By now many people who have been searching for cheap gas on the internet have heard or come across websites that display where you can find the cheapest gas in your area. Probably the most well known site is gasbuddy.com Now, I don't how useful a website like this to everyone, but here is Michigan we get ridiculous gas prices fluctuations. For example, last night gas averaged $3.84 per gallon and when I went to lunch today it was up to $3.99. So for my area, it's well worth looking for the station that hasn't adjusted there prices just yet.
The site itself works on a basic premise; people log into gasbuddy with an account and post gas prices at specific gas stations. That's basically it in a nutshell, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is a bit more to there price gathering techniques.
Whats nice about the site is that you do not need to register to check prices in your area, all you need to do is enter your zip code and bammo, you have a listing of gas stations, locations, and the last price submitted by the user. In my opinion, the site (which is pretty fast) is a little 'busy' looking when you first glance at it. The information is pretty much in the middle, and the ads are not overwhelming (which is nice) but the overall flow of the site throws allot of information tables at you in one setting. Maybe some more defined table borders or something would break it up better, I don't know, but I'm not going to deny the site works very well and is definitely worth taking a look at.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Cheap Gas | The Future of Hybrid, Diesel and Electric Vehicles
Toyota is will be selling there next-generation Prius for the 2009 model year. With gas prices on a never ending spiral upwards, it leaves little doubt that this new Prius, which gets even better gas mileage then its predecessor, will be one of the best selling cars in America for the next few years. With that being said, what should we expect in the short term as far as hybrid or alternative fuel technologies? As your well aware, nothing breeds competition like success so be prepared for an onslaught of hybrid, diesel and electric cars to come trickling in from all over the world for the next decade.
First up to bat will be the Chevrolet Volt from General Motors. Even though people are still arguing if GM ‘killed’ the electric car when they discontinued production of the EV1 earlier this decade, there’s no doubt they are trying to revolutionize the electric vehicle market with the Volt. The Volt is still in the planning stages as of this writing and as such is far from a finished product. GM is heading head all-out into this venture as they are tying up a lot of monetary and human capital on the project. According to there website “We have devoted significant resources to this project: Over 200 engineers and 50 designers are working on the Volt alone, and another 400 are working on related subsystems and electric components. That’s how important we think this is.” Honestly, it could be safe to safe there future may depend on electric vehicles to keep them from going under. The reality is that the consumer SUV and full-size truck market is pretty much gone at this point, and considering that trucks sales provided the bulk of GM, and Ford’s, domestic profits it’s no wonder that GM is throwing so many resources at electric vehicle research and development. Luckily for GM, it would be impossible to predict the Volt being anything but a wild success for them. The car is projected to be able to travel up to 40 miles on a single charge, well within the range of the average Americans daily commute to work and back. GM is theorizing that if used under 40 miles per day, the car will never use a drop of gas. The only immediate downside is that the Volt, with a delivery target of 2010, is expected to price north of $40,000US. At that price, it could take quite a few years until the technology is seen in an entry level vehicle, and that’s what GM need to compete with the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.
What about diesel technology? In Europe, diesel is poised to overtake gasoline as the primary fuel used in automobiles, even at high diesel prices due to there increased fuel efficiency. One would think it would make sense to foreign automotive manufactures to import those efficient diesel models to North America, but there are a few reasons that they don’t. For starters, much of the existing diesel technology has to be modified in order to meet stringent US emissions regulations, and the other reason being that the demand for diesel cars in the US has historically not been high enough to justify the added expense of meeting all those US mandates. This may all change, however, as rising gas prices in the United States is starting to make diesel powered vehicles look more attractive, even with diesel fuel costing more that gasoline in North America. The renewed interest in diesel powered vehicles has prompted American manufactures, particularly GM and Chrysler, to start serious development of diesel hybrid vehicles. The primary emphasis will be on commercial trucks to try and get those over 30 miles per gallon on average; the technology is easily scalable to smaller trucks and cars as well.
With ever rising fuel costs we can expect to see decreased demand for gaso in the United States. In the past, this has usually had the impact of lowering fuel costs as demand drops, but with developing nations ever increasing fuel demands this has offset our decrease in fuel consumption, pushing fuel prices even higher. The question is; will these prices ever stabilize? Yes. But when will that happen, and at what price? It is doubtful that anyone has the answer at this point, but it is safe to say that we are at the beginning of a consumer driven boom in alternative fuel vehicles that could possible spell the extinction of the purely gas driven vehicle.
First up to bat will be the Chevrolet Volt from General Motors. Even though people are still arguing if GM ‘killed’ the electric car when they discontinued production of the EV1 earlier this decade, there’s no doubt they are trying to revolutionize the electric vehicle market with the Volt. The Volt is still in the planning stages as of this writing and as such is far from a finished product. GM is heading head all-out into this venture as they are tying up a lot of monetary and human capital on the project. According to there website “We have devoted significant resources to this project: Over 200 engineers and 50 designers are working on the Volt alone, and another 400 are working on related subsystems and electric components. That’s how important we think this is.” Honestly, it could be safe to safe there future may depend on electric vehicles to keep them from going under. The reality is that the consumer SUV and full-size truck market is pretty much gone at this point, and considering that trucks sales provided the bulk of GM, and Ford’s, domestic profits it’s no wonder that GM is throwing so many resources at electric vehicle research and development. Luckily for GM, it would be impossible to predict the Volt being anything but a wild success for them. The car is projected to be able to travel up to 40 miles on a single charge, well within the range of the average Americans daily commute to work and back. GM is theorizing that if used under 40 miles per day, the car will never use a drop of gas. The only immediate downside is that the Volt, with a delivery target of 2010, is expected to price north of $40,000US. At that price, it could take quite a few years until the technology is seen in an entry level vehicle, and that’s what GM need to compete with the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.
What about diesel technology? In Europe, diesel is poised to overtake gasoline as the primary fuel used in automobiles, even at high diesel prices due to there increased fuel efficiency. One would think it would make sense to foreign automotive manufactures to import those efficient diesel models to North America, but there are a few reasons that they don’t. For starters, much of the existing diesel technology has to be modified in order to meet stringent US emissions regulations, and the other reason being that the demand for diesel cars in the US has historically not been high enough to justify the added expense of meeting all those US mandates. This may all change, however, as rising gas prices in the United States is starting to make diesel powered vehicles look more attractive, even with diesel fuel costing more that gasoline in North America. The renewed interest in diesel powered vehicles has prompted American manufactures, particularly GM and Chrysler, to start serious development of diesel hybrid vehicles. The primary emphasis will be on commercial trucks to try and get those over 30 miles per gallon on average; the technology is easily scalable to smaller trucks and cars as well.
With ever rising fuel costs we can expect to see decreased demand for gaso in the United States. In the past, this has usually had the impact of lowering fuel costs as demand drops, but with developing nations ever increasing fuel demands this has offset our decrease in fuel consumption, pushing fuel prices even higher. The question is; will these prices ever stabilize? Yes. But when will that happen, and at what price? It is doubtful that anyone has the answer at this point, but it is safe to say that we are at the beginning of a consumer driven boom in alternative fuel vehicles that could possible spell the extinction of the purely gas driven vehicle.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Cheap Gas | 2009 Toyota Prius Preoder
So I've been thinking about buying a 2009 Prius but I know, especially with gas prices in my area, that they are going to be next to impossible to find. This is especially true since they reportedly get better gas mileage then the version before it. So what's to do? Try and pre-order a new Prius.
Well, I didn't have much luck at my local Toyota dealer so far. They told me it had something to do with no firm production date or price at this point, but to keep checking back with them. My gas is that they plan on taking Toyota Prius pre-orders in the fall, since that will be closer to the new models 2009 Detroit Auto Show debut. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Well, I didn't have much luck at my local Toyota dealer so far. They told me it had something to do with no firm production date or price at this point, but to keep checking back with them. My gas is that they plan on taking Toyota Prius pre-orders in the fall, since that will be closer to the new models 2009 Detroit Auto Show debut. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Cheap Gas | 2009 Toyota Prius Review
There's a new version of the Toyota Prius coming out as a 2009 model, and if gas prices continue to skyrocket at there current pace expect the car to sell out before they even hit the lot. Why? Even though the Prius is one of the most fuel efficient vehicles sold in the US, the 2009 model will have more power and be even more fuel efficient then the previous version. Plus, it looks cooler then the old Prius as well.
Rumors are that the new Prius will exceed 50mpg (although I know people who say theres can do that already, if they drive it conservatively) and will be cheaper to buy then the current model. You really cant go wrong there. With no cheap gas in site, expect these things to be hard to find. If your looking to buy a Prius right now the pickings are slim (at least in my state) so pre-order if you think you want one.
Rumors are that the new Prius will exceed 50mpg (although I know people who say theres can do that already, if they drive it conservatively) and will be cheaper to buy then the current model. You really cant go wrong there. With no cheap gas in site, expect these things to be hard to find. If your looking to buy a Prius right now the pickings are slim (at least in my state) so pre-order if you think you want one.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Cheap-Gas | Using Water for Gas Review
So if you're like me you may have been looking for fuel efficient cars or gas savings alternatives and ran across these ads for Water For Gas. Now, the theory for this system is that you can use this thing called a hydrolyser that eventually enrichens your fuel to be similar to premium. Your new premium fuel will then burn more efficiently, giving you better gas mileage.
Apparently you can buy either the plans for the entire setup or you can buy the individual components needed install the kit in sections. For example, you can by the hyrdolyser (which essentially separates the water into a gas called HHO) off the internet or you can make it using the instructions in the Water for Gas instructions.
Does it work? This guy claims it does, but it's not knocking out the 50% fuel mileage improvements the product seems to point to. On the other end of the spectrum, this wiki claims the theory is not sound and will not work. The best thing you can do is to research what you can and come up with your own conclusions.
Cheap-Gas | Are you selling your truck or SUV to save money?
A friend of mine put his pickup truck on the market a while back and it took three months to sell it. Why was he selling it? Because the seat hurt his back if he drove it for too long. As gas prices climb higher and higher you will start to see more people dumping there 4-wheel drive trucks and big SUV's in favor of small cars. Apparently this is the start of a trend.
So my first question is; are you, or do you know anyone that is selling there truck/SUV and buying a small car? The movement is picking up steam, and with a $4 per gallon gas national average on the horizon I suspect a year from now it will be a full blown epidemic. I know I've considered selling my 2005 Mustang time and again to buy something that gets better gas mileage, but my heart isn't completely into it.
Is it worth it? hat will all depend on how much you drive. Right now I average 288 miles driven per week. In my car that equates to about $210 per month in fuel costs. Yea, that's alot. I remember 12 years ago filling my VW GTI for $15 and driving a week and a half, but I digress. So let's say your car payment is $300 per month, fuel costs $200 per month and you also have to pay $100 per month in insurance. That's roughly $600 per month to drive a vehicle like mine. Now, if you sell your hot rod or pickup and buy a Honda Civic, expect to save around $80 per month in fuel. For most people that will be a real savings (if you buy a Toyota Prius then it's a huge savings).
So how does this bode for manufactures that sell alot of big pickups and SUV's? Not very well at all, at least until they retool to sell mid to small sized cars and crossover SUV's. It does mean that if your in the market for a truck you will get a great deal. A year from now you might even find new ones that have been on the lot for 6 months at half off, who knows. Either way, it's going to be a greatly changing landscape on American freeways in the next few years.
So my first question is; are you, or do you know anyone that is selling there truck/SUV and buying a small car? The movement is picking up steam, and with a $4 per gallon gas national average on the horizon I suspect a year from now it will be a full blown epidemic. I know I've considered selling my 2005 Mustang time and again to buy something that gets better gas mileage, but my heart isn't completely into it.
Is it worth it? hat will all depend on how much you drive. Right now I average 288 miles driven per week. In my car that equates to about $210 per month in fuel costs. Yea, that's alot. I remember 12 years ago filling my VW GTI for $15 and driving a week and a half, but I digress. So let's say your car payment is $300 per month, fuel costs $200 per month and you also have to pay $100 per month in insurance. That's roughly $600 per month to drive a vehicle like mine. Now, if you sell your hot rod or pickup and buy a Honda Civic, expect to save around $80 per month in fuel. For most people that will be a real savings (if you buy a Toyota Prius then it's a huge savings).
So how does this bode for manufactures that sell alot of big pickups and SUV's? Not very well at all, at least until they retool to sell mid to small sized cars and crossover SUV's. It does mean that if your in the market for a truck you will get a great deal. A year from now you might even find new ones that have been on the lot for 6 months at half off, who knows. Either way, it's going to be a greatly changing landscape on American freeways in the next few years.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
I think the Chevrolet Volt will be to expensive
I was going over the Wiki on the Chevrolet Volt and it looks like trouble. First off, I like the Chevrolet Volt, it's a cool looking car for a 'hybrid' (GM is insisting on calling it an electric vehicle, so whatever) and it looks practical for what it is. First a little background; the Chevrolet Volt is expected to debut in 2010 as an electric vehicle that will have a range of 40 miles on a single charge. This falls in line with the average commuters daily mileage of 33 miles and means that, in theory, you wouldn't have to worry about buying gas for the thing.
Original speculation was that the car was going to cost between 20 to 30 thousand dollars. In my opinion, that was the sweet spot. Considering how gas prices are on an upward spiral with no end in site and the fact that we will never see cheap gas again, that price range would make the Volt fly out of the showrooms. Will, recently Bob Lutz, CEO of GM, stated that the car would more then likely cost in the 30 to 40 thousand dollar range. Ouch, but the Toyota Prius was around thirty thousand or so when it's new model arrived, so were still with you. Lutz then stated that due to development cost's expect the car to cost around 48 thousand. Ok you lost me.
Why? I flat out cant afford that because I'm poor. And even if I could afford a payment on a $48000 car I wouldn't have to worry about gas prices as much as I do now, so it would not be high on my shopping list.
Ah well, they have to start somewhere. Hopefully they will have the technology standardized in a decade that people can by an electric Chevrolet Cobalt for $14,999 by 2018.
Original speculation was that the car was going to cost between 20 to 30 thousand dollars. In my opinion, that was the sweet spot. Considering how gas prices are on an upward spiral with no end in site and the fact that we will never see cheap gas again, that price range would make the Volt fly out of the showrooms. Will, recently Bob Lutz, CEO of GM, stated that the car would more then likely cost in the 30 to 40 thousand dollar range. Ouch, but the Toyota Prius was around thirty thousand or so when it's new model arrived, so were still with you. Lutz then stated that due to development cost's expect the car to cost around 48 thousand. Ok you lost me.
Why? I flat out cant afford that because I'm poor. And even if I could afford a payment on a $48000 car I wouldn't have to worry about gas prices as much as I do now, so it would not be high on my shopping list.
Ah well, they have to start somewhere. Hopefully they will have the technology standardized in a decade that people can by an electric Chevrolet Cobalt for $14,999 by 2018.
Chrysler offer $2.99 per gallon gas incentive
http://wot.motortrend.com/6245987/ad-watch/chryslers-lets-refuel-america-program-offers-299-gas/index.html
This is a real cool concept. Hopefully it will lure some customers back to Chrysler at $2.99 per gallon
This is a real cool concept. Hopefully it will lure some customers back to Chrysler at $2.99 per gallon
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Cheap Gas | Could we be sitting on a fuel bubble?
I remember when interest rates were falling in 2002 and all of a sudden, everyone and there brother wanted to buy a home. The Fed, reacting after the 9/11 tragedy, decided to lower interest rates at near historical rates in order to induce consumer spending. This has a profound effect on first time and bad credit home buyers as suddenly it looked like everyone could afford a home loan.
Since there were so many buyers on the market, home prices skyrocketed in most areas as people who normally could never afford a house found themselves getting loans for three or five times there average salary (or more) in order to get into the house they wanted.
Well, we all know how that story is playing out. The economy took a nosedive and homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages suddenly found themselves with a payment hovering at fifty percent more then they originally signed for. These people were then put in a position were they couldn't pay there mortgages and now there's a foreclosure crisis on our hands.
So what does this have to do with cheap gas? Well, what if speculation, a weakened dollar and lower then expected demand resulted in oil being overvalued. I'm not saying it is, and I doubt you would be able to find an economist at this point that would agree with that theory, but it is possible. Here's an article dated October 2007 where Russian Finance Minister says that oil is overvalued and that "Oil prices are at a speculative level and are being heated up by a host of conflicts in oil producing regions."
There is also this article where Exxon Chief Executive Rex Tillerson stated that he "cannot explain why we have $70 oil today. We are not having trouble finding oil. There is something else going on that I don't get." So, if oil is overvalued could we see a price correction at some breaking point, and what would that be? For most Americans, cheap gas had a set price, but the gas price roller coaster ride we have been on the last 5 years has made that cheap gas price rise up and up. As of this writing, gasoline is at $3.65 per gallon. If gas prices dropped to $3 people would be estatic, if it dropped even further to $2.50 per gallon it would pull us straight out of the economic doldrums we are currently in. But will it happen? I doubt we will ever see cheap gas as low as $2.50 per gallon again, but since we have even seen the high end of this gas price nightmare there's not telling what people will consider cheap gas in 2 or 3 years.
update 05.22.2008
Just to prove I'm not as dumb as I look, here's an interesting article I read today:
"Lehman's latest report - Is it a Bubble? - says commodity index funds have exploded from $70bn (£36bn) to $235bn since early 2006. This includes $90bn of fresh money. Energy takes the lion's share. Every $100m flow of investment money into oil lifts crude prices by 1.6pc, it said.
"We see many of the ingredients for a classic asset bubble," said Edward Morse, Lehman's oil expert."
Since there were so many buyers on the market, home prices skyrocketed in most areas as people who normally could never afford a house found themselves getting loans for three or five times there average salary (or more) in order to get into the house they wanted.
Well, we all know how that story is playing out. The economy took a nosedive and homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages suddenly found themselves with a payment hovering at fifty percent more then they originally signed for. These people were then put in a position were they couldn't pay there mortgages and now there's a foreclosure crisis on our hands.
So what does this have to do with cheap gas? Well, what if speculation, a weakened dollar and lower then expected demand resulted in oil being overvalued. I'm not saying it is, and I doubt you would be able to find an economist at this point that would agree with that theory, but it is possible. Here's an article dated October 2007 where Russian Finance Minister says that oil is overvalued and that "Oil prices are at a speculative level and are being heated up by a host of conflicts in oil producing regions."
There is also this article where Exxon Chief Executive Rex Tillerson stated that he "cannot explain why we have $70 oil today. We are not having trouble finding oil. There is something else going on that I don't get." So, if oil is overvalued could we see a price correction at some breaking point, and what would that be? For most Americans, cheap gas had a set price, but the gas price roller coaster ride we have been on the last 5 years has made that cheap gas price rise up and up. As of this writing, gasoline is at $3.65 per gallon. If gas prices dropped to $3 people would be estatic, if it dropped even further to $2.50 per gallon it would pull us straight out of the economic doldrums we are currently in. But will it happen? I doubt we will ever see cheap gas as low as $2.50 per gallon again, but since we have even seen the high end of this gas price nightmare there's not telling what people will consider cheap gas in 2 or 3 years.
update 05.22.2008
Just to prove I'm not as dumb as I look, here's an interesting article I read today:
"Lehman's latest report - Is it a Bubble? - says commodity index funds have exploded from $70bn (£36bn) to $235bn since early 2006. This includes $90bn of fresh money. Energy takes the lion's share. Every $100m flow of investment money into oil lifts crude prices by 1.6pc, it said.
"We see many of the ingredients for a classic asset bubble," said Edward Morse, Lehman's oil expert."
Monday, April 21, 2008
Cheap Gas in a Cheap Car
So you have 240,000 miles on your 1986 Volvo 740. You've used cheap gas the whole time you've owned it so you don't see any reason to use any better gas at this point in time, do you? Probably not, most owners wouldn't spend much money on any car that is worth less than a thousand dollars. Heck, most wont even vacuum it. But will cheap gas in an old bomber like that make matters worse?
Lets look at synthetic oil for example. I have heard people say that if you have a high mileage engine, using synthetic oil could make an old engine run better and last longer, but I have also heard that it is useless to use unless you started using it when the car was new. So, if cheap gas prices mean you can find some discount gas to put in your old car, should you use it?
As I have stated in other posts, there is conflicting evidence that there is any such thing as cheap gas from a quality perspective. Some groups will tell you that gas is gas and it's a waste of money buying more expensive fuels. Others people will say that certain gas stations carry premium fuel. If you decide to buy more expensive fuel that is your choice, but should you?
Well, if your cheap car is running poorly and has certain conditions, like spark knock, cheap gas can be a cause of that. You may want to try running a mid-grade or premium fuel a couple times to see if makes any difference. You could also look into buying a fuel additive to see if that helps with engine performance.
Where's The Cheap Gas At?
Lets look at synthetic oil for example. I have heard people say that if you have a high mileage engine, using synthetic oil could make an old engine run better and last longer, but I have also heard that it is useless to use unless you started using it when the car was new. So, if cheap gas prices mean you can find some discount gas to put in your old car, should you use it?
As I have stated in other posts, there is conflicting evidence that there is any such thing as cheap gas from a quality perspective. Some groups will tell you that gas is gas and it's a waste of money buying more expensive fuels. Others people will say that certain gas stations carry premium fuel. If you decide to buy more expensive fuel that is your choice, but should you?
Well, if your cheap car is running poorly and has certain conditions, like spark knock, cheap gas can be a cause of that. You may want to try running a mid-grade or premium fuel a couple times to see if makes any difference. You could also look into buying a fuel additive to see if that helps with engine performance.
Where's The Cheap Gas At?
Where are the cheap gas prices in California?
I found this off a government website as to why there are not cheap gas prices in California. I'll try to paraphrase it:
"The State of California operates its own reformulated gasoline program with more stringent requirements than Federally-mandated clean gasolines. In addition to the higher cost of cleaner fuel, there is a combined State and local sales and use tax of 7.25 percent on top of an 18.4 cent-per-gallon Federal excise tax and an 18.0 cent-per-gallon State excise tax.."
California prices are more variable than others because there are relatively few supply sources of its unique blend of gasoline outside the State.... Supplies could be obtained from some Gulf Coast and foreign refineries; however, California’s substantial distance from those refineries is such that any unusual increase in demand or reduction in supply results in a large price response in the market before relief supplies can be delivered."
That part I found pretty interesting. California is so far away from the Gulf of Mexico region that it is not cost effective to ship it to California. You can't have cheap gas when you have to transport it so far away.
"The State of California operates its own reformulated gasoline program with more stringent requirements than Federally-mandated clean gasolines. In addition to the higher cost of cleaner fuel, there is a combined State and local sales and use tax of 7.25 percent on top of an 18.4 cent-per-gallon Federal excise tax and an 18.0 cent-per-gallon State excise tax.."
California prices are more variable than others because there are relatively few supply sources of its unique blend of gasoline outside the State.... Supplies could be obtained from some Gulf Coast and foreign refineries; however, California’s substantial distance from those refineries is such that any unusual increase in demand or reduction in supply results in a large price response in the market before relief supplies can be delivered."
That part I found pretty interesting. California is so far away from the Gulf of Mexico region that it is not cost effective to ship it to California. You can't have cheap gas when you have to transport it so far away.
Cheap gas and it's effects on engines
With all the talk about cheap gas on this blog, we should talk about how cheap gas can possibly have a negative effect on your engine. after doing much research on the Internet I have found quite a few articles that state that cheap gas can cause all sorts of problems with your engine.
If you had my luck, you've gotten 'bad' gas before that caused problems with engine performance. I probably haven't had an issue in ten years with getting a batch of 'bad' gasoline, but I have experienced the issue before. What would happen is that the engine would either not start, start very hard, or run rough. Sometimes the effect of cheap gas in the tank would make the car run like it was missing a cylinder (in hindsight, the cars I drove ten years were so bad they may have been missing cylinders).
Now to make my previous point clear, when my engine ran rough I had purchased bad gas, not cheap gas. So I know that bad gas is out there, but is there such a thing as cheap gas? According to toptiergas.com, there definitely is. Top Tier Gasoline is an organization that claims to have a blessing of sorts from BMW, GM, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Audi. According to Top Tiers website, these manufactures agree with the claim current EPA standards are not enough to ensure optimal engine performance. The group has a listed of recommended gasoline retailers that Top Tier brands as superior gasoline.
But there are others who claim that there is no such thing as cheap gas and that all automobile fuel is similar. For example, the Alliance of Automobile Manufactures, an automotive trade group, conducts a bi-annual study of automobile fuels and "hasn't identified any quality differences based on geography or brand," says Alliance spokesman Charles Territo. But, he adds, "That's not to say that certain vehicles won't perform better with certain fuels."
Based on the information on hand, no one believes that there is a 'cheap gas', or sub par fuel out there. What groups like the Alliance of Automobile Manufactures and Top Tier argue about is whether or not there is a 'superior' gas available to consumers, and whether or not it is worth the extra money.
Where's the Cheap Gas At?
If you had my luck, you've gotten 'bad' gas before that caused problems with engine performance. I probably haven't had an issue in ten years with getting a batch of 'bad' gasoline, but I have experienced the issue before. What would happen is that the engine would either not start, start very hard, or run rough. Sometimes the effect of cheap gas in the tank would make the car run like it was missing a cylinder (in hindsight, the cars I drove ten years were so bad they may have been missing cylinders).
Now to make my previous point clear, when my engine ran rough I had purchased bad gas, not cheap gas. So I know that bad gas is out there, but is there such a thing as cheap gas? According to toptiergas.com, there definitely is. Top Tier Gasoline is an organization that claims to have a blessing of sorts from BMW, GM, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Audi. According to Top Tiers website, these manufactures agree with the claim current EPA standards are not enough to ensure optimal engine performance. The group has a listed of recommended gasoline retailers that Top Tier brands as superior gasoline.
But there are others who claim that there is no such thing as cheap gas and that all automobile fuel is similar. For example, the Alliance of Automobile Manufactures, an automotive trade group, conducts a bi-annual study of automobile fuels and "hasn't identified any quality differences based on geography or brand," says Alliance spokesman Charles Territo. But, he adds, "That's not to say that certain vehicles won't perform better with certain fuels."
Based on the information on hand, no one believes that there is a 'cheap gas', or sub par fuel out there. What groups like the Alliance of Automobile Manufactures and Top Tier argue about is whether or not there is a 'superior' gas available to consumers, and whether or not it is worth the extra money.
Where's the Cheap Gas At?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Where's the Cheap Gas at?
Finding cheap gas has been a top priority for people in the United States for the last five years, but it has only been in the last year or so that the issue has really started to substantially hurt your wallet. I remember back in 1991, at the start of the Gulf War when gas rose to about $1.30 per gallon in my area; people were throwing a total fit. Not that there wasn’t good cause for it since the average cost of a gallon of gas at that point hovered around one dollar per gallon. So in reality, this presented us with a 33% price hike over a period of a few months. At today’s prices, that would equate to a jump from $3.35 per gallon to $4.45 per gallon in a short amount of time.
The saying has been for quite some time that adjusted for inflation gasoline is still not at its all time historical high. The previous standard was set in 1981 with an adjusted price of $3.15 per gallon. That benchmark had been surpassed in 2007; now making gasoline the most expensive it has ever been in US history. So getting to the topic at hand; where is the cheap gasoline? This can be looked at in two ways. For one, why are gasoline prices at such records highs, and two, where can you find cheap gasoline, if you even can?
The first part of that question is a lot easier to answer then the second. One of the major reason fuel prices have gone up so high is the extra demand for fuel by developing countries. For example, China’s fuel consumption is responsible for over thirty eight percent of the total growth in world oil demand. Couple that with the rapidly rising Chinese currency versus the weakened American dollars and you can see that cheap gas is more prevalent in China, therefore the demand continues to go up.
The next part of the equation has to do with refining capacity. The refinery process is what turns crude oil into gasoline. In the 1980’s, there were over 300 refinery plants owned and operated by Big Oil in the United States. This really helped in maintaining cheap gas prices. That number is now down to under 175. The main reason for this? A lower amount of refineries keeps supply limited. And with a high demand that limited supply helps keep prices high. But big oil companies profits are not the entire story, as there profits account for only twenty nine percent of gas costs. There are several small and large players that have there hands on fuel prices as well. From the start, where oil is located and retrieved, to where a barrel of oil is sold on the open market, transported, refined, transported again, and then sold at your local gas station. There’s also a gasoline tax on every gallon of gas sold. In the last 15 years or so the gas tax accounted for almost fifty percent of every gallon sold, but now that number is down to around fifteen percent.
So will we ever see the return of cheap gas prices in the United States? We will probably never see $2 per gallon gasoline again, but it is possible they we may see a fuel price ‘bubble’ that may bring a price correction at some point in time. What would precede such an event? It could be such things as a strengthened US dollar, a substantial decrease in gasoline demand due to a substantial increase in high gas mileage vehicle purchases, or just a decrease in fossil fuel demands in general due to developments in alternate energy sources.
Is there anyplace to find cheap gas? You can start by visiting a gas price tracking website like gasbuddy.com or gaspricewatch.com. These websites allow you to search viewer submitted gas prices in your region, comparing average highs with average lows. Don’t expect to find any huge bargains, but it is a start if you’re looking to maximize your fuel budget. The next best choice would be to buy a used car that gets really good gas mileage. You can check fuel mileage ratings for a large variety of vehicles at the EPA’s website devoted to the subject.
The saying has been for quite some time that adjusted for inflation gasoline is still not at its all time historical high. The previous standard was set in 1981 with an adjusted price of $3.15 per gallon. That benchmark had been surpassed in 2007; now making gasoline the most expensive it has ever been in US history. So getting to the topic at hand; where is the cheap gasoline? This can be looked at in two ways. For one, why are gasoline prices at such records highs, and two, where can you find cheap gasoline, if you even can?
The first part of that question is a lot easier to answer then the second. One of the major reason fuel prices have gone up so high is the extra demand for fuel by developing countries. For example, China’s fuel consumption is responsible for over thirty eight percent of the total growth in world oil demand. Couple that with the rapidly rising Chinese currency versus the weakened American dollars and you can see that cheap gas is more prevalent in China, therefore the demand continues to go up.
The next part of the equation has to do with refining capacity. The refinery process is what turns crude oil into gasoline. In the 1980’s, there were over 300 refinery plants owned and operated by Big Oil in the United States. This really helped in maintaining cheap gas prices. That number is now down to under 175. The main reason for this? A lower amount of refineries keeps supply limited. And with a high demand that limited supply helps keep prices high. But big oil companies profits are not the entire story, as there profits account for only twenty nine percent of gas costs. There are several small and large players that have there hands on fuel prices as well. From the start, where oil is located and retrieved, to where a barrel of oil is sold on the open market, transported, refined, transported again, and then sold at your local gas station. There’s also a gasoline tax on every gallon of gas sold. In the last 15 years or so the gas tax accounted for almost fifty percent of every gallon sold, but now that number is down to around fifteen percent.
So will we ever see the return of cheap gas prices in the United States? We will probably never see $2 per gallon gasoline again, but it is possible they we may see a fuel price ‘bubble’ that may bring a price correction at some point in time. What would precede such an event? It could be such things as a strengthened US dollar, a substantial decrease in gasoline demand due to a substantial increase in high gas mileage vehicle purchases, or just a decrease in fossil fuel demands in general due to developments in alternate energy sources.
Is there anyplace to find cheap gas? You can start by visiting a gas price tracking website like gasbuddy.com or gaspricewatch.com. These websites allow you to search viewer submitted gas prices in your region, comparing average highs with average lows. Don’t expect to find any huge bargains, but it is a start if you’re looking to maximize your fuel budget. The next best choice would be to buy a used car that gets really good gas mileage. You can check fuel mileage ratings for a large variety of vehicles at the EPA’s website devoted to the subject.
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