Getbig.com: American Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure
Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: BayGBM on April 11, 2007, 02:58:14 PM
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I took this pic today on my way back from the gym. You'll be seeing one like it soon enough. Cheers!
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I took this pic today on my way back from the gym. You'll be seeing one like it soon enough. Cheers!
{blush} :-[
I think a gay man just made me a little ...moist. :-X
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The Chevron across the street was much cheaper. I drive by both those stations all the time and no one goes to that Shell. I think it's the most expensive station in town. >:(
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What city are you in?
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Took this pic last night.
up... up... and away! :D
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The Chevron across the street was much cheaper. I drive by both those stations all the time and no one goes to that Shell. I think it's the most expensive station in town. >:(
not the guys fault..he's prolly buying the most expensive gas in town also..
each gas company defines zones according to traffic patterns..and each dealer buys at a different price..
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Up... up... and away... ;D
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Up... up... and away... ;D
Wow! ...you're approaching Canadian prices. ;D
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How much higher?
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How much higher?
well chavez hates us cause of bush..
you just wait till the saudis finally say enough..and stop selling to us..
yanno whats great though...
most republicans are the ones that r gonna end up on the street.. :)
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I paid $3.20 a gallon on Sunday to fill up my car. I am not happy. >:(
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Hi BayGBM,
You know I'm just loving the regular updates you're sending.
Quick favour if I may, ...can you keep the pics uniform, so we can see this is the same gas station each time?
Thanks Bunches, :-*
(http://www.jaguarenterprises.net/images/Judi-sig50.jpg)
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;D
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So, why does this station cost so much? Here's the story...
Dealer prices gas over $4 in protest
He says tactics used by Shell are unfair to operators
By C.W. Nevius
It has become almost a regular stop for San Francisco tourists. Once they've seen the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transamerica Pyramid, they can drive down Harrison Street to see the most amazing sight of all.
Regular gas for $4 a gallon.
Actually, it is higher than that. At Bob Oyster's Shell station at Sixth and Harrison, regular is $4.33 a gallon, plus is $4.43, and "V-Power'' is $4.53. Motorists can be seen rolling their eyes as they drive by. Just another example of a greedy station owner, sticking his customers for all they are worth?
Not really.
There's a much deeper story here, and it begins with Oyster, a respected, self-made businessman who turned a single station into Oyster Petroleum, a profitable firm in Redwood City. Oyster is nobody's fool. Don't think he isn't well aware that the Chevron station across the street is selling regular for 70 cents less.
Putting the price way up over $4 a gallon isn't about making a profit. It's about making a statement to a multinational corporation. After Shell forced him to pay higher prices for gas in San Francisco and jacked up his rent, Oyster says, he decided to fight back.
"I got fed up,'' Oyster admits. "It makes a statement, and I guess when people see that price they also see the Shell sign right next to it.''
In fact, far from making a huge profit, Oyster is going out of business. He has operated the Shell station at Sixth and Harrison for 22 years, but he's walking away from it at the end of the month, handing over the keys to Shell officials and expecting them to shut it down.
"I'm getting nothing for the station,'' he says. "I just give them the keys and walk away. They told me they were probably just going to fence it and bulldoze it anyway.''
For franchise dealers like Oyster, it is the ultimate irony. At a time when the oil companies are posting record profits, the little guys are struggling to stay in business. And many, like Oyster, are giving up the fight.
"The dealer can no longer be competitive,'' says Dennis DeCota, executive director of the California Service Station and Automotive Repair Association. "The companies are squeezing these guys out. Bob's tired of it, and a lot of us are. It's just wrong.''
Shell, of course, says nothing could be further from the truth. "I can only speak for Shell, but the majority of our sites are independently owned,'' says company spokeswoman Karyn Leonardi-Cattolica. In fact, she says, the number of independents is increasing.
Maybe so, but anyone entering the business had better be prepared. Oyster says his rent has gone up exponentially. Fifteen years ago it was $1,000 a month. Then it went to $6,000, then $8,000, and five years ago the company wanted $13,000. Oyster says he was able to appeal that amount, based on real estate values, and "we got it down to $6,000,'' but this year Shell came back with a demand of $13,000 again.
Leonardi-Cattolica did not get back to us Wednesday about Oyster's station, but when asked in the past about similar rent increases, she said, "To the extent that rents went up, it was to bring them in line with the rest of the market.''
DeCota and Oyster see a more sinister motive: If the dealers like them leave, a company like Shell can run its stations with its own employees and set its own pump prices.
"That way they really are controlling it from the well head to the gas pump,'' says DeCota. "Once the gas companies get control, you are going to pay the price.''
It isn't just the rents that put the squeeze on the independents. Oyster has other stations in the Bay Area where he can buy gas for up to 20 cents a gallon less than what he has to pay Shell for gas in San Francisco.
"We've said, 'Just let me buy my gas where I want to,' '' Oyster says. "They won't let me do that. I want to say, 'You guys make enough off of me. 'Why don't you give me a little break?' They don't care. Shell would rather put us out of business.''
That's a job that has been pretty well accomplished. Despite a location that is just off the entrance ramp to Highway 101, Oyster's station isn't getting much traffic. Part of that is the price, of course.
I stood on the curb for a full 20 minutes Wednesday afternoon before the station had a single customer. And that was motorcyclist Ken McNary, who said he stops by only because he thinks his Yamaha needs "V-Power'' gas. But when I asked him if he'd noticed that the Chevron had much lower prices, Oyster's station lost another customer.
"Well, I'm going across the street from now on,'' he said. "The last time we filled up our van here it cost $120.''
While the price per gallon gets all the attention, Oyster says the little secret of independent dealers is that, like movie theater operators, they make their profit on the extras -- snacks, drinks and other items. But with the automated pumps and a small lot, he's limited to three gas pumps and a tiny cashier kiosk.
"All I've got is gas and cigarettes,'' he says. "And you can't sell that many cigarettes.''
So Oyster took matters to their logical conclusion. If it took $4 gas to get people's attention, he'd give them $4 gas.
"I'm going out with a bang,'' says Oyster. "And I don't care if I don't pump a gallon on the last day.''
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If they could build a car that ran on lies, the Bush admin could solve the energy crisis overnight!
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Thanks for that article Bay.
Actually $4 a gallon is not far off the mark. It will get there eventually.
The US National average is now over $3.10 per gallon.
We had a Canadian Tire gas bar run a morning special here yesterday.
They were offering gas at $0.83 cents a litre when all the other stations were at $1.03 a litre.
There was a 3hour line up for gas. The hilarious part is that last year everyone was up in arms when gas reached $0.83 cents a litre. Now everyone zooming in from all parts of the GTA to fill up on $0.83/litre gas.
Overnight gas prices in the GTA went up another $0.03 cents/litre or $0.13 cents/gallon.
And we still haven't got into the peak driving season yet.
It's gonna get skeery once memorial day weekend hits.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'll probably do both!!! :D
Bay, ...are you anywhere near Emeryville?
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Thanks for that article Bay.
Actually $4 a gallon is not far off the mark. It will get there eventually.
The US National average is now over $3.10 per gallon.
We had a Canadian Tire gas bar run a morning special here yesterday.
They were offering gas at $0.83 cents a litre when all the other stations were at $1.03 a litre.
There was a 3hour line up for gas. The hilarious part is that last year everyone was up in arms when gas reached $0.83 cents a litre. Now everyone zooming in from all parts of the GTA to fill up on $0.83/litre gas.
Overnight gas prices in the GTA went up another $0.03 cents/litre or $0.13 cents/gallon.
And we still haven't got into the peak driving season yet.
It's gonna get skeery once memorial day weekend hits.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'll probably do both!!! :D
Bay, ...are you anywhere near Emeryville?
I started this thread with that original pic as a gag! Who knew the joke would be on on us.... :'(
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The US National average is now over $3.10 per gallon.
LOL... May 11th of last year, it was $3.10 per gallon.
Just over a year later, we're just about at $4.
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Push it to $8.00 a gallon. Maybe us fat americans will ride bikes, walk and lose weight.
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I took this pic today on my way back from the gym. You'll be seeing one like it soon enough. Cheers!
4.19 regular in SoCal today. At the "cheap" spot.
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4.19 regular in SoCal today. At the "cheap" spot.
Mccain doesn't intend to change a thing. That's kinda sad. I know he's worth $120 million, and all his gas is paid for by taxpayers. But the other 99% of us are affected by high gas prices.
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Mccain doesn't intend to change a thing. That's kinda sad. I know he's worth $120 million, and all his gas is paid for by taxpayers. But the other 99% of us are affected by high gas prices.
As much as I hate to say it, even Obama's not going to be able to help us until we help ourselves. People need to buy more hybrids, use less power, etc. We sort of got our act together in the 1970s, we can do it again.
Today I had an old lady ask me why my car didn't make any noise while i was edging up to the pump--engine turns off when you stop, but you can still go forward on electric power.
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As much as I hate to say it, even Obama's not going to be able to help us until we help ourselves.
I hate to say it, but if Obama taxes the 70k+ group, and nails the oil execs to the wall, it'll start to bring some changes.
They're making record profits because they're charging record prices. It's that simple. Dems want to investigate oil cos, Repubs simply do not.
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I know guys that work in the oilfields of dakotas and wyoming. They said that the US people could drop their consumption to zero and it wouldnt affect prices. (That was a shock to me)
He said the exploration rigs are told to drill as much as possible for india , china and 3rd world where gas is .50cents a gallon. The oil companies are setup for the next 10 yrs....American oil isnt even on their radar..... :-\
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I know guys that work in the oilfields of dakotas and wyoming. They said that the US people could drop their consumption to zero and it wouldnt affect prices. (That was a shock to me)
He said the exploration rigs are told to drill as much as possible for india , china and 3rd world where gas is .50cents a gallon. The oil companies are setup for the next 10 yrs....American oil isnt even on their radar..... :-\
That's not true. If US cut back demand, prices would drop pretty substantially.
However, the overall point is that cutting back means less of your annual budget goes to gas.... my hybrid saves me a ton over the SUV my mom bought me (which just sits in the garage).
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That's not true. If US cut back demand, prices would drop pretty substantially.
However, the overall point is that cutting back means less of your annual budget goes to gas.... my hybrid saves me a ton over the SUV my mom bought me (which just sits in the garage).
I love hybrids. My next car for my wife will be one. I love not throwing money away to the big oil guys and saving on some co2....
While it would make sense for the price to drop with demand this is not always the case with republicans at the wheel.........there are alot of screwy things this 8 years.
My friends say the other countries would absorb any of our cutback and nothing will change. Be interesting to see.
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I love hybrids. My next car for my wife will be one. I love not throwing money away to the big oil guys and saving on some co2....
While it would make sense for the price to drop with demand this is not always the case with republicans at the wheel.........there are alot of screwy things this 8 years.
My friends say the other countries would absorb any of our cutback and nothing will change. Be interesting to see.
demand is skyrocketing, no doubt. But I work for the guys who actually make the markets, and the biggest factor in our calculations is existing projected US demand. If that changed, current prices would fall drastically and the pendulum would swing the other way in a hurry once the short-sellers piled in. However, US demand for oil is considered to be as reliable as death and taxes. But we could change that if we wanted
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demand is skyrocketing, no doubt. But I work for the guys who actually make the markets, and the biggest factor in our calculations is existing projected US demand. If that changed, current prices would fall drastically and the pendulum would swing the other way in a hurry once the short-sellers piled in. However, US demand for oil is considered to be as reliable as death and taxes. But we could change that if we wanted
Small gas saving cars are hot sellers now. That alone will put demand down here. So if thats true then prices should drop....i hope so. Have you projected this into your calculations...
updated 30 minutes ago
WILMINGTON, Del. - General Motors is closing four truck and SUV plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico as surging fuel prices hasten a dramatic shift to smaller vehicles.
CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday before the automaker’s annual meeting in Delaware the plants to be closed are in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the iconic Hummer brand will be reviewed and potentially sold or revamped.
Wagoner said the GM board has approved production of a new small Chevrolet car at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010 and the Chevy Volt electric vehicle in Detroit.
Story continues below ↓
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Wagoner announced the moves in response to slumping sales of pickups and SUVs brought on by high oil prices. He said a market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent.
The cuts will affect about 2,500 workers at each of the four facilities, although Wagoner did not know exact numbers. Many will be able to take openings created when 19,000 more U.S. hourly workers leave later this year through early retirement and buyout offers.
He said the company has no plans to allocate products to the four plants in the future.
“We really would not foresee the likely prospect of new products in the plants that we’re announcing today that we’ll cease production in,” he told a Moraine, Ohio, city official who asked a question in a telephone conference call.
The moves will save the company $1 billion per year starting in 2010. Combined with previous efforts, GM will have cut costs by $15 billion a year, Wagoner said.
Wagoner said General Motors Corp.’s board approved the production schedule of the Chevrolet Volt, and the company plans to bring the plug-in electric car to showrooms by the end of 2010. The Volt runs on an electric motor and has a small engine to recharge its batteries.
He said the change in the U.S. market to smaller vehicles likely is permanent. “We at GM don’t think this is a spike or a temporary shift,” Wagoner said.
On the Hummer, Wagoner said GM is “undertaking a strategic review of the Hummer brand, to determine its fit with GM’s evolving product portfolio” in light of changing market conditions.
“At this point, we are considering all options for the Hummer brand... everything from a complete revamp of the product lineup to partial or complete sale of the brand,” he said.
The Detroit-based automaker has just emerged from a spate of labor problems, with two local union strikes at key factories and a nearly three-month strike at key parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
GM said in a recent regulatory filing the strikes will cost it a total of $2 billion before taxes in the second quarter.
Detroit’s automakers have been making the shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles, but not at the pace that matches consumers’ drive to hybrids and high mileage models made overseas. Gas prices have accelerated the retreat from trucks and sport utility vehicles, leaving the Big Three at the most critical crossroads in 30 years.
The U.S. market is difficult for every automaker, with consumer confidence weak and 2008 sales expected to be the lowest in more than a decade. But it is most difficult for the Detroit Three, who have relied more heavily on sales of trucks and SUVs than their foreign counterparts. Trucks make up 70 percent of Chrysler LLC’s U.S. sales, for example, compared to 41 percent at Toyota Motor Corp.