The 2 stroke oil your buying right now was produced with oil bought when the price was very high. Expect to see outboard motor oil come back down once last years stock is exhausted from the warehouses.
I thought about that before I posted Walmart's current price. Store's especially discounters like Walmart know if they had extra oil in stock and prices came down they would have to discount it from last years prices or they would look like the "high" price provider, not the low.
Walmart has an amazing business model, more of a point of sale system that holds the vendors hostage to give them the cheapest prices. they don't keep much in the back. Everything they have is on the shelves.
So I doubt that Walmart had any Oil left in stock from last year. End of season they price the stuff down to move. Case in point, I bought 4 tubes of 3M 4200 on sale there near end of season for $4 a tube. Marina charges $12.99.
I still say it's price fixing by the O/B industry to move people towards 4 strokes. Sure, many manufacturers still produce 2 strokes, but in my opinion (other than Etec and DFI models) I don't think they want to risk ticking off the 2 strokers who someday will probably have to change over to 4 strokes or Etec and DFI models.
Reminds me of picture film, where many companies held off from changing over to digital camera models. A few companies still produce film cameras but I'm sure the price of film and developing will go to the moon forcing them over to digital because of the price.
I'm in the market for a used 2006 0r 2007 2nd rig which I'm sure will come with the Merc 150 Opti DFI (that's the way this model was sold most of the time) I'll use it for a season and I'm sure I'll enjoy this 2 stroker, but I'll be swapping it out for the Merc 200 Verado 4 stroke as soon as I come up with the needed extra dollars for the change over.
As you say, 2 stroke outboard might come down. But I doubt it. I think you are more likely to see oil prices rise as they usually do towards the summer driving season (simple supply and demand). Exxon made 45 bil in 2008. We paid $5 a gal at the marinas last year. People are suckers to the oil companies. They keep us on their heroin because they know we are all oil junkies. Case in point sales of hybrid cars are down 60% this year over last. Be prepared to watch oil shoot up again (especially as economies heat up again). Think you will be paying $2 for regular for much longer? Think again
Sadly, we really do deserve higher oil prices because we all reap what we sow, is it really neccessary for like 1/2 the cars on the road to be SUV's?
Unless of course we are towing a boat
End of oil rant
