At $2 a gallon, full tank means empty wallet

But people are still buying SUVs and large trucks, dealers say.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
Debbie Oliver has a plan to bring down gasoline prices -- a day of protest in which no one would buy gas.
"But how are you going to stop people from buying gas?" Oliver wondered aloud as she filled her tank Tuesday.
She isn't the only one hoping something will stop rising gas prices. With regular gas costing nearly $2 a gallon, drivers and businesses alike are coping with big holes in the budgets.
Motorists are cutting down on the number of miles driven, while businesses wonder if they can pass along added delivery fees they are paying.
Oliver joked about a national gas protest, but she also has taken some practical steps. She's planning better so she can accomplish more errands per trip, and she's keeping her eye on prices at area stations.
"I pay attention to where it's the cheapest, but it's not cheap anywhere," said Oliver, 47, of Canfield.
'It's ridiculous'
Keri Skornicka also found out that no gas is cheap. She drove past one Boardman station that was charging $1.99 a gallon for regular before pulling up next to Oliver at the BP on Boardman-Canfield Road, which was charging $1.89.
"I think it's ridiculous," said Skornicka, 28, of Boardman.
Tired of paying more than $100 a month to fuel their two Chevrolet TrailBlazers, she and her husband have made changes.
Instead of going to visit his mother in Salem every Sunday, they have asked her to come to their house every other week. Her husband also has started to carpool with a co-worker on his one-hour commute to work.
Still buying SUVs
Car dealers say, however, that gas prices haven't risen high enough to dissuade people from buying sport-utility vehicles and large pickup trucks.
"Oddly enough, what we're selling right now is SUVs," said Terry Poulton, general manager of Stadium GM Superstore in Salem.
Buyers just don't think the record gas prices will last, he said.
Jim Valesky, a sales representative at Crown Ford Lincoln Mercury in Warren, said he hasn't heard any shoppers talking about gas prices. He figures there is a price where fuel costs would affect buying decisions, but $2 a gallon isn't it.
In April, about one-third of the new vehicles bought in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties were light trucks, including SUVs, pickup trucks and minivans. That's about the same percentage that held for all of last year, say reports by the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio.
Businesses
Area businesses are reacting to the higher prices, however.
Gary Doles, co-owner of Bloomin' Crazy in Boardman, said the flower shop recently increased prices because of fuel costs.
Not only is the shop paying more to fuel its delivery vans, but it also is paying fuel surcharges to some trucking companies that bring in flowers and plants.
"You do your best not to raise prices, but you reach a point where you have no choice," Doles said.
Bloomin' Crazy is trying to hold down its costs by having workers call ahead more often to make sure someone will be home for the delivery, he said.
Supermarket
Tony Frattaroli, owner of Frattaroli's Sparkle Markets, said shoppers are cutting back on other purchases as gas costs go up.
To respond to the bargain hunting, he recently opened two aisles of $1 items in his Struthers store and a similar, but smaller, discount section in his New Middletown store.
On the expense side, the store is being hit with the biggest fuel surcharges he has seen. Trucking companies aren't the only ones tacking on the extra fees. Maintenance companies that send workers to repair equipment in the store also are charging extra for the visit.
Frattaroli said the grocery business is too competitive for him to pass along the costs to customers.
"You try to keep your costs in line and do the best you can," he said.
Limousine service
Officials at FAB Limousines in Austintown are considering adding a fuel surcharge to its prices for the first time, said Lisa Ellis, vice president.
"I don't like to pass this on to the customers, but I can't afford it," she said.
FAB hasn't raised prices for seven years, she said, but customers had to pay more for services when limousine rides became subject to the state sales tax last year.
The company has 22 vehicles, with limo buses getting between six and eight mpg and regular limos getting between 10 and 13 mpg. The company's average monthly fuel bill has risen from about $4,000 a month to more than $6,000 a month.
A fuel surcharge would help, but so would more people renting limos, Ellis said. "We need the economy to pick up to get people celebrating," she said.
shilling@vindy.com