Gas Price Gouging

[Guest]

Have any of you experienced instances of gas price gouging since Tuesday's tragedy. If so, post it on here and maybe the wrath of the country can be brought down upon their heads. Denver talk show host Ken Hamblin [The Black Avenger] had an interesting idea about what to do with these stations. It will not be printed here as it could be construed as "inciting to riot". Something about individual brick removal. ~ hvs

[Guest BruceW]

We seem to be lucky here as no price gouging has been seen. Prices did go up here in Harford County and the Baltimore area but only about 15 to 20 cents a gallon. Was paying $1.35 and now its $1.51. <P>Heard news report on radio that an Oklahoma station owner who initially raised prices to near $5.00 gallon now feels bad ...has dropped gas prices back to what they were before Tuesday and is offfering a refund to customers.

[Guest BruceW]

Mr. Scotland,<P>Perhaps we shouldn't drag out the lynching rope yet. There are a lot of people that react irrationally during dire times. He has offered to make amends and perhaps his retraction of prices will influence his competitors to come to their senses and stop gouging prices.<P>Lets save the hanging noose for the animals that deserve it by what they did in NY, DC and Pa.

[Guest]

Fair enough Bruce, on the surface. But why is it perfectly OK for groups like the NAACP to boycott hotels and businesses who do not meet what they believe to be their "reasonable" expectations, and the rest of us should sit idly by while a gas station owner robs the public. Is that any less of a boycottable action?<P>Look where "turn the other cheek" has gotten us. <P>I do NOT believe I suggested lynching. I did recommend a BOYCOTT by both customers and supplier. Lynching is not legal! Boycott IS!!<P>But again, that's just my opinion, and I am not one known for pussyfooting around controversy. ~ hvs<P>And by the way, Mr. Scotland was my late father. The "h" in hvs stands for Howard.

[Guest BruceW]

Mr. S.<P>I was refering to your comment on "strung up by his cojones" and was using "we" in general in regards to the public....not you personally. Also, I paraphrased with a bad choice of wording.<P>I apologize if there was any misunderstanding or any offense taken.<p>[ 09-13-2001: Message edited by: BruceW ]

[Guest]

Bruce ~ No misunderstanding or offense taken, and no apology needed. <P>However you do hurt my feelings when I infer that I prefer that my first name be used and you use the still formal and even less personal, MR.S. ~ Howard<P>You don't call me Mr. S and I won't call you Mr. W., OK?

[ply33]

I agree with hvs about voting with your pocket book. It is the most effective ballot you can cast.<P>As to "scared to death that he might get strung up by his cojones.", I am puzzled about the definition of "cojones". I can make some lewd guesses, but it is not in my dictionary. A quick check on a web translator indicates it is not Spanish, French or Italian. The closest I could come was Spanish "conejo". But I don't think hvs meant he was afraid he would be strung up by his rabbits.

[Idle Swede]

Gentlemen, cojones is a Swedish word and is used (the word not the cojones) in a famous dish you might have heard of= Swedish Meat....s

[Guest]

I totally agree with Howard's determination to boycott the thieves.<P>Most of us probably remember the "Gas Shortage" in the 1974 era. My company had an account with Iggy's Sunoco in Boyertown, Pa. All over Pennsylvania, you could only buy $2-3.00 worth of gas at one time. Lines were long everywhere. It was published that if letters were carried (notarized, too.) on company letterhead, stating the vehicle was for commercial use, they could fill the tank.<P>Good 'ole Iggy refused. I told him he would lose the maintenance, gas, service, etc., on 14 company cars and 3 trucks when the gas crunch was over. He still refused.<P>Iggy's Sunoco is now the site of a home.<P>Best regards, Peter J. <P>P.S.--Like the commercial says: "WONDER WHERE IGGY IS WORKING NOW!!"

[randjflo60]

So far gas prices are still normal around here. $1.37 for 87 octane. I noticed some long lines on Tuesday at lunch time, but no price increases. The prices will go up next month when you all get here.

[Steve Moskowitz]

There was some serious price gouging in Indiana and Illinois the first day and if it wasn't so pathetic it would have been funny to see the long lines at stations. The panic was so irrational. The Attorney General and Governor of Illinois have sought legal action against Casey's General Stores for bumping their prices to $4.00 per gallon. DESPICABLE!!! By the way, I thought the word "cojones" was Spanish!!<P>On a upnote, the businesses here in Merrillville are paying the expenses and providing rental cars for local firemen who are volunteering to head to N.Y. <P>Also, in all my years at our dealership I have never heard people really talking with each other with such passion for seeing change in this world. The dialogue in our waiting room between races and age groups has been refreshing and gives me hope. My employees have been talking SERIOUSLY with each other about right or wrong. Sure beats the typical "cooler" talk. Maybe some good........

[Ccar]

Still $1.33 to $1.39 at most stations in northern Delaware. The same as before the tragic Tuesday the 11th.<P>As to bocott, I agree. I have been staying clear of Exxon/Mobil since the Spring of this year in support of an e-mail posting. Hope the rest are doing the same. <P>I travel to New Jersey several times each week in my temp job. Once and awile I need gas. The last time I stopped a diaper head waited on me. He wouldn't even talk, only grunted when I requested a receipt. I wonder if anyone is stopping now. The problem is that so many stations are owned/operated by mideastern families. <P>Many mideast store owners in the Philadelphia area have been stoned, windows painted etc. Lots of coverage on local news. Also many 7-11 Stores too. (What pits they have become) I won't go there anymore.

[Guest]

Cojones [spelling?] - Spanish, possibly Mexican, slang expression for "balls" also more formally known as testicles.<P>Another very common expression out in this part of the country is "caca pasa". Again Mexican slang for s*** happens.<P>It is amazing that after 50 years, how quickly one's high school Spanish returns when living where it is spoken. Apologies to Mrs. White, she never taught us those two expressions. ~ hvs

[Bill Stoneberg]

Two Items from Texas.....<BR>Dallas Mosques were vandalized last night. Texas has a hate crimes law passed after Jim Byrd was drug to death and now the teenagers who did it are looking at long prison sentances.<BR>Amarillo, Gas prices Wednesday $3.45 a gallon at a Stop & Go. Store was quickly shut down by DPS (Hi-way Patrol). Comment by one of the troopers was that the store was lucky it was not burned down.<P>Howard, I don't remember either of those saying in my Spanish classes either but they were some of the first Spanish phrases I learned.<P>Adios mi amigo<p>[ 09-13-2001: Message edited by: Bill Stoneberg ]

[The Old Guy]

Prices in Michigan flared to $5.00 per gallon .but the governor stepped in and the prices dropped back to $1.87. That is still .20 more than it was Monday ,but we can live with that.

[Guest 18DodgeBrothers]

Gas prices in SE Ohio were around 1.60 on Tuesday morning, 1.90 by Tues night, 1.79 Wednesday night and about 1.66 tonight. Lines were long Tuesday night, but most stations only had a few cars by Wed morning. Closer to Columbus, the news reported 6.00 at some isolated stations. The state Attorney General is investigating these!<P>Les Hoffmann<BR>AACA 100237

[Guest]

Old Guy ~ But will those hauling trailers to the Glidden Tour in northern Michigan next week have second thoughts? The additional cost of gas could well exceed the forfeiture costs of skipping the tour. I certainly hope this doesn't happen, but $5.00 a gallon gasoline would convince me to stay home as a matter of principle. <P>Keep us posted on Michigan gas prices as there is a lot of your state for most of us cross getting to and from the Tour.<P><BR>How about diesel prices? Where did they go?<BR> ~ hvs<p>[ 09-13-2001: Message edited by: hvs ]

[fordee9r (Ron Springstead)]

Haven't noticed any change in gas prices in upstate NY... still $1.40 - $1.47. Of course, maybe the Sloughters around here are too dumb to see an opportunity! <P>We may be backward up here but I knew right away what Howard meant by "cojones" without ever studying Spanish.. or even Swedish for that matter. We have enough trouble with English! <P>I'm glad to see that most agree that the best way to handle gasoline price gougers is to boycott them. I just wish that it would carry over to vendors in the old car hobby. Unfortunately, there seems to be these same type of vultures in our hobby who are only interested in the big buck and not interested at all in the old car hobby!

[rodlars]

The Michigan AG is also going after those guilty of price gouging under the anti-profiteering law. Things should settle down shortlt, I would imagine. A friend of mine works in Auburn Hills at the DCX tech center and heard rumors of $7/gallon in Northern MI. Btw, I would advise cutting through Ontario for anyone coming from the east coast. Delays in Windsor and Sarnia are anywhere between 2 and 10 hrs, depending on the time of day. There is a Mopar show in Norwalk, OH and I am giving serious thought to taking the ferry over to Sandusky and then driving back the turnpike and I-75 as getting back into Canada is relatively painless.<P>Rod

[Guest]

I'll bet he feels bad. Scared to death that he might get strung up by his cojones. Feeling bad isn't enough. He should be driven out of business by the people of his area and denied fuel by the oil company he represents. It would certainly help the image of the oil company. This kind of immediate retaliation would go a long way to prevent others from trying the same thievery.<P>But that's just my opinion. ~ hvs

[Bill Stoneberg]

I wonder how painless it will be crossing the border right now....<BR>I understand Canada is a lot easier the Mexico but they are doing full searches on EVERY vehicle coming into the states from Mexico. Lines at the border is 6 - 9 hours.

[The Old Guy]

Gas prices are back to the $1.75 - $1.85 range for the most part. There may be an isolated case of gouging ,but you can find fuel at the prices above almost anywhere.

[Guest]

I haven't noticed any price gouging here on Long Island, NY. In fact, I noticed a few stations with slightly lower prices. Good for them, and us.<BR>Roger

[Guest rcirilli]

I was in Chicago this past week and heard some about the gas pricing. It is normal operating proceedures that retailers call there suppliers the day before a pickup to find out what the price will be when they pick it up. They typically change their price up or down at that point.<P>Apparently someone above the rack said prices could go to $5.00 a gallon and a few rack operators told their retailers that it would go to $5.00 or something less than that causing the immediate reaction. The major oil companies got the word out pretty fast that it was not going up. That's why some appologies went out.<P>It was a good opertunity for people in politics to make some points. I didn't hear of any retailers keeping the price spike up more than a few hours.<P>for what it's worth!<p>[ 09-14-2001: Message edited by: rcirilli ]