Who's feeling the pain at the pump with 4R ?

[Rapid_Amble]

With respect, US Presidents have very little control over energy prices in general. Our current predicament is due to a lack of a cohesive energy policy in this country, which you can thank the last 10 presidents and Congresses for failing to create. Oil is a market based commodity and it's price is set by its producers based on supply, demand and occasionally by wayward governments like Russia, Venezuela or even OPEC itself. It was OPEC that shuttered the US fracking boom a few years back by flooding the market with cheap oil to price them out.

Further, some here mention that this governor or that governor are fleecing certain states' residents with high gas taxes. Gas taxes as a percentage of total price are WAY lower in the USA than in other developed countries. Wanna buy a gallon of petrol in Norway? You'll pay $3.30 in taxes alone per gallon.

Bottom line is that there is a finite amount of fossil fuel available for us to exploit and investments in alternative sources of energy are not only prudent for future generations but-thanks to the American tradition of ingenuity and innovation-also very profitable for us as well.

I love my 4Runner but I also know that I won't be able to drive it forever.

B

The current situation is really simple, but not reported on and so not well understood.

The Federal Reserve & Treasury have flooded the world with dollars. This is driving the cost of oil, gas, and everything else up.

Money supply sky rockets starting April 2020: M1 (M1SL) | FRED | St. Louis Fed

And then inflation takes off: 12-month percentage change, Consumer Price Index, selected categories

The goal is to collapse oil use and switch to "green energy," as stated by this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnSqmHDGD-0&t=276s

 

[mrblah]

Since there is so many people who wanted this, so ya'll got what you ordered....so enjoy. You're decisions have consequences.

 

[JaSC1]

We are in a fortunate place as we work 6 miles from home and ride together. We can take the 4Runner (most days) or her 2010 Camry (much better MPG). If it gets worse we'll probably park the 4runner for a bit.

My wife and I have seen gas prices go nutz during the Carter years and it was not easy then either. I started looking at old VW bugs in the classifieds and other older vehicles. Wow! $$$ for anything decent that you don't have to put triple back into...I believe more bad times are coming.

 

[mc813]

Since there is so many people who wanted this, so ya'll got what you ordered....so enjoy. You're decisions have consequences.

Get over it and vote again in 2024.

To the OP's original question no, not feeling the pain. Are there plenty of other things I'd rather spend my money on than gas? Sure. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. Gas prices were $4+ when I was in college doing my internship in '08 with a Ford F150 and it cost me 1/4 my paycheck to fill up my car to go to/from work. This sort of thing (like the stock market, etc) ebbs and flows. It's not the end of the world unless you've been living on the razor's edge financially, just an inconvenience. And right now, I'll take the inconvenience relative to what is going on in other parts of the world.

 

[mrblah]

Get over it and vote again in 2024.

ok karen..er..brandon.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

4Runners need not apply

 

[DallasTRDPro]

19 gallons, 1 sweet Benjamin.

when our kids are our age, gas stations won't exist.

America won't exist either.

 

[repo]

Walking is underrated. It's great exercise and great time to just think. “Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” -Thoreau.

It doesn't seem to occur to a lot of people, especially in the suburbs and through no real fault of their own... that you can walk places. Almost a forgotten art. People will sit in a car for 30 mins in the school pickup line then go walk on a treadmill for 30 mins at the gym without ever realizing how ridiculous it all is. We're conditioned to doing everything with cars just coz.

I'm lucky in a way. I only work 5 miles from the field I coach at. I now just walk to get my groceries and other errands that are mostly across the street. Another thing, my elderly parents that live 45 miles from me and with all tolls would cost me dearly when I visit them on the weekend. This week my dad said they have tons of rewards points at Kroger and since they minimally drive they want to fill up my tank each week. I balked at the idea and my dad got frustrated and said I do so much for them and they want to do this for me. He also said think of it as an early withdrawal of an inheritance. I thought about it and I will let them do it because it makes them feel better even though I'm their 50 year old son that doesn't need the money, but it does help save about $200/month. With that said, I did look at a RAV4 hybrid, but couldn't bring myself to driving one of those unless I get desperate.

 

[DallasTRDPro]

Walking is underrated. It's great exercise and great time to just think. “Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” -Thoreau.

It doesn't seem to occur to a lot of people, especially in the suburbs and through no real fault of their own... that you can walk places. Almost a forgotten art. People will sit in a car for 30 mins in the school pickup line then go walk on a treadmill for 30 mins at the gym without ever realizing how ridiculous it all is. We're conditioned to doing everything with cars just coz.

I walk my dog 3-4 miles a day and I walk around for 2-3 hours a night coaching soccer so what's another few miles in my life. Just paid $70 on this tank of gas which sucks, but I was paying in the $60 range a few weeks ago so its not really that big of a jump for me since a tank lasts 10 days most of the time.

 

[arehman11]

I guess I’m fortunate enough to not care. I also remember paying more in 08 for my IS300. Our X3M is actually less efficient than our lifted 4Runner with 650+ extra pounds, our “fuel sipper” in the garage is a Tacoma. Hopefully this drives v8 truck prices down and I can add a 5.7 tundra to the stable.

 

[Unstable Vic]

Honestly I don’t care. I have a expense account with my position so I don’t pay for gas and haven’t for any of my vehicles for the last 23 years. Raise away Brandon, the Red wave starts this November

 

[Tanley]

Our society seems to suffer from short term memory loss relative to energy prices. It really wasn't that long ago that the price at the pump was at or above where it is today. Like before, it will eventually retreat - and then go back up - and then down... Energy prices fluctuate, it isn't a new phenomena.

I find it odd that there are owners considering selling a 4Runner now due to a relatively short term spike in energy costs. When purchasing the vehicle, did you not think of this - or was the buying calculus based on a short term perspective of what gas prices were at the time? Prices are moving down again this morning, briefly falling below $100/barrel - are these same people going to change their minds and hold on to the vehicle now?

(Oil pulls back as Russia, Ukraine talk and China institutes another COVID lockdown - MarketWatch).

 

[Charles Bronson]

Our society seems to suffer from short term memory loss relative to energy prices. It really wasn't that long ago that the price at the pump was at or above where it is today. Like before, it will eventually retreat - and then go back up - and then down... Energy prices fluctuate, it isn't a new phenomena.

As noted, people's short term memory loss is something else. Adjusted for inflation, most of us were paying even higher gas costs back in 2008-2009.

Unless you drive for a living, I have a hard time seeing that a 20-30% increase in fuel costs is putting a huge dent in people's lifestyle. I would think the increased food and goods costs, increased property taxes, and general inflation would be hurting you more. However, most of us are making more than we ever did with generally high raises, adjustments, bonuses, working from home (reduced fuel usage) over the past 1 to 2 years so the increase in living costs is somewhat offset.

I've weathered so many of these financial storms over the decades to learn that the pain is usually short-lived (2 years or less). As a result, I just buy less crap (that I really don't need).

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

Our society seems to suffer from short term memory loss relative to energy prices. It really wasn't that long ago that the price at the pump was at or above where it is today. Like before, it will eventually retreat - and then go back up - and then down... Energy prices fluctuate, it isn't a new phenomena.

I find it odd that there are owners considering selling a 4Runner now due to a relatively short term spike in energy costs. When purchasing the vehicle, did you not think of this - or was the buying calculus based on a short term perspective of what gas prices were at the time? Prices are moving down again this morning, briefly falling below $100/barrel - are these same people going to change their minds and hold on to the vehicle now?

(Oil pulls back as Russia, Ukraine talk and China institutes another COVID lockdown - MarketWatch).

It would take… a lot… to get me to not drive my 4Runner, but I also don’t want to minimize anyone else’s struggle if they’re on hard times, or their job hasn’t been giving them raises that even cover inflation.

Doesn’t take much googling to find several sources
stating these are the highest confirmed prices of all time. Ever notice they do go back down, but never quite reach the level they were before?

If we want to cite inflation, that’s a double edged sword. Good luck finding people who received a 7% raise this year on COL increases alone. Maybe associated with a promotion or a performance incentive but not strictly COL.

It’s not a matter of “if it will go back down” sure it will, but the “floor” goes up every time and the “good” or low end gas prices still rise in excess of some people’s income. 2020 saw the lowest oil prices since 2004, however, the finished product were discussing, gas, was $1/gal higher. $2.60 vs $1.60/gal.

I highly doubt supply chain or refinery employees saw a 62% pay increase from ‘04-20, again, not associated with any other reason such as a promotion or increased ratings.

The creep is real and it’s closing in on us.

Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart | MacroTrends

U.S. All Grades All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices (Dollars per Gallon)


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[Charles Bronson]

It would take… a lot… to get me to not drive my 4Runner, but I also don’t want to minimize anyone else’s struggle if they’re on hard times, or their job hasn’t been giving them raises that even cover inflation.

Doesn’t take much googling to find several sources
stating these are the highest confirmed prices of all time. Ever notice they do go back down, but never quite reach the level they were before?

If we want to cite inflation, that’s a double edged sword. Good luck finding people who received a 7% raise this year on COL increases alone. Maybe associated with a promotion or a performance incentive but not strictly COL.

It’s not a matter of “if it will go back down” sure it will, but the “floor” goes up every time and the “good” or low end gas prices still rise in excess of some people’s income. 2020 saw the lowest oil prices since 2004, however, the finished product were discussing, gas, was $1/gal higher. $2.60 vs $1.60/gal.

I highly doubt supply chain or refinery employees saw a 62% pay increase from ‘04-20, again, not associated with any other reason such as a promotion or increased ratings.

The creep is real and it’s closing in on us.

Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart | MacroTrends

U.S. All Grades All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices (Dollars per Gallon)

Your links only reaffirm what some of us are saying. Overall trajectory and the ultimate cost of most anything always go "up" over time. That's reality, life, and economy.

The world is currently full of major turmoil largely thanks to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and the lingering effects of COVID on supply chains. Both of these quite significant world-impacting issues are quite fluid and moving in the wrong direction with Putin not letting up and China apparently on the brink of massive COVID outbreak happening over the next 3 months. The events are also impacting energy and goods costs for a number of reasons.

I hope for our sake that the worst of this is just a fairly significant financial burden for 1 year or so and not something physically worse. Most of us on this forum live and have a pretty damn cush life compared to the vast majority in this world. It's hard for me to feel bad for someone that's having trouble dealing with fuel costs on a newer vehicle. To me, that points to the saying "That cowboy has a big hat, but no cattle".

 

[Jetboy]

Walking is underrated. It's great exercise and great time to just think. “Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” -Thoreau.

It doesn't seem to occur to a lot of people, especially in the suburbs and through no real fault of their own... that you can walk places. Almost a forgotten art. People will sit in a car for 30 mins in the school pickup line then go walk on a treadmill for 30 mins at the gym without ever realizing how ridiculous it all is. We're conditioned to doing everything with cars just coz.

Agreed on this.

Unpopular opinion: Maybe gas should be more like $5+ /gal.

 

[jaredkuualoha]

Just like many others are posting, it isn't really affecting me at all. I am fortunate enough to WFH roughly 95%+ of the time and only go into my office once every other week or so to drop off paperwork (government compliance stuff we're required to keep physical copies of). My wife has a company car and company gas card so she's not paying for anything either.

Our other two cars, '08 Range Rover Sport and '10 VW Jetta Sportwagen, both average way better MPGs than the T4R at 24MPG (premium only 4.4L V8 w/ AWD) and 34+MPG (3.5L I5 FWD) respectively, but I still prefer to drive the T4R around when I do leave the house knowing full well that I average 15.4MPG in it. I'm also trying to keep the miles down on the RRS as I plan to sell it once I know it's not going to snow anymore around here, which should be by the end of this month.

I will say that I do agree with what others have posted, in that those who are actually feeling the "pressure" from the higher gas prices while driving their T4Rs probably have other things going on in their finances that are contributing to it as fluctuating gas prices isn't necessarily anything new though the increases have come much faster this time around.

 

[honda250xtitan]

remember this when your bill from the ac guy, lawn guy, electrician, etc goes up 30%.

 

[repo]

remember this when your bill from the ac guy, lawn guy, electrician, etc goes up 30%.

Ever heard of Northern Tool, Youtube and Adderall? Need a license to buy AC refrigerant though.

 

[repo]

People are feeling it across the board but the inflation is more baked-in to those other things, or not such a frequent expense. I mean nobody keeps track of their food calories per dollar and it's camouflaged with "shrinkflation" and other tricks, but when you fill up your gas tank the numbers are right there in your face. So I think gas prices are more of a catchall whipping boy... an easy and relatable way for people to articulate a complex general resentment across the board. Unless you're a business owner with diesel trucks or have a long commute to a low paying job you should have room to trim the fat elsewhere to compensate or simply drive less. We do live cush lives, there's plenty of fat that can be trimmed (quite literally for 1/3 of Americans).

As noted, people's short term memory loss is something else. Adjusted for inflation, most of us were paying even higher gas costs back in 2008-2009.

Unless you drive for a living, I have a hard time seeing that a 20-30% increase in fuel costs is putting a huge dent in people's lifestyle. I would think the increased food and goods costs, increased property taxes, and general inflation would be hurting you more. However, most of us are making more than we ever did with generally high raises, adjustments, bonuses, working from home (reduced fuel usage) over the past 1 to 2 years so the increase in living costs is somewhat offset.

I've weathered so many of these financial storms over the decades to learn that the pain is usually short-lived (2 years or less). As a result, I just buy less crap (that I really don't need).