jim higgins

Ford just seems to have no luck at all. Bye-bye for a significant number of
Super Duty sales

As gas tops $3 in Calif., 'petro-noia' hits U.S.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...703080345/1148


SAN FRANCISCO -- Gasoline prices have jumped above $3 a gallon in some parts
of California and Hawaii, and may hit that level in other parts of the
country when the busy summer driving season approaches.

"It kills me," said Gloria Nunez, 53, as she filled her Ford Explorer SUV at
a San Jose gas station. Nunez, a clerk for a communications company, has
started working a couple hours of overtime each week to help soften the
blow. "All of a sudden you kind of have to watch your pennies," she said.

Analysts say drivers should brace for more increases in the coming weeks.
Crude oil, which makes up about half the price of gasoline, is trading above
$60 a barrel. Higher demand, refinery maintenance and fears about springtime
shortages are also driving up prices.

"The West Coast will certainly be the wild, wild West this year," said Tom
Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. Extensive
maintenance work at West Coast refineries has curtailed supplies and
exacerbated the typical "preseason rally" spurred by jitters about tight
supplies.

"In the rest of the country, it's just petro-noia. They're worried that they
won't have enough gasoline," Kloza said. "But on the West Coast the concern
might be warranted."

Analysts said it's unlikely other parts of the country would see $3 gasoline
before summer without a major disruption in supply. Average fuel prices are
still below their historical highs -- most of which were set in 2006 -- but
are inching higher weeks earlier than usual.
--
"I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends
respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please."
John Wayne