Gas Prices

Assert your consumer power at the pump

by Rita Chandler

Is boycotting truly the way to fight rising gas prices? To boycott means to refuse, shun and stay away from something. Can the typical vehicle owner really refuse to buy gas, shun or stay away from the gas pumps for any length of time? Not if they want to go somewhere.

Here in America, walking and bicycling is not as popular as it is in other countries, unless these activities are attached to some type of fitness program. Also, we have vast rural areas where it would take all day to walk or bicycle to the store for a quart of milk. Even in busy New York City, people are constantly hailing cabs that burn that high-price gas.

Big Business

The rising gas prices are all about supply and demand. Only consumers can control the demand - but does this equate to boycotting?

Controlling the demand for gas means removing one's foot from the accelerator and slowing down to the posted speed limit. It also means multitasking when traveling to a destination, instead of running to the store for one item and then returning to the city or town two hours later for another item.

If the average driver is guilty of ignoring any of the above, continuing to burn excess high-priced gasoline gives the oil companies the message that there is a demand for more and more gas. When this message reaches these oil companies, all they can do is continue to supply this demand, but at a cost. The cost to consumers is $3.00 or more for a gallon of gasoline.

Questionable solutions

A myth has circulated since 1999 from an emailed chain letter that implored everyone to boycott the gas pumps on a certain day and by doing so, the oil companies would have no choice but to lower their prices. It didn't work for two reasons:

• Not every consumer shunned or stayed away from the gas pumps. Some couldn't. Emergency vehicles had to operate and they couldn't operate without gasoline.
• One day of boycotting had little impact on the oil companies' revenue.
• The myth has circulated each year since 1999 without any impact on gas prices. In fact, some people have reacted to the boycott on May 15th by buying gallons of gas the day before and the day after - so the gas stations actually saw an increase in demand instead of a decrease.

Demand and supply

Summer is here and most believe a vacation means getting in the car, truck, SUV or RV and traveling somewhere with the kids - who incidentally might be just as happy at home with their computers, iPods, cell phones and satellite radios, rather than seeing faces of dead, famous Americans carved into a rock.

Demand for gasoline will be astronomical but the oil companies will supply, at a cost. At $4.00 a gallon? The price won't drop until the consumer demands less.

It used to be we could depend on the reputation and reliability of North American cars to meet our standards - but could it be the times are changing? Here in the U.S., overseas models are continuing to rise in popularity. Find out why!

If you love your car, you’ve got treat it right – stock will never do for your hot wheels! Whether it’s for performance or just for the look, aftermarket parts can turn that car you just brought home into your own pimp ride.