Mulally: Americans drew the line at $3.50/gallon

[YupYupYup]

We all know it from our every day lives but the cost of fuel is probably the key factor now in every day buying decisions. The Prius, the Civic hybrid and the Escape hybrid are sold out in most places. The market is speaking and speaking loudly.

So what happened to the Honda Accord hybrid? Cancelled. And the Prius and Civic hybrids have been artifically limited due to production costs and to hype them. If the market was speaking loud an clear, Toyota and Honda would only sell hybrids...Nothing else. The market right now is partly a shift to more fuel efficient cars, but also a lot of "green" hype/ trend. In fact the demand probably was there but the supply wasn't until recently.

There will still be a lot of people driving large cars and driving them a lot...Suplly and demand will dictate fuel costs (along with a few speculators in the short term), so until people curb their habits it won't drop prices.

[AMERICA 123]

Originally Posted by Fastvet78

Wow cali at almost 5 a gallon? I thought it was bad at 3.70 in jersey. Thats terrible.

http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/CAmetro.asp

San Francisco
..............Regular......Mid.......Premium....Diesel
Current....$4.099.......$4.364.....$4.436.......$5 .016

Yesterday$4.066.......$4.328.....$4.400.......$4.9 38

Month Ago$3.973.......$4.230.....$4.299.......$4.483

Year Ago..$3.589.......$3.821....$3.884........$3.237

Highest Recorded Price:

Regular Unl.$4.099......5/23/2008
..............Dsl.$5.016......5/23/2008

***********************************************


http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/sbsavg.asp




California ...$4.046......$4.307......$4.378.........$4.969
New Jersey $3.744......$4.014......$4.166.........$4.661
Michigan ....$4.005......$4.242......$4.412.........$4.695
********************************************

National (USA)

Current Avg. ....$3.875....$4.114....$4.263........$4.649

Yesterday Avg.. $3.831.. $4.068 ...$4.214....... $4.590

Month Ago Avg. $3.533.. $3.752....$3.887....... $4.214

Year Ago Avg. ...$3.227.. $3.425....$3.550....... $2.919
*Prices are in US dollars per gallon

[Jaymac332]

Man, and I thought that we had it bad here in Oregon. We are only at about $3.60 a gallon here. I'd feel sorry for you guys, but something tells me that Oregon will be at your level soon.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by ronald mcretard

I usually have reservations about doing this, but I just have to respond to this.

I work for GM, and have heard the Vice President of Powertrain speak on this subject to GM employees (not stockholders or a newspaper) and you are dead wrong.

I won't get into specifics, but believe me, GM gets it.

You can work for GM and talk with VP's all you want.
But the proof hasn't been seen yet. I work with VP's and C-level management all day. And there is a level of knowledge they will never share with anyone except top management.

Sorry.

I do not believe GM has the desire nor the resolve to shift the company in the proper direction. And if they do, they have taken their sweet time doing so.

Fact of the matter is, GM is still a woefully managed company, run by spin doctors and individuals without a clue outside a midwestern point of view.

What GM needs is a cultural overhaul. And that hasn't been done.

Originally Posted by DuSpinnst

You also have a complete lack of insider knowledge and information in general about how automotive works.

And you have zero business acumen.

Originally Posted by AMERICA 123

http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/CAmetro.asp

San Francisco
..............Regular......Mid.......Premium....Diesel
Current....$4.099.......$4.364.....$4.436.......$5 .016

Yesterday$4.066.......$4.328.....$4.400.......$4.9 38

Month Ago$3.973.......$4.230.....$4.299.......$4.483

Year Ago..$3.589.......$3.821....$3.884........$3.237

Yeah, those are averages. I can take a few pictures that would put those prices to shame.
And I read somewhere that Chicago and another city has now matched San Francisco for gas prices.

[silvergoat2k6]

Originally Posted by DuSpinnst

Where?

I see $3.90-$4.10 most places. And $4.10 is HIGH. More are around $3.99, $4.01.

$4.19 9/10 for a gallon of 87 here in Holland, MI. It jumped up 20 cents Friday morning...just as Memorial Day weekend was starting...imagine that.

[Cortazzo]

I don't think prices will go up like this in perpetuity, but they sure are painful while they are this high. I think Mulally's point about 3.50 being the turning point wasn't in reference to people driving, but to the kinds of vehicles people buy. I drive a 4 cyl fusion (which i love), but when my lease expires, i'm going to a smaller car. I think everyone right now is looking to downsize one or two sizes at least when they get their next vehicle. I think the interesting thing to look at, is gas high enough for people to start moving or taking the bus?

[97ultra]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

You can work for GM and talk with VP's all you want.
But the proof hasn't been seen yet. I work with VP's and C-level management all day. And there is a level of knowledge they will never share with anyone except top management.

Sorry.

I do not believe GM has the desire nor the resolve to shift the company in the proper direction. And if they do, they have taken their sweet time doing so.

Fact of the matter is, GM is still a woefully managed company, run by spin doctors and individuals without a clue outside a midwestern point of view.

What GM needs is a cultural overhaul. And that hasn't been done.



And you have zero business acumen.



Yeah, those are averages. I can take a few pictures that would put those prices to shame.
And I read somewhere that Chicago and another city has now matched San Francisco for gas prices.

They are not the only one not getting it. Who just came out with the bigger more fuel hunger Tundra and the larger fuel hungry Toyota Sequoia.
Toyota built that big plant in Texas. Now they don't have the orders to run that plant. GM, Ford were not the only ones building and designing bigger more fuel hungry trucks.. Toyota and Nissian were too.

[SwampFoxZ71]

Originally Posted by Cortazzo

I don't think prices will go up like this in perpetuity, but they sure are painful while they are this high. I think Mulally's point about 3.50 being the turning point wasn't in reference to people driving, but to the kinds of vehicles people buy. I drive a 4 cyl fusion (which i love), but when my lease expires, i'm going to a smaller car. I think everyone right now is looking to downsize one or two sizes at least when they get their next vehicle. I think the interesting thing to look at, is gas high enough for people to start moving or taking the bus?

I'm thinking of upsizing!

Also, ppl can't move easily know because of the housing industry and credit crisis problems.

Which means you can take the bus. I've been doing that for 14 years now...

[SwampFoxZ71]

Originally Posted by 97ultra

They are not the only one not getting it. Who just came out with the bigger more fuel hunger Tundra and the larger fuel hungry Toyota Sequoia.
Toyota built that big plant in Texas. Now they don't have the orders to run that plant. GM, Ford were not the only ones building and designing bigger more fuel hungry trucks.. Toyota and Nissian were too.

Yes, Toyota spent all the money on the plant and the product, advertising, everything. Introduced the Tundra and in less than a year, pfftttt...market says they missed the mark BIG TIME. So glad to see Toyota can still miss the mark and misread the market.

Nissan's truck line is having so much difficulty, the current Titan is DOA and they have agreed to use the RAM platform instead. So, Nissan threw in the towel on that one. Nice to see they're not 'all that' either...

[TiburonJT]

Originally Posted by DuSpinnst

Where?

I see $3.90-$4.10 most places. And $4.10 is HIGH. More are around $3.99, $4.01.

It's $4.19 at a lot of stations here.

[SUPERBADD75]

jeez, as trucks and SUVs lose popularity, the domestic automakers are going to lose steam as the Japanese makes get stronger... unless some of these pipe dreams turn to fruition.

[tgagneguam]

Originally Posted by 04bonnie

$3.50? It's now $4.18/gal in MI. It's not stopping anybody from driving, there's still just as much traffic on all the roads around here as ever before.

I'm an empiricist by nature, and recent data show that in all of the major metropolitan areas, public transportation ridership is up mostly by double digits. Even more recent data suggest Memorial Day travel on highways will be down compared to years past. Individual, free citizens are making the choice to alter their driving habits in response to fuel prices... all without one bit of input from the government.

Originally Posted by monza164

I recently read the Camry passed the Silverado, which while disappointing was not a surprise. It made me wonder how the Malibu was doing. The new Delta can't get here soon enough.

Not yet, YTD, but I anticipate a [sad] say when that may happen soon. April may be the month to which you were referring:

April 2008:
Silverado: 37,231 (-24.7)
Camry: 40,016 (-2.6)

YTD 2008:
Silverado: 160,010 (-20.8)
Camry: 147,016 (1.3)

Originally Posted by LAMRONH

...

If you watched any of those pitiful Con-gressional judiciary committee hearings, the main perpetrators of 30+ years of bad legislation were quick to lay blame at B.O.'s feet for everything from no nuclear plants to no synthetic fuel (after all, Hitler made synthetic fuel) to the lack of aid in Burma to possibly Pluto being declared a non-planet.

The childishness and incredible base stupidity of people like Schumer and Waters was there for all to see.

Their stupidity was unbelievable. But it's surely happy days for all our enemies when they see such "leadership" on display.

When people of that nature point fingers, I know they're wrong.

Yet another spot-on LAMRONH post.

Oh, did you catch Maxine's solution to the problem? Government ownership of the oil industry! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! If you think oil prices are high now, can you imagine what they'd be if the neolithically incompetent US Federal government controlled oil!? Good lord, let's pray that never, ever, ever happens! I had a nightmare last night imagining the US government "solving" the oil pricing problem.

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Oh Boo Hoo.
We hit $4 months ago!!!
We're half way to $5 already!!

Thankfully, you live in a city where people's salaries are equally hyper-inflated, so $4.50/gallon gasoline will be no problem to afford. You can use ridiculously hyper-inflated home values to secure the credit to pay for gasoline, if worse comes to worse. See, there's always a silver lining in every dark cloud.

[Stéphane Dumas]

Originally Posted by SUPERBADD75

jeez, as trucks and SUVs lose popularity, the domestic automakers are going to lose steam as the Japanese makes get stronger... unless some of these pipe dreams turn to fruition.

there some other factors who could play and steal some steam at the Japanese makes, like the devaluation of the US dollar currency vs the Japanese yen, for example Honda profits plunged for the 1st quarter of 80% mainly due to the currency factor
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=471620

and slowly but surely, the current Malibu begins the "reconquista"

[windvale]

Yes. GM "gets it". And the result of their "getting it" is the Aveo ?

GM builds every configuration of pickup/SUV known to man. From the Suburban, Tahoe, oh you want one that "changes"? OK, here's the Avalanche. You want a luxury version? Here's the Escalade. How about a Hybrid version? No problem... Two door pickups, four door pickups. Diesel pickups...

You want a Fuel efficient car you say? Here's a Piece Of Sh1t Aveo...now go away and don't bother us...

Two years ago when the Kirk Kervorkian (sic)/Carlos Gohen thing came out I was rooting for GM to successfully repel the whole thing.

Now I'm wishing Carlos Gohen had gotten the top job at GM. I think he's got more vision and "get it done already" in his little finger than Rick Wagoner's got in his whole body.

GM. The truck company. Ready to dominate the 1990's !

[ctaylorzl1]

Originally Posted by camaro_freak

I hear you.. we hit over 4bucks here this afternoon in Indiana. Seems big oil likes to screw the midwest the hardest

really, all I seen was $3.99, but watching channel 13 news this morning they reported a station selling it at $4.08!