• silverwhisper said on May 11, 2007....

  marc: you guys in europe are taxed so much more than we are in the US, it's true, but did your prices double in the past 2 years? that's what american consumers are angry about. and i've always gotten the impression from europeans that all of us over here use our cars.
  
  ed

• marcnobbs said on May 11, 2007....

  Prices may have doubled, but all that shows is that at one point you were paying a quarter of what we were paying. Whereas now, it's only half what we pay. It just galls me that it costs me roughly $100 a mouth in Diesel just to get to work and back each day - I don't even have a car with a big engine. On top of that there's a move towards "pay as you drive" car tax instead of the flat rate we currently have. Pretty soon, it'll cost more each year to run the damn car that it will to buy it in the first place.
  

• silverwhisper said on May 11, 2007....

  marc, out of curiosity, how often do folks fill their tanks there? most americans do it at least once/week if not more. and sure, you can point to the the fact that by & large we drive larger, less efficient vehicles, but that isn't the whole story.
  
  if your favorite chip shop doubled its prices, would that not make you just a tad irritated?
  
  ed

• marcnobbs said on May 11, 2007....

  
  Like I said, I'll generally try and fill up once a month which costs around £50 - £60, about $100-$120 with the current weakness of the dollar. That'll get me to work and back, about 15 miles each way per day. So that's what? six hundred-ish miles a month? I drive a two-litre turbo diesel, so while it's not the most efficient car on the market, it's not too bad. I probably get between 8 to 10 miles per pound (4 to 5 miles per dollar)
  How many miles would you expect to get from $100? After all, that's what's important, isn't it? Miles per pound(dollar).
  
  And if Chan's put up their prices, I think I'd find another Chippy pdq. lol
  

• silverwhisper said on May 11, 2007....

  marc: sorry, must've missed that. OK, you fill up once/month. as i stated, most americans fill up once/week, so that's quadrupling your usage. we feel price fluctuations more acutely just by dint of greater consumption, wouldn't you say?
  
  i'm not trying to argue we don't have a relative massive discount on the stuff: we do, i know. i just want you to have the proper perspective when we yanks go on about the price of it.
  
  ed

• marcnobbs said on May 11, 2007....

  I'd argue with you over Americans feeling the pinch more because there is a simple solution, buy more fuel efficient cars. It’s not like every car has to have a huge engine and weight several tons. Hell, what not get a hybrid – you might end up only having to fill it every two months.

  Besides, rising petrol prices drive UK inflation, which is well above target at the moment. Most of our goods travel the country by road. Petrol prices go up then so do transport costs. To use your chip shop analogy – if it costs more to get the spuds from the field to the fryer, the chips are going to cost more too. That drive up inflation, which in turn cause interest rate rises and we’re all feeling the pinch on our mortgages as well as at the pumps. But that’ll be the same in the States, won’t it?

  At the end of the day, I can understand the anger at suddenly paying more for something you’ve always had cheap, but honestly, you’re still getting it cheap. You’d be hard pressed to find many, if indeed any, Europeans who have any sympathy with Americans over this.

• anonymous said on Oct 04, 2007....

  There are so many different way to get the best gas prices ! I use WWW.GASJOE.COM  it gives you the best prices in your zip code in realtime...try it I saved 8.00 on my last fill !

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