The Limos.com Forum Has Moved!!!

The gas prices have went up again, and may reach $3/gallon mark. 99% of cars in the industry are gas guzzlers. While Honda is adapting a variable engine fuel mgmt technology (?) by having the 3 of 6 cylinders shut off on its new Accord Hybrid sedan, it doesn't look like Lincoln hybrid limos will be on the roads anytime soon. If operators will pass the costs on to the customers, then fewer people can afford a night on the town, bachelorette party, or a b-day party. The weddings are most likely to stay because there is no wedding w/o a limo, everyone knows it. What do you think is the outlook for the industry for the next 3-5 yrs? Please share your thoughts...

I just saw a gas station today for $4.69 / gallon. Yeah, WHATS NEXT ?!

Found a great article at http://news.goldseek.com/Zealllc/1210350356.php that kind of explains the price connection between a barrel of crude and the price of gasoline at the pump. Basicly it states that the if you divide the price of a barrel of crude by 35 (the average needed to make the refineing process profitable)you will get the wholesale price of a gallon of Gasoline (add about 52 cents to get retail) and diesel. It shows that diesel currently reflects the connection but Gasoline is laging behind. If oil stays at $120.00 a barrel, $5.00 + per gallon gas prices are not far off.

Well, no matter how you slice it, dice it or cut it, the inescapable fact is that there is only a finite supply of hydrocarbons on the planet and we are, essentially, at the end of the fossil fuels era. Rising nations such as China, and growing populations in Third World countries are sucking up more and more fossil fuels and the old law of supply and demand means only one thing - as supply either falls or fails to keep pace with demand, price will rise. So what you guys are talking about is the short-term. The long-term is a horse of a different color. But then, again, H.L. Mencken was known to have said, "In the long-run, we'll all be dead."

Wade

I know, thank goodness for President George Bush

Dick

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dick Hall:
I do'nt want to hear you guys complaining anymore.

I have just completed a 13 day assignment in England, and I paid the following prices converted to US dollars

Gas $4.95 a gallon
Parking $7.00 per hour on a meter and $130.00 penalty for going over the time.
Entering London Congestion Fee $7.00 per day
Parking overnight at the Hotel $25.00 per night


To fill the tank cost me $130.00

Give a thought to our colleagues in the U.K. who do this every day.

Sincerely Dick Hall

---

Dick if the liberals ever get back in power here ours will be priced similar.

The cost of oil really has little to do with the cost of gasoline. The EPA and other agencies create many problems for companies and force them to sell at much higher prices. Taxes make up about $.80 of each gallon.

Many years ago , there were only 12 or so formulas for gasoline , now there are over 200. Each one is formulated to the area it is sold due to Gov. regs.

In other words , back in the day before the libs and tree huggers took over if you had an area that ran low on supply , you just piped it in form somewhere else and prices remained stable.

These days if , let's say CA. runs low they can not ship it in from Chicago because they each have different formulas. So , CA prices surge , panic and price gauging ensue.

As usual , the politicians and beauracrats are ruining the system. The biggest threat to the American dream is the over stepping and intrusive nature of our government. Thank God that commie Kerry didn't get in or we would all be screwed and looking for Gov. hand outs soon.

I do'nt want to hear you guys complaining anymore.

I have just completed a 13 day assignment in England, and I paid the following prices converted to US dollars

Gas $4.95 a gallon
Parking $7.00 per hour on a meter and $130.00 penalty for going over the time.
Entering London Congestion Fee $7.00 per day
Parking overnight at the Hotel $25.00 per night


To fill the tank cost me $130.00

Give a thought to our colleagues in the U.K. who do this every day.

Sincerely Dick Hall

Not to sound political BUT, the right Guy got elected President. I can only imagine what it would have been if the other Guy got in. I hope that when we get done KICKIN' BUTT in Iraq it will get better yet. It looks like we could call "W", Gittner Dunn.

As the price of fuel is always on the way up, when I'm driving a limo for somebody I am always considerate enough to shut the engine off and go inside somewhere or just sit in the car and listen to the stereo. This alone will save the owner some serious bucks on fuel and maintenance and as a driver you should be considerate also.

Back in 1965 the price of a Barrel of oil was $3.10 and the price of a gallon of regular Gas was $0.339. Today the price of a Barrel of oil is $55.00 per Barrel, 17 times the price it was in 1965. If we were to multiply the price of Gasoline by the same factor as Crude oil, the price of Gasoline should be $5.76 per Gallon. I think we are all just like the new Bride, we have something coming to us, we just don't know how big it will be. Just wait untill after Nov. 2nd BOHICA you ain't seen nothing yet.

Check out this link and plug in your own numbers to see if you are getting a deal:

http://www.minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/#calc this is the site of the good old Federal Reserve cost of living calcukator.

I can't go back to 1964 but I can go back to 1971 when I was in the Taxi business. I paid $545.00 per car per year for $50,000.00 liability only. That was all that was required by ordinance at that time. You could not even buy "sheet metal" insurance on a Taxi at that time.

Now lets fast forward to 2004. I pay $1,200.00 per car (120" Limos)per year for $2,000,000.00 liability twice what is required by state law. I self insure the "sheet metal" by running older, but well maintained Limos that I pay cash for when I buy them. I have a few extra that I call insurance. Where I live, there is no need to "out Limo" the competition because we all do about the same thing.

As long as the BIG GUYS have this desire to "out Limo" every one else, there will be an endless supply of good, clean and cheap Limos for me to choose from. When will they learn to run them untill there is no value left in them for "level two" Guys like me. That is why the Motor Coach operators can charge so much less for their service.

What figures would your good old Cost of Living Calculator show for "insurance" since 1964?

Jim

quote:

---

Originally posted by David Merrill:
based on the good old Cost of Living Calculator I posted here a while back, $0.339 per gallon of Regular Gas back in 1964 computes to $2.06 per Gallon in todays Dollars. A gallon of Shell Regular Gas in My town is selling for $2.039 per gallon yesterday and that is high because it is Bow and Arrow Deer hunting season up north and the Gas stations are extracting all they can from the "Downstate" Hunters.

Based on the above, we are paying LESS per gallon than we were back in 1964. Hard to beleive right????

---

I guess that this is just one of those things that we will never be able to figure out.

Ten years ago the price of crude oil was appox. $10 a barrel ,gasoline was $1 a gallon.
Today crude is $53 a barrel gas is $2 a gallon.
seems like a bargain. compared to the rise in the price of crude .

based on the good old Cost of Living Calculator I posted here a while back, $0.339 per gallon of Regular Gas back in 1964 computes to $2.06 per Gallon in todays Dollars. A gallon of Shell Regular Gas in My town is selling for $2.039 per gallon yesterday and that is high because it is Bow and Arrow Deer hunting season up north and the Gas stations are extracting all they can from the "Downstate" Hunters.

Based on the above, we are paying LESS per gallon than we were back in 1964. Hard to beleive right????

We will survive just as we are today. The cost of fuel is a factor in the price of Limo service but it is not THAT MUCH of a factor. if you are getting lets say 18 miles to the gallon over the road, not unheard of with any town car, at $1.50 per galllon that is only $0.083 per mile. At $3.00 per gallon, that is $0.166 per mile an $0.08 increase in fuel cost over 100 miles is $8.00 A 100 mile run should be paying you at least $100.00, fuel cost has gone up only 8 percent. If you are doing better than $100.00 on the run, your percentage is lower.

Because MOST retail Limousine rates are not set in stone, most people will not even notice a few Bucks more per hour to cover fuel cost, seeing that many companies charge $300.00 or $400.00 for a three hour wedding that usually consumes a couple of gallons of fuel at most, this will more than offset that looser Airport run that consumes more fuel.

bump, just wanted to see anyone's thoughts on how would an operator survive in a $3-4/gallon environment...