Gas prices — wowza!

[Tacoma]

I just calculated our liter of gas at 1.40 to adjust to a gallon which is 3.78 liters to a gallon so $5.29 a gallon. But our dollar is at around 1.38 to yours so it is actually $7.30 per gallon. Keep in mind Alberta has the cheapest gas in Canada since we produce it. In BC we paid as much as $2.09 a liter when travelling this summer. We just had to replace our Subaru Forester since it was dying and ended up buying an old Honda Civic. Hopefully my husband can take it snowboarding rather than the Jeep some of the time. Last year his regular trips to the skihill were costing $55 Canadian everytime he went up and his goal is at least 30 times a year. Gas ends up costing us more than the ski pass.

 

[CO skier]

I feel your pain! I picked up our month's petrol today- getting $.40/gal off at Kroger. 22 gallons at $3.65 Just under $80.

Painful is a diesel truck with a drinking problem. Saved $0.80/gal on the maximum 35 gallons allowed (City Market/Kroger). It was still $126 for the fill-up with the discount.

 

[Passepartout]

Painful is a diesel truck with a drinking problem. Saved $0.80/gal on the maximum 35 gallons allowed (City Market/Kroger). It was still $126 for the fill-up with the discount.

Ouch! Adding insult to injury would be using it for simply personal transportation. It's sort of justifiable if you're pulling/carrying a big load, but there are a bunch of better/cheaper/more environmentally friendly ways to get yourself around.

And. . . you aren't mentioning the $800+ spent to get that 80 cent discount. You saved $28.00. Woot woot!

Jim

 

[dioxide45]

The last line says it all. Air quality is night and day different between now and my childhood. I grew up in Yucaipa at the base of the mountains. In the afternoon the smog would roll in and obscure everything including the mountains. My lungs hurt when I breathed in and there were many days when we were kept inside due to smog. Remember "smog alerts"? The 70s were wild. I am unhappy about the prices for sure, but thankful that smog no longer dictates my activity level.

Could leaded gasoline have had anything to do with it?

 

[CO skier]

Ouch! Adding insult to injury would be using it for simply personal transportation. It's sort of justifiable if you're pulling/carrying a big load, but there are a bunch of better/cheaper/more environmentally friendly ways to get yourself around.

Cheaper? It is a 2004 model that I paid cash for 15 years ago. (It gets 18-20 mpg the way I drive it.) I do not feel the need to pay comprehensive insurance on it, and the annual registration is minimal. That $2,000 annual savings versus new(er) buys a lot of diesel, even at these prices.

A better/cheaper(?)/more environmentally friendly alternative would be $30,000-40,000 plus the extra $2,000-ish for full insurance coverage and increased annual registration. It is in my future, but not for a few years.

And. . . you aren't mentioning the $800+ spent to get that 80 cent discount. You saved $28.00. Woot woot!

The 4X Friday fuel points and 4X digital coupon gift card bonus are my new diesel saver hacks. I have started buying gift cards for companies where I already spend that money, anyway. I spent $200 to get that $28 savings. $28/$200=14%. I wish I could find Certificates of Deposit with that kind of return.

 

[Superchief]

The last line says it all. Air quality is night and day different between now and my childhood. I grew up in Yucaipa at the base of the mountains. In the afternoon the smog would roll in and obscure everything including the mountains. My lungs hurt when I breathed in and there were many days when we were kept inside due to smog. Remember "smog alerts"? The 70s were wild. I am unhappy about the prices for sure, but thankful that smog no longer dictates my activity level.

I agree. California and the rest of the country have made significant improvement in air and water quality over the past 20 years. These have all been accomplished with improvements in production and reduced emissions with fossil fuels. California is also well positioned for solar energy and EV's. I think now we are to the point of diminishing returns in many other areas where the incremental cost doesn't justify the results. Focus should now be on water and maintaining forests and farmland as new technologies are developed and implemented.

 

[klpca]

Could leaded gasoline have had anything to do with it?

I have absolutely no idea - not even close to my area of expertise. I am just saying that I am willing to pay more for breathable air.

 

[emeryjre]

The primary reason for the lead to be removed was the introduction of catalytic converters
Lead clogged the converters and rendered them useless
The other reason is lead is highly toxic
Causes all sorts of maladies
We were pumping tons into the air everyday
The smog in LA was caused by a number of factors as sunlight reacted with exhaust output from Internal Combustion Engines
These problems were not as widespread in other parts of the country, but as the population was growing, other parts of the country were beginning to see the start of the problem
There were problems with automobile/truck engines burning valves when lead was removed from gasoline
There were other problems as well until the auto industry technology caught up with the desire to reduce the output of certain chemicals from ICE exhaust

 

[klpca]

I was trying to find photos from the 60s-70s for reference but most were from Los Angeles, not where I was raised. But I found an interesting thread on reddit. Suffice it to say, it is a consistent summary of what it was like growing up in the LA area during the years of the smog alerts. It is an interesting read reddit thread . I am thankful that I have lived to see the day where we can see the sky every day. I am still unhappy about the cost of gas, but at least we can see progress.

 

[dioxide45]

I have absolutely no idea - not even close to my area of expertise. I am just saying that I am willing to pay more for breathable air.

Perhaps it isn't a cause and effect. Right now you pay more for gas than most other areas of the country. How much cleaner is the air compared to other areas that use cheaper blends all year? Perhaps you could be paying what they pay in other areas and have the same or only marginally worse air quality. Theory being, you might not really be paying for cleaner air right now, though possible that you are.

Edit to add: I also suspect prices in CA are higher because pump equipment is more expensive. The nozzels of the pumps seem to be much higher tech in CA than anywhere else I have pumped gas in North America.

 

[klpca]

Perhaps it isn't a cause and effect. Right now you pay more for gas than most other areas of the country. How much cleaner is the air compared to other areas that use cheaper blends all year? Perhaps you could be paying what they pay in other areas and have the same or only marginally worse air quality. Theory being, you might not really be paying for cleaner air right now, though possible that you are.

Edit to add: I also suspect prices in CA are higher because pump equipment is more expensive. The nozzels of the pumps seem to be much higher tech in CA than anywhere else I have pumped gas in North America.

The difference in air quality is night and day - and that is not just my personal opinion - check out the the linked reddit thread. As a child, I had actual pain when breathing - it was no way to live and unless you have experienced it, you cannot imagine that it could have been that bad, but it was. The air quality was similar visually to the poor air quality that happens during wildfires.

I believe that our nozzles are shaped to prevent the gas fumes from escaping during the pumping process. I cannot imagine that it adds that much to the price. We have had them for years. I doubt that this has contributed to this price jump.

My personal, uneducated opinion is that the producers/suppliers etc charge us more because they know that we will pay it - and they can blame it on all sorts of things. FYI Costco is much less expensive than other gas stations, and gas available on the reservations near the casinos is even less than that, so we have a good idea of the actual cost. We are being ripped off somewhere along the way - probably all along the entire process to be honest.

 

[dioxide45]

The difference in air quality is night and day - and that is not just my personal opinion - check out the the linked reddit thread. As a child, I had actual pain when breathing - it was no way to live and unless you have experienced it, you cannot imagine that it could have been that bad, but it was. The air quality was similar visually to the poor air quality that happens during wildfires.

I believe that our nozzles are shaped to prevent the gas fumes from escaping during the pumping process. I cannot imagine that it adds that much to the price. We have had them for years. I doubt that this has contributed to this price jump.

My personal, uneducated opinion is that the producers/suppliers etc charge us more because they know that we will pay it - and they can blame it on all sorts of things. FYI Costco is much less expensive than other gas stations, and gas available on the reservations near the casinos is even less than that, so we have a good idea of the actual cost. We are being ripped off somewhere along the way - probably all along the entire process to be honest.

What I am asking really can't be answered. I am not asking you to compare the 70s & 80s to today. What I am asking is, if you were using the same blends as the rest of the country, would your air quality be that much worse than it is now? Maybe, but how much and is that amount worth it? Basically, how much cleaner is the CA summer blend vs the blend that everyone else uses? The special blend isn't the only reason that emissions are better; the ICE has gotten better and exhaust systems are more efficient. There are other reasons you are paying more, that is that California has some of the highest gas taxes in the country. Gas is cheaper on reservations because they don't have to collect the taxes and Costco has its own reasons for selling gas at or below their cost. Gas at Costco is most often cheaper than anywhere else in other parts of the country too.

As for refining special blends, I am sure there are additional markups because they know people in CA will pay it, or have to pay it. But there are also extra costs related to refining a special blend. I am sure there are costs related to materials and equipment that isn't as easily interchangeable with other refineries. CA is also more dependant on foreign imports than oil that can be extracted domestically. One article I read also cited a "surcharge" related to the Torrence refinery fire. While this caused short term supply issues, prices didn't seem to come down as much as they went up. So there is a $0.30-$0.50 "surcharge" there. Perhaps the added costs to prevent additional issues? Maybe they are trying to pay for the repairs? Mitigate for future ones? Or as you ask, perhaps just a ripoff "fee".

 

[emeryjre]

We are paying captive audience, non competitive, oligopoly pricing
California adds taxes to this situation as well
Gas prices are a factor in the rise of EVs, but only if you can charge at home
If you have to pay to charge at drive up stations, your cost savings vs gasoline are not as good
Gas prices were a factor in purchasing a hybrid in 2016
I decided I wanted to lower the percentage of my income going to auto expenses
I had always driven sports oriented, high maintenance, low gas mileage cars
A Prius plug in was the complete opposite

 

[emeryjre]

A TV Station's news story about gas prices from yesterday

Here's why gasoline prices in California are skyrocketing

The price of a gallon of gas has risen about 80 cents over the past month. That pinch is being felt by thousands across California.

abc30.com

 

[rickandcindy23]

Gas taxes play a part:

How High are Gas Taxes in Your State?

California pumps out the highest state gas tax rate of 77.9 cents per gallon (cpg), followed by Illinois (66.5 cpg) and Pennsylvania (62.2 cpg).

taxfoundation.org

 

[zentraveler]

Shell station at 16th and Valencia (San Francisco) yesterday: $6.40 - $6.80.

 

[klpca]

Gas taxes play a part:

How High are Gas Taxes in Your State?

California pumps out the highest state gas tax rate of 77.9 cents per gallon (cpg), followed by Illinois (66.5 cpg) and Pennsylvania (62.2 cpg).

taxfoundation.org

I'm in the car (lol - just burning through the money!) and I can't study that but it looks like the tax differential accounts for under $1 per gallon yet we are paying at least $2 per gallon more, at a minimum. Some of the difference is our summer blend which will go away soon, but I still wonder about the rest. It is going into someone's pocket I'll bet.

 

[Tia]

......I still wonder about the rest. It is going into someone's pocket I'll bet.

I'd agree someone's plural pockets. Just like groceries and airline tickets right now. We are traveling currently in a small Iowa town, groceries are higher then home. Small town pricing maybe at Hy-Vee? Tho will say the small town dining in the area is lots less expensive then home. Sit down sports bar/grill had a 1/4lbs burger and fries the other night for $7.50 and the Tito's was $5. Compared to home $14 burger and $7 Tito's.
Gas is $3.59/gallon regular 87octane

 

[lynne]

The last line says it all. Air quality is night and day different between now and my childhood. I grew up in Yucaipa at the base of the mountains. In the afternoon the smog would roll in and obscure everything including the mountains. My lungs hurt when I breathed in and there were many days when we were kept inside due to smog. Remember "smog alerts"? The 70s were wild. I am unhappy about the prices for sure, but thankful that smog no longer dictates my activity level.

Totally agree. In the early 80's, I worked on Wilshire Blvd with a clear view of the Hollywood sign. Most days, the sign was not visible due to the smog being so thick. On our most recent visit to S. California, we went to Costco for gas and the price was $5.199/gallon, which was still more than our Costco gas in Kona.

 

[pedro47]

Gas at Costco in Newport News, Va was $3.29 per gallon for regular Gasoline.

Back many, many, many years ago I can remember paying $0.29 for regular gasoline .

 

[Superchief]

The summer blends are a key driver of higher gas prices in the Midwest also. Major cities all have different summer blend requirements, so there are only a few refineries that produce each blend and they have no competition. I don't understand why Columbus, OH is different than Cincinnati or Indianapolis. The studies I've seen show that summer blends do not reduce pollution and some are worse than the non-summer blends. Gas prices tend to go down in our area when summer blends are no longer required because there are more refinery options. The other thing that happens around here is that refineries appear to take turns shutting down for maintenance issues, further driving prices up.

 

[susieq]

Gas at Costco in Newport News, Va was $3.29 per gallon for regular Gasoline.

Back many, many, many years ago I can remember paying $0.29 for regular gasoline .

LOL.....................

Ah ... the memories! I remember as a kid the gas wars of $0.18 and $0.19 a gallon, and in HS, riding around all night, pulling into a GS & everybody ante up a dime!!!! Those were the days my friend................ we thought they'd never end .............. (Sang it didn't ya??)

 

[pedro47]

LOL.....................

Ah ... the memories! I remember as a kid the gas wars of $0.18 and $0.19 a gallon, and in HS, riding around all night, pulling into a GS & everybody ante up a dime!!!! Those were the days my friend................ we thought they'd never end .............. (Sang it didn't ya??)

Paying $1.00 for a tank of gasoline was a big deal back in the day. LOL

 

[Bucky]

Paid $3.699 for premium 93 in Myrtle Beach today.

 

[pedro47]

Paid $3.23

for reg gasoline today.