential muscle cars, the Dodge Charger, equipped with a V-6 or two choices of a Hemi-V8. And let us not forget the new Dodge "Nitro", described as mid-size SUV but it looks pretty sizable. This thing barely breaks 20 mpg-highway. And city MPG? Higher teens or thereabouts.
Oh, and then there is Ford. They are doing just about everything they can to keep selling SUVs or the crossover type vehicles. Hey, I'll at least I will give them some credit. They have the Ford Focus with an MPG of 27 city/37 highway. And under $20K no less. And Chevy has the Aveo, but they don't seem proud of it.

If Detroit sees cheap gas as being history they have been incredibly slow coming around to that realization. The Japanese competition is has pretty comfortable lead over Detroit's Big Three.

[NaturalHigh]

8. Then when do we get more fuel-efficient cars?

My little Civic gets 35 mpg+, but I still cringe every time I fill the tank.

[gasperc]

9. here's the math, 42 gallons gas in one barrel of oil

Almost 60% of the oil consumed in the US is imported so the world oil market helps set the price of gas.
Oil companies are re-selling some of the gas they pump in the states over-seas so that they can take advantage of the high global prices.
The cost of pumping oil out of the ground is about $20-25/barrel in the states cheaper elsewhere, I'll try and find a source later and edit.

at $70/barrel(42 gallons of gas in a barrel of oil); base price is $70/42=$1.67

at $80/barrel base price is $80/42=$1.90

a gas price breakdown can be found here

http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/margins/index.html

Profit, refining and taxes add about $1.23

So at $70/bar a gallon of gas is costing about $2.90

In 2000 the cost was about $1.65
http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/margins/2000.html

The run-up has been almost exclusively to the price oil but the oil companies did not have to maintain their share of the price for profit to have increased their profit total. In other words, they are selling a few percent more gallons of gas than in 2000 but at spectacular profit.

The price of gas will depend on the price of oil and the price of oil depends on social stability in energy producing countries and global demand of energy. Cheap labor in China and India is a double edged sword. The use of cheap labor in the developing world is being paid for by the unsustainable demand in energy.

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. Your math is off.

There are 42 gallons in a barrel of oil. There AREN'T 42 gallons of GASOLINE in a barrel of oil; some percentage of the total is going to be refined into kerosene, or paraffin, or naphtha, or asphalt, or diesel fuel, or heating oil. One source gives 19.5 gallons of gasoline, 9 gallons fuel oil, 4 gallons jet fuel, and 11 gallons of other liquids (which includes asphalt, naphtha, chemical base stocks for plastics and pesticides, etc).

[gasperc]

21. whoa, your right, sorry I screwed that up

but your post help me find this cool website about energy.

http://www.gravmag.com/oil.html

with as much info as there is out there about everything, that you can get in seconds it is mind boggling that the MSM is as bad as it is, but we wait is all part of the conservative dumbing down of America

[Barrett808]

13. Not planning for $10 / gallon gas, eh?

Because that's where it's going. Probably a lot sooner than a decade.

[depakid]

15. Yep

and there are going to be a lot of sorry people, communities and businesses that didn't plan ahead.

[BlueEyedSon]

14. LMFAO

[Javaman]

16. Time...time...er...ah...timing is everything. nt

[Eurobabe]

18. Fucking geniuses, aren't they?

eom

[high density]

20. "We're planning on three or four bucks a gallon" ...

Which means Chrysler will be producing:

- More stupid huge ass vehicles with 10/15mpg, though they'll be electric hybrids for extra power
- Smaller/normal vehicles with ten year old engine and transmission designs that get a wonderful 20/30mpg