Gas is CHEAP!!!!!!!!

[Zonda11]

Follow the litre If you think gas is expensive, compare it to other common household products You've heard the kvetching about high gas prices. Imagine if SUVs ran on Heineken or soy sauce, even bottled water. Then you'd really hear some complaining. To fill up on Heinz white vinegar, it would cost a bitter motorist $1.59 per litre — if he were dumb enough to try. Fact is, most popular liquids cost more than gas when the comparisons are measured in litres. "It's a useful perspective," said Spencer Knipping of the provincial energy ministry. "(Price comparison) is always a useful thing to do." Tell that to the countless cab drivers, business owners and weekend travellers who, in the last few weeks, have decried the greed of gas barons, the government, retailers, whomever. "I think gas is a rip-off," griped contractor Frank Carlin as he stood outside a downtown Petro-Canada station where regular gas went for 85 cents per litre and windshield de-icing fluid cost $1.12 per litre. "It's the government ... They make it expensive," he said. "Something's gotta be done about the gas." Retail gas prices in Toronto have risen an average of 14 cents since the beginning of the year and a whopping 12 cents since April, according to the energy ministry. Prices at some stations in Toronto hit 90.9 cents per litre Friday, according to http://www.torontogasprices.com. Nevertheless, gas remains one of the lowest-priced retail liquid products when measured by the litre. A quick tour through the Loblaws at Victoria Park Ave. and Gerrard St. earlier this week found Perrier mineral water selling at a litre rate of $1.85. Skin Bracer after-shave went for $27.90 per litre. A case of Snapple bottles sold at a rate of $1.75 per litre and a case of 12 Coke cans sold for $1 per litre. That same Loblaws also offers a bank of gas pumps. Regular gas sold for 86.1 cents per litre on the day of the price comparisons. The driver of a Cadillac Escalade SUV would have to spray away a little more than $175,000 to fill up the 98.5-litre tank with Chanel Number 5 Inside, milk, a commodity found in many households, also sold at a higher price. A litre of Neilson skim sold for $2.39. Pine-Sol went for $3.68 per litre and Mott's Clamato, $2.63. For headier elixirs, the price goes up. A 750 millilitre bottle of Dom Perignon sells for $179.95 at the LCBO on Queen's Quay — that's $239.87 per litre. Even the price of more modest spirits makes gas seem like moonshine. A four-litre box of Colio Estates white wine sells for $30.75, or $7.69 per litre. And Heineken beer, based on a six-pack, goes for $6.18 per litre. Then there's perfume, another common consumer item. At Shoppers Drug Mart, Chanel Number 5 sells at a per-litre rate of $1,780. Putting that in context, the driver of a Cadillac Escalade SUV would have to spray away a little more than $175,000 to fill up his 98.5-litre tank with the perfume. When asked his thoughts about such price comparisons, shopper Terry Roberts said, "I've heard the school of thought ... It's just like, (let's) face it. It doesn't astound me or even enrage me, actually. I just wish there were (fewer) cars on the road." But then he hoisted a jug of Tide into his cart and quipped, "Maybe we could put Tide in our cars." As it turns out, Tide Ultra liquid detergent sells for $2.98 per litre. "Oh," he said. "I'm happy (with the price of gas) then." So it might seem that gas is a steal. "It's crazy. So, we're getting a deal?" Carlin said skeptically. "Too bad we can't put the water in the tank." "They'll have it one day," said Carlin's friend Carmine Coletti. Tap water, maybe. But at today's prices, a motorist is better off paying for gas than Evian. For headier elixirs, the price goes up. A 750 millilitre bottle of Dom Perignon sells for $179.95 — $239.87 a litre At Loblaws, a 500-millilitre bottle of Evian sold for $1.39 — that's $2.78 per litre. "It's very simple," Coletti said. "Pollution is cheaper than something that's vital to our lives." "Water's a rip-off too," Carlin said. But the comparison between gas and other liquid products has its flaws, Knipping pointed out. "Gas is different because the other (products) are directly consumed, like a bottle of Coke or things you use personally," he said. "Gasoline is also something people don't really enjoy shopping for. "They put it in their car. It's a bit dirty. You have to be careful you don't splash yourself with it. The other products are things people usually enjoy buying." It's also clear that Canadian consumers use significantly more gas than most, if not all, of the products in the comparison. Canadians consumed bottled water at a rate of 26 litres per capita in 2000, according to the International Council of Bottled Water Associations. That translates to about 780 million total litres consumed. Gas is being guzzled at a far higher rate. In that same year, the drivers of Canada's 17.3 million vehicles bought 43 billion litres of fuel, according to Transport Canada's Canadian Vehicle Survey. That's 1,433 litres per capita. Drivers of cars, station wagons, light trucks and vans accounted for 74 per cent, or 31.7 billion litres. So, if water were used to fill up those light-weight vehicles instead of gas, assuming the Loblaws Evian rate of $2.78 per litre, those drivers would have paid a collective total of $88.1 billion before taxes. But using the regular gas offered at Loblaws, that bill comes to $27.3 billion. If only cars ran on two-litre bottles of soda. At Loblaws, Coke and Canada Dry ginger ale in two-litre bottles sold at a rate of 74.5 cents per litre — the only products in our survey that came in at under the price of gas. Might get sticky, though, if it splashes on your pants.

[SilviaEvo]

a good way to think about it but i hear it will go down by like the end of June or July!

[T-Bird]

yeah well you go through Gas alot quicker than most of those others so that's sort of stupid isn't it...

[ChrisAW11]

Gas is more expensive than in the US. The European Union makes it more expensive, to make you think that it's not important to run your car without a reason.

Please vote on Europe.

Every vote lost is a vote against you.

[Zonda11]

Originally Posted by T-Bird yeah well you go through Gas alot quicker than most of those others so that's sort of stupid isn't it...

Maybe...but it is an interesting way of looking at the situation.....and it also shows us that water is a rip off!

[T-Bird]

Originally Posted by SilviaEvo a good way to think about it but i hear it will go down by like the end of June or July!

Well previous trends have had that happen almost every year it's just this odd coincidence that Gasoline goes up around vacation times eventhough gas is supposed to only rise when there are lower amounts available... :roll:

[graywolf624]

to make you think that it's not important to run your car without a reason.

One has to wonder if govts should have the right to dictate such things.

[PATo355]

Hahahaha , yeah right .... i think gas is very cheap now LOL

[Garretts_turbo]

Ive grown numb to gas prices, honestly.
i had a truck that got single digit gas mileage so anything is an improvement, even the AWD Talon. As long as i have a job the tank will get filled up when it needs it.
This is not to say i dont care or dont do my part for conservation, but the price of gas never shocks me.

[FoxFour]

Back in the early 80's, the US had an increase in gas prices during the summer. I remember when gas, back in 1983, was about $1.60 a gallon USD. Now if you factor in that inflation amount to todays dollar value, that is about $3.00/ gallon today.

[Garretts_turbo]

Originally Posted by FoxFour Back in the early 80's, the US had an increase in gas prices during the summer. I remember when gas, back in 1983, was about $1.60 a gallon USD. Now if you factor in that inflation amount to todays dollar value, that is about $3.00/ gallon today.

we're almost there now...a few weeks ago (up here in michigan) i was paying more than $2.50 per gallon for premium. its gone down now, but in the future it will spike and go down, spike and go down......

hahaha i thought everyone drove toyotas in the 80's!!!! gas prices didnt matter back then!

[nthfinity]

hahaha i thought everyone drove toyotas in the 80's!!!! gas prices didnt matter back then!

hmm... my folks owned 3 cars, one was a gas hogging 460 CID ford conversion van w/2 gas tanks lol, single digit fuel economy, and gobs of torque.
of course, my dad was doing quite well financially. no toyotas here (let alone imports) i filled up premium @ 2.07.9 /gal USD last week. seems to be on the trip down right now.

[Garretts_turbo]

Originally Posted by nthfinity hmm... my folks owned 3 cars, one was a gas hogging 460 CID ford conversion van w/2 gas tanks lol, single digit fuel economy, and gobs of torque. of course, my dad was doing quite well financially. no toyotas here (let alone imports) i filled up premium @ 2.07.9 /gal USD last week. seems to be on the trip down right now.

gosh my truck only had one tank....it was 32 gallons, though.
well i guess my toyota theory got shot to hell.