[RC2]

Another thing people don’t seem to get......if you double your MPG....say from 10mpg to 20mpg, you will use less gas. If everyone did this, the oil companies profits will be cut in half. Do people really think that they are going to let this happen? The less gas they sell, the higher they will raise the prices to keep the profit levels up.

[VeniVidiVici]

If everyone did this, the oil companies profits will be cut in half. Do people really think that they are going to let this happen? The less gas they sell, the higher they will raise the prices to keep the profit levels up

Even if true, that's quite an Amerocentric view you have there, junior.

The oil companies will be selling greater and greater amounts of oil and gas far into the coming decades thanks to only two short words: China and India.

[thackney]

if you double your MPG....say from 10mpg to 20mpg, you will use less gas. If everyone did this, the oil companies profits will be cut in half. would be assured of continued use of petroleum and these alternative fuel ideas would just go away.

Yeah, I think they would do that.

[kempo]

What you don’t seem to understand is that while we are starting to use less gas by buy smaller cars and driving less the price will still go higher and higher but not for the reasons you are stating (greedy oil companies). The reason is we have a limited oil supply and we import 60% of it from foreign counties and the world consumption is increasing every day no matter if we use less. The only thing that can slow down the increase in price is to increase the supply by drilling for more oil in our own country. The “man made global warming “ crowd is blocking that through their friends in the U.S. congress. Your anger should be channeled to your government not the American oil companies who only control 10% of the world's oil supply.

[ChessExpert]

“The less gas they sell, the higher they will raise the prices to keep the profit levels up.”

That’s not the way it works. The less gas they sell, the more they will lower prices to stimulate purchases.

Prices go up with increased demand. Prices go down with reduced demand. That is standard economics and applies for all markets.