$3 GAS ANALYSTS: SUMMER WON'T OFFER ANY RELIEF.Byline: Brent Hopkins and Dana Bartholomew Staff Writers MALIBU - Gasoline prices virtually hit the once-unthinkable $3-per-gallon mark Tuesday at a Malibu service station used by Johnny Carson
Motorists opting for full-service premium at Charlie's Union 76 station on Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to:
According to the Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California was founded December 13, 1900 in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first motor clubs dedicated to improving roads, proposing traffic laws and improvement of overall driving conditions. , a gallon of regular rose Tuesday to an average of $2.251, while diesel customers paid $2.505, both record highs. By August, when vacationers take to the freeways for the peak driving season, the nearly universal opinion of experts is that things will get worse. More and more gas watchers say a $3-per-gallon average is possible. ``You've got increasing demand and the refiners aren't making enough gasoline, so prices keep going up,'' said Bob van der Valk Van der Valk was a British television series made by Thames Television for the ITV network. It starred Barry Foster in the title role as Dutch detective Commissaris Piet van der Valk. , a wholesaler with Santa Fe Springs-based Cosby Oil. ``They may drop a little now, but after Memorial Day, who knows? There's no precedent for how things are right now.'' Making things worse, traders on Tuesday pushed the price of oil above $40 a barrel for the first time since the 1990 Gulf War, prompting the federal government to say gas prices across the nation are likely to remain at today's elevated levels throughout the summer. Motorists said they have little choice but to dive deeper into their wallets. ``I cannot change my habits if I wanted to. I have to work,'' said Hamid Banaie, a computer programmer who drives 100 miles a day for work. Some, however, said they were rethinking summer vacation plans. ``We usually drive to Sea World, but we won't be doing that as often,'' said Anna Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , a 34-year-old real-estate agent Real-Estate Agent A person with a state/provincial license to represent a buyer or a seller in a real-estate transaction in exchange for commission. Most agents work for a real-estate broker or realtor. from Tarzana who spent $50 to fill her 2002 Lincoln Navigator. For many celebrities who roll into Charlie's Union 76 in Malibu, paying $2.999 a gallon for premium full serve isn't such a big deal, clerks say. Customers, like Dick Van Dyke  This page is protected from moves until disputes have been resolved on the .The reason for its protection is listed on the protection policy page. and Carson, often pay more to have Carlos Ruiz, a Union 76 clerk from Van Nuys, top off their tanks, wash their windows and check under the hood under the hood - [hot-rodder talk] 1. The underlying implementation of a product (hardware, software, or idea). Implies that the implementation is not intuitively obvious from the appearance, but the speaker is about to enable the listener to grok it. . More than 30 customers had paid for full service at Charlie's by 4 p.m. Tuesday. ``It's embarrassing to be too damn lazy to get out of the car and put $60 in gas'' in it, Walter Rosenthal, 62, of Malibu said while Ruiz pumped 22.8 gallons of mid-grade regular into his Toyota SUV. The tab: $68 even. Gas prices are also cutting into the profits of local entrepreneurs. Rosalio Patlan, 32, who owns a gardening business, looked exasperated as he explained that the $2,800 monthly profit he splits with another worker is being eaten away - at least 20 percent - by gas prices. It costs him at least $30 a day to fuel the leaf blower, lawn mower and hedge trimmer trimmer see resco nail trimmer, toenail scissors. he uses to manicure dozens of West Valley lawns. ``If this continues, I am going to have to charge my clients more. Clients don't want to pay and I am going to lose business,'' said Patlan, a Pacoima resident. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what I will do if I have to pay $3 a gallon.'' Even if refineries return to full capacity, demand is actually increasing over last year, providing unrelenting pump-price pressure. With Shell Oil planning to shut down its Bakersfield refinery by summer's end, things are likely to get even tighter. ``I'd love to see the oil and gas companies begin to do the responsible thing, including looking at their own policies on stocks and looking at their own margins so they can make the ones they historically made, not the windfall levels they've been enjoying lately,'' said Adam Goldberg, a policy analyst for the consumer group. Staff Writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this story. Brent Hopkins, (818) 713-3738 brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Motorists can pay as much as $2.999 for a gallon of premium gasoline with full service at a 76 station in Malibu. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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