$4 Gas Should Be Here June 6th

I watched Matt Lauer try to get Exxon’s CEO to spill the beans about gas prices this morning. It was an interesting exchange and the executive was probably one of the best-prepared interviews I’ve seen on the show. You can watch the video below.

Because most analysts don’t foresee gas prices going down until after the busy summer driving season, we should easily see $4 a gallon gas nationally very soon. I picked June 6 because if we continue our pace of the past month or so of a penny a day, that’s when we’ll hit the magical $4 mark.

Lauer kept asking if this is when people would “walk away” from their cars. Because Chicago and other areas have been dealing with gas this high for a while, I don’t foresee that, and Exxon’s chief also pointed out that for many Americans there is no alternative mode of transportation to get to work.

What do you think will happen June 6 — or whatever day gas hits $4? Will we be desensitized to the price hikes by then? Will the recent failed comedy “Carpoolers” be more poignant? Let us know.

Comments

[Nic]

I have been paying $4 a gallon for a while now. My car requires premium so I am way past the $4 mark.

[Bill J.]

Yeah, I can't see people ever walking away from their cars for two reasons.

First, as Rex Tillerson says, many people have to drive to work. There are no public transportation options and many people don't want to ride their bike to work. Those people are stuck with whatever the gas price is on June 6.

Second, it seems like we, as a society, are conditioned to put everything on credit, take out loans or whatever, to maintain our current lifestyle. So I don't see us cutting back on vacations or many "optional" trips in our cars, either.

About the most I can see happening is that people who have more than one car in their household will use the more efficient car more often.

[ziggy]

Bill said it...nothing different is going to happen...people will pay whatever the price is even if they have to max out their credit cards.

[DonB]

As the others above mentioned, until public transport is brought up to snuff in suburban areas across the country, there really is no choice for many people but to drive. I'm fortunate that I can take the train to work, so I fill my car about every 3 weeks. But I already have paid above $4/gallon.

[Rick Evans]

Most drivers will just reign in some discretionary spending e.g. Starbucks @ $4 a cup (hmm the same as a gallon of gas) or dinner out to feed their gas guzzlers. Hell, some might even GULP brown bag it.

[Paul]

All I heard was a whole bunch of BS from that CEO of Exxonmobile. There is no supply and demand problem. If there really was a supply problem we would all be limited to how much of gas we could buy. That is not the case. You can buy all the gas you want as long as you got the $$$. It is all BS.

[Q1]

An interesting article in Businessweek:

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/apr2008/bw2008041_945564.htm

[The other Dan]

As we wring our hands in frustration as to who'll rescue us from this travesty totally ignoring the fact that we have the power at our fingertips.
Reduce your consumption. simple as that.
I was scooting down the 101 at lunch doing 65mph because I recently realized my bike gets 32mpg at 80mph and 40mpg at 65mph and the people were flying by me like I was standing still.
It's true folks. The masses are asses. All of us. God forbid we should swallow our pride and sit shotgun commuting with a neighbor or work mate. We could pull prices down in a few weeks, but we won't. We'll expect McCain or Obama to fix it for us. The law of supply and demand rules. Lower the demand numbers, make wise choices at the car dealers and cowboy the hell up.

[Ira]

"There is no supply and demand problem." As another poster said, "The masses are asses."

It's all about supply and demand. Cuba has a platform off their coast pumping millions of gallons of crude, yet our spineless politicians won't allow for any more exploration (drilling). You are reaping what your politicians have sowed (for you). I look forward to $6 a gallon gas as I own a boat load of Exxon stock.

[ziggy]

I think we are just sitting on our reserves waiting for the rest of world to run out. We only drill on 15% of our shoreline and 10% of Alaska. Not to mention the oil in North Dakota and Pennsylvania. Gas will be $8 a gallon within 4 years!

[shopa]

I have invented a way to make small cars safer.
It will encourage people to buy small cars and get much better mpg.

safersmallcars.com

[J]

I don't see the price will drop anytime soon if people keep driving like they can't wait to stop at the red light to hold up everyone. Their ignorance is not easily amended.

[Infosaur]

LOL at "Walkaway price", Damnit Lauer if a majority of Americans decided to STOP going to work (a national strike) you might have trouble getting FOOD on that island of yours.

He's such a socialist.

[Bloke]

Walk away did not mean not go to work, it meant not drive their cars. I love how someone gets a catch phrase in their heads like "socialist" and "communist" and just throws it out there at will. I don't know what you know Infosaur, but I am not sure if you understand what the term means. While I applaud the effort to stop people from driving so much, I don't think there is the infrastructure to support that many people taking mass transportation, riding a bike, or any other alternative means of transportation. I just hope at this time many cities are finding ways to improve mass transportation. Maybe cars and driving should just be a fun thing we do on the weekends...

[Theron]

"our spineless politicians won't allow for any more exploration (drilling)"

hooray for that! I for one would prefer to see gas get more expensive than sacrifice every last natural resource just so you can drive a fat-a$$ vehicle and not pay for it. (Please note I have a 4000lb vehicle but i am willing to pay for the gas that goes into it and/or make lifestyle sacrifices.)

And PS for all you conspiracy theorists out there there's nothing magical or unexplained about rising gas prices. These things happen in a market economy. You should not predicate your life an some commodity remaining cheap forever.

[Tony]

I just saw that horrible interview. The executive is a complete a-hole and very arrogant.

What needs to happen is a national limited boycott.

If the average people used got to work by any means necessary just to lower oil company profit, it would send them a signal to stop screwing us.

That means carpooling, co-workers leasing apartments near work, bicycling to do most things, public transpo when possible, not purchasing a new car, walking, ordering more things online. Those are just a few things.

Rather than complain, people should take it into their own hands.

Once the people of the US (a currently fat and lazy people) are in shape from this behavior, there is no turning back.

Unfortunately because we are fat and lazy, none of this will happen.

[tylerw]

im 14 and going to get a car in 2 years... america better not have $5 gas by then...