5 Reasons Why Petrol Prices Should Be Higher
I take full responsibility for the bucketloads of hate I’m going to get over this article, especially since I’m writing this from the United States where petrol prices are currently averaging about $1.60 per gallon. If that’s not enough to hate me, know that I just did a 3000-mile road trip in a 255bhp Infiniti I35 and spent only about $170 in gas. For the record, yes that made me very happy.
That said, I had lots of time to think on that trip, and it brought me to a surprising conclusion. Lower petrol prices certainly help people in the short-term, but what about long-term? Obviously there’s the immediate benefit of having more cash in our pockets to spend, and lower transportation costs should mean lower prices for the goods we buy.
But I’ve yet to see those lower prices in stores, nor have I seen much of a change in airline fares. And as for that extra cash we save directly from lower pump prices, it somehow seems to get spent on trivial things anyway. So that begs the question - are we really better off with lower petrol prices? Short-term can be better if we’re smart with how we use the extra cash, but long-term we’re going to be worse off in many ways.
1. Oil is a finite resource
Like it or not, some day there isn’t going to be any more oil. Whether that’s in 20 years or 200 years, the fact remains that oil will eventually be used up, and without oil there’s no petrol. Higher prices now will at least encourage more frugality, extending the supply while science figures out a way to ween us off this stuff.
2. Fewer cars on the road
Higher petrol prices mean people drive less, carpool more, and that leads to fewer cars on the road. Now you can take this a couple different ways, the obvious being that fewer cars on the road creates less greenhouse gas emissions, letting us all breathe better while also saving the planet.
Given that this is a car site filled with people who love to spew emissions (myself included) let me paint this another way. Fewer cars on the road means less traffic, less traffic means fewer traffic jams and reduced congestion, and all of that means you can go faster and farther without all the road rage.
3. Leads to better engines
You know the awesome high-revving, small-displacement engines everyone loves? The first oil crisis back in the 1970s was a major catalyst in moving them forward. That’s not to say they didn’t exist prior, but the threat of limited oil supplies served to seriously kick start manufacturers into finding more efficient ways to make power. And yes, that also means you can thank high petrol prices for the widespread use of turbochargers we enjoy today.
4. Drives the demand for alternative / better fuel sources
As a fuel source for engines, petrol is terrible. The best gasoline engines generally have an efficiency rating of around 30 per cent. That means only 30 per cent of the total energy contained in the fuel is actually being used to generate useful power; the remaining 70 per cent is going to waste. As long as petrol is convenient and cheap, there won’t be much motivation to develop alternative fuel sources.
Meanwhile, electric motors operate at 90 per cent efficiency while producing more usable power in a much simpler design. If petrol prices get terrifically expensive, you can bet we’ll start seeing some rapid developments in electric power. That’s definitely not a bad thing for those of us who like to go fast.
5. Forces people to live smarter and leaner
When petrol prices are high, people must adjust their entire lifestyle to compensate. I know it’s blasphemy to make such claims on a site devouted to the art of driving, but living a leaner lifestyle with constraints and budgets is a good thing - especially in the automotive world. In fact, such measures often lead to a better quality of life because the excess is stripped away, leaving people to focus on the things that really matter.
I’m getting way too philosophical here, so let me just try to sum it up like this: The original Star Wars movie was awesome because George Lucas had limited budgets and resources to work with. When those constraints disappeared with The Phantom Menace, the film was crap because Lucas lost sight of what mattered. Translated to cars, that means we drive a little less but enjoy our time behind the wheel even more. It means we don’t chuck our limited funds at massive stereo systems, but invest in upgraded suspension components or engine tweaks. This leaner-is-better concept is something I believe most people understand, but don’t necessarily want to accept as something that can make life - even car life - better.
That’s why I’m just fine with petrol prices going bonkers. It hurts in the short-term, but we’ll all be better off in the long run.
Comments
Some good points but I believe the reason why its lower is because in the past year, about half as much oil and petrol was imported into the US, making the revenue for the companies lower than needed.
Thank you so much for posting this!
But now you can two-step without having to “spend” as much money..
TRAITOR!
Point 1: yes is it a finite resource but what about E85? Already have a way of extending it.
Point 2: doesn’t mean it’ll be better because of the price we won’t have any more fun due to having to be careful with consumption.
Point 3: better engines in what way? Better in less fuel consumption not better in power or fun. We’ll all have 3 cylinder turbo engines maybe 150bhp max and definitely no rotary engines.
Point 4: majority of electricity is made from fossil fuels so burnt in an engine or at a power plant saves nothing and will in fact cause such a strain on demands will cause power outages.
Point 5: people will stop living and have to work more rather than enjoying the luxuries of life. People will turn to robots.
Better, more efficient engines don’t have to be low power. By better he means more power output per amount of fuel burnt.
You do realise USA is no the whole world, right? Take Turkey for example, a litre of Gasoline is 1.43$ here. Minimum wage is around 450$. Average is around 670$. We have some serious traffic issues here in Istanbul, unlike so called “traffic” of your. Imagine more than 3.5 million cars in a city getting stuck in traffic. This is the kind of traffic we get. Also we pay 172% percent of the base price for cars under 1.6 Litres of displacement, 224.2% for cars between 1601cc and 2000cc, 289% for cars which have 2001cc or more of displacement. What does that means, right? Take and RS 7 Sportback 4.0 TFSI 560 hp quattro tiptronic with the base price of € 91.837. You happen to pay more than 290% of it’s price because of some additional taxes. It becomes a € 267.808 car. Yes, this is an extreme example but when you try to buy an A3 Sportback 1.6 TDI 110 hp Attraction S tronic with the base price of € 19.345 , you have to pay € 33.419 to get one stupid A3. My point is, even though prices are like these (both car and oil), no one ceases to use them. YOur point is ridiculously selfish and stupid if you consider rest of the world which does not pay such funny prices to cars and oil like you. Before making such a claim, think about the macro size, not micro size.
You have to be careful with things lile this, someone in the uk might see it and we already cant afford it over here
The only way I’d pay more is if the quality of the fuel increased.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned in the original post, is talk about cost of other items. Other modes of transportation, food, clothing, anything you think of….all transported all over the world by equipment using fuel. High fuel prices = high cost of goods. This was part of the recession that hit the US and most of the other countries in the world. While there is a benefit to making more efficient engines, now someone has to pay more money to replace a vehicle, that has to be manufactured and transported by using the high cost of fuel, increasing its cost.
I’m all for capitalism, but im not for taking advantage of others. The mentality of people with their hand in the oil companies is often that of taking advantage. They are usually the ones that want the higher costs because it means more money in their pocket. I can’t blame them, because we are all trying to make money, but there is a difficult line between earning money and being greedy with it.
Actually, I did mention this in the third paragraph. With fuel prices lower in the US I’ve yet to see any drop in the cost of goods or airfare prices. I agree with you on the recession - when fuel prices went up people in the US didn’t adjust their lifestyles, they just racked up credit card debt until they went bankrupt. That was a big wake-up call, but with prices lower again, I see the same old habits coming back.
Higher gas prices means less money for food, clothes, pay bills, and save for retirement. It all adds up over time. Average people like me get hurt bad with high gas prices. Just another liberal trash post who im sure voted for obama and will for sanders. Leave the socialism to europe, we dont need big government taxing our gas heavily here. That is why gas is so expensive around the world. It’s your governments.
And yet, with fuel prices currently low in America, cost for goods hasn’t changed. People have always struggled to save, even with cheap gas. And I’m as pathetically average as you can get so when fuel is expensive, it hurts me as much as anyone. The only difference now is that people and companies lack the proper motivation to evolve. It’s not a political issue - I’m not out to steal from the rich and give to the poor. History has taught us that things which don’t evolve die, and like it or not, high fuel prices force evolution because high fuel prices affect every aspect of society. Don’t hate the messenger, I’m just pointing out some things people don’t want to hear but probably should. I enjoy lower petrol prices, but when they go back up in the US - and they will - I won’t be among the Americans lamenting how terrible it is and how it ruins my life. And these are the reasons why.