Buying a new car isn't in the cards for me anytime soon.  

Unless girl child would like to go to community college, that is.   

$4.47 for unleaded in my area.   

$3.79 in Texas, of all places. Chu's misplaced love of all things Continental (well, gas prices anyway) aside, I'll have to admit feeling a tad froggy myself when I fed the Suburban today.

That glowing economic recovery theme of a few weeks ago seems to be sinking in the reality of rising gas prices.

The 20-page study, which highlighted rising domestic oil and gas production and Obama's steps to lift fuel efficiency, showed U.S. oil imports declined to 8.4 million barrels a day by the end of 2011, versus 11 million barrels a day in January 2009.

The White House said his policies were tackling a troubling topic for many Americans. This was underlined by a new Washington Post-ABC poll, which showed disapproval of Obama's handling of the economy increased to 59 percent, from 53 percent when the survey was taken last month.

Nearly two-thirds of those polled said they did not approve of his handling of the situation with gas prices.

This administration is widely thought of as both intelligent and sophisticated by those who feel they're both - have any of either mob considered that oil consumption is closely tied to economic activity? Or, that highlighting lower rates of imports tends to detract from the argument that Keystone XL is all about bringing oil to the Gulf Coast, so it can be refined and exported? (The latter's always been kind of a loser anyway, if you're claiming you're all about high paying, value added jobs, since taking something ordinary and turning it into something expensive for foreigners to buy is the name of the game.)

Test drove a Volt with DW, Sunday 03/11/2012. We get a $25 for use at either Costco or HomeDepot. Based on our driving habits we could buy gas 1x/mn max and replace two cars with one car being used more frequently. A potential saving of 42gals/mn (1 barrel oil wo processing energy costs); $162 @$4.00/gal or $110 barrel oil.

DW drives a Prius 2008. I have a Civic 1999, that I hate. 

Nice car. Lots of advance technology. However GM should have spent a little more effort into the low tech/low cost/humanfactors items and design. 

I think gasoline should be priced fairly and accurately to reflect its true value and without subsidy. Nothing like $4.50-$5.00 gas to remove from our roads, low efficiency % poorly maintained cars. 

The plan by the Bush administration was for Iraqi oil to pay for reconstruction. Paul Wolfowitz went further than that, saying that the reason Iraq was invaded was because it is "swimming in a sea of oil" and that "'the cost of the occupation, the cost for the military administration and providing for a provisional [civilian] administration, all of that would come out of Iraqi oil.'"

Well, I am kinda surprised that in 2008, Iraqi oil accounted for 5% of the imported oil. Forgot that under the War Plan, the Oil was to fund the War. Or was that the First Iraqi War and not the second Iraqi War? 

Oil is fungible(?). 

There is some issues of oil whether it came from kuwait or from iraq. 

Offhand without doing a lot of research, USA did not import much Gulf oil, directly. It is too far to ship when other sources are closer and within fairly easy USA Naval response. 

"What W did, was to promote the concept of oil independence by developing (Cheny's private energy conference, gasohol subsidy) and securing the sources of oil (Iraq & Afganistan). "

Are you sure about this?  I thought our blood in Iraq went to oil for China.

What W did, was to promote the concept of oil independence by developing (Cheny's private energy conference, gasohol subsidy) and securing the sources of oil (Iraq & Afganistan). He ignored the other side of energy consumption- conservation and efficiency. 

If you are in business, the key to making more money is Always efficiency because efficiency will make more money, for longer times, at less cost and is more assured.

Mom has saved 3+ barrels of oil/yr by going to better windows and renewable energy, at cheaper pricing --FOREVER. Contrast that to. Drill Baby, Drill-

I've got to say that if he's going to peddle this sort of drivel, he deserves to be hung out to dry with everything he's done to discourage domestic production, while loading my kids up with debt from the green money giveaway:

In a new advertisement released by the Obama For America (OFA) campaign, credit for rising domestic oil production in the U.S. is given to President Obama.

OFA: Boost U.S. oil protection? Under President Obama it's already the highest in eight years. Obama's all of the above energy strategy is a real plan to get real control of run away gas prices and cut our reliance on foreign oil.

An absolutely perfect gusher of BS and he's buying responsibilty for gas prices with it, no matter how high they rise.

Charts and apologists aside, it's a conundrum isn't it? GW watched oil go to 140+ for no explicable reason, powerless to stop the speculation, and still got the blame for gas prices

Well, my conscience is entirely clean on this count because I never blamed W for the price of gasoline or the cost of oil by the barrel, no matter how high prices got, because one thing I do understand about the global oil market is that it's a complex machine with many, many moving parts. Of course some might speculate that because I voted for W twice, I was unable to maintain any sort of objectivity concerning him. But, I doubt it. It just offends my sense of fairness when people are blamed for things over which they essentially have no control.

because "free market capitalism" allows companies to get the most return possible which is selling it in the markets with the highest prices.

Well then, if the "free market" is working its magic, why is it the President's fault that domestic gas prices are increasing?

One thing that has me puzzled is the fact that we are now exporting more refined oil than at any time during the past number of years. Why are we exporting so much oil, when it's clearly needed at home? If we kept more of our domestic supply, wouldn't gas prices be lower domestically as well? And along those lines, why are we closing down refineries instead of ramping up, or building new ones? Yes, I admit to having very little understanding of the economic, and geo-political machinations of big oil.

Poetsheart,

USA may be a importer of refined products in March. BP-CherryPoint refinery in WA will be shut down for 6 weeks due to maintenance and repair from a explosion and fire. Alaskan oil will be to be redirected to other US refiners and imported oil that was to be refined need to be redirected to somewhere else. The BP refinery supplied much of the PNW diesel and gasoline. Alaskan oil must by law, be shipped to USA refineries. 

Many crude exporting countries have limited refining capacity perhaps because refineries are easily sabotaged. Such countries need to import refined products. 

Conservation efforts, more efficient cars and trucks, and warm weather have contributed to demand reduction. On the supply side, oil well fracting and horizontal drilling have made poor performing wells, good performing wells. 

I'll make a pretty good wager that your car gets better gas milage than your last car. As I said earlier, Mom's house has saved 10+ barrels of oil  over the last 3 years, bc of better windows and utilizing a heatpump with renewable sourced electricity. 

and yet gas prices keep going up:

The U.S. exported more gasoline, diesel and other fuels than it imported in 2011 for the first time since 1949, the Energy Department said today.

Shipments abroad of petroleum products exceeded imports by 439,000 barrels a day, the department said in the Petroleum Supply Monthly report. In 2010, daily net imports averaged 269,000 barrels. U.S. refiners exported record amounts of gasoline, heating oil and diesel to meet higher global fuel demand while U.S. fuel consumption sank.

Oil demand in Latin America will climb 2.5 percent to 6.64 million barrels a day this year, while contracting 2.4 percent in Europe and 0.5 percent in North America, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said Feb. 10. Mexico’s use of U.S.- made gasoline was 44 percent higher last year than in 2010, Energy Department data show.

“There’s stronger global demand for clean fuels and stronger demand for fuel, outpacing production in places like South America,” said Sander Cohan, a global transportation fuels analyst and principal with Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

Gasoline futures for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $3.0423 a gallon today, up 11 percent in the past year. Heating oil was up 9 percent during that period to $3.188 a gallon.

Distillate Exports

Distillate shipments rose 30 percent from a year earlier to a record 854,000 barrels a day, and daily exports of finished gasoline and blending components jumped 57 percent to 526,000 barrels in 2011.

Refiners are expanding on the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest, even as unprofitable plants along the East Coast were shut. Operable capacity in the U.S. climbed 0.8 percent to 17.7 million barrels a day in December from a year earlier.

U.S. refineries in the Gulf Coast, where about half of U.S. capacity is located, operated at 88.8 percent last year, up from 88.6 percent in 2010.

“It helps keep refinery utilization rates up in this country,” Bill Day, a spokesman for Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) in San Antonio, said in a telephone interview. “Otherwise we would see what we’re seeing on the East Coast, where refineries are shutting.”

In the fourth quarter, Valero, the largest U.S. independent refiner with 14 North American plants, exported about 5 percent of its gasoline output and 17 percent of its heating oil and diesel production, Day said.

Export Forecast

The U.S. will ship abroad 350,000 barrels a day more petroleum products that it imports in 2012 and 320,000 barrels daily in 2013, according to the department’s Short-Term Energy Outlook report released on Feb. 7.

Gasoline demand in the U.S. sank 2.9 percent to 8.736 million barrels a day last year as pump prices averaged $3.521 a gallon, the highest in records dating back to 1919.

Total U.S. oil product demand fell 9.5 percent to 18.8 million barrels a day last year from 20.8 million in 2005, department data show.

“The reason we can export so much is demand in the U.S. is weak,” Cohan said. Since 2005, the U.S. has lost nearly 2 million barrels a day of total product consumption, he said.

Diesel Demand

Global demand for diesel is rising faster than for gasoline, prompting refiners to increase yields of distillate fuels. A barrel of crude refined in the U.S. yielded 31.2 percent distillate fuel in December, the most ever. Distillate exports reached 1.13 million barrels a day during the month as cold weather in Europe boosted demand. Shipments to the Netherlands doubled, the data show.

“This year was one of the most mild winters on record in the U.S. at a time when the winter weather in Europe was just atrocious,” said James Cordier, portfolio manager at OptionSellers.com in Tampa, Florida.

Total net crude and product imports fell 11 percent from a year earlier to 8.436 million barrels a day, the lowest level since 1995, department data showed. Domestic oil output rose 3.6 percent to 5.673 million barrels a day, an eight-year high.

"cuts where it hurts" could be rephased as "resource reallocation" or "optimization"

whatever you call it, all Presidents try to do it, most only succeed when the Congress is behind the cause. Hated the reallocation that W did. Amblivalent to Obama's allocations, knowing that he took a big chance in controlling healthcare/medicare expenses where others kicked the plastic bag. 

I guess my vote will count on Super Tuesday.

Not in love with either candidate, but I will vote for Mitt in the VA primary. There is just no way I can support Santorum. None! At least with Mitt, I hope he will come in and be a CEO. Make cuts where it may hurt, work with other leaders and get to business.

Part of being a CEO is working with other CEO's, knowing you need to address each in a unique way.

I look at Santorum and get why Sen. Snowe is not going to come back.

Of course, I am old enough to realize the DC insider theme has been around for 20 yrs starting with Clinton, but in the end they all get sucked in. I would rather have a President that has no "true" ties to any Sen/Cong. than one that has those connections in place minute 1. Santorum has those connections. He will only highlight why Snowe left.

Back on topic regarding gas prices.  I believe because Santorum is a career politician he will tie us up in govt regs.  I believe because Mitt comes from a business with govt background he will not.

Busdriver - hope you get some good news soon.Sounds like you have a right to be very cranky.

I agree completely that a Prius is not for everyone. I am a single mother and have plenty of room. I also used it when we had horses and everyone was shocked at how much stuff I could get in there. Yes, replacing a battery would be expensive but no one can name anyone who has ever had to do it - with a Prius that is. It is so rare that it is not worthy of factoring in any more than the fear of totaling a brand new car and not getting full value on the insurance. That is much more likely to happen. The reality is that the batteries are lasting longer than 8-10 years. I had a 2003 Prius and the guy who bought is still driving it with no major repairs. I traded it in for my 2005 and got a great trade in value. I also got the tax credit. I bought my 2003 in 2002. Traded in my Isuzu SUV because I was pissed about 9/11. I know that made little sense but I felt like I was doing something positive by not using as much gas.

Sorry to hear that, busdriver. 

We should start a cranky venting thread.

Used to carpool with an Intel (INTC, nyse) guy in early 80's. His desiel Rabbit used to get 45-50 mpg on freeway. 

We could discuss the value of hybrid vs pure gas driven autos or the variations of energy usage. The goal is to reduce energy dependency, and there are many ways to achieve it.

Installing a heat pump vs oil heat. Payback for mom's house=never. But I'd rather pay a monthly renewable electric bill than $800 per tank fill 2x year. 

Replace single pane aluminum frame windows. Payback for mom's house=never. 

Replacing double pane aluminum frame windows. Payback for my house=never. 

Having children vs not having children. Payback=never. 

Irritating spouse vs not irritating spouse. Payback=never, but the joy is wonderful for a few seconds. 

Gawd, I do like to pull their chain. 

Go Ron Paul