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Just smoke and mirrors. They are certainly not sending it east for a cheaper price, to china for a better price maybe.
My guess is if there were more in the system, it would be cheaper. Peak Oil is a world problem that will increase upward pressure on price. Get prepaired for higher prices. Regards
How much is the pre-tax price of gas in places like China and India, anyway?
Still sitting at $2.85 up here in State College.
Paraffin keeps, get some
Small-scale Wood Gasifiers
http://www.colostate.edu/programs/cowood/New_site/Useful_links/Links/Wood-gasifi- ers.htm
The ream job on consumers in china and india is way worse.
Could be worse, eh?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
All market forces in action, no doubt.
No-name at the car wash: $2.72
East Coast and no-name at the quickie mart: $2.73
Many other places, including Exxon, Citgo, Texaco, Hess: $2.75
So, was the run-up caused by the mandate to phase out MTBE and phase in ethanol as an additive?
$2.399 to $2.85 on other side of town!
Local area is $2.50 before any discounts.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
On the plus side, I didn't see ANY upward movements over the Memorial Day weekend.
One exception, though -- there's a very odd-duck Exxon down the street. By "odd duck" I mean it has just two full-serve pumps kind of crammed in between the sidewalk and a bizarre all-in-one car wash / oil change joint.
They are charging $3.49 for regular (and an obscene 3.59 for diesel; they're the only purveyors of diesel in the immediate neighborhood, I'm pretty sure).
Here's the thing, though -- they are always crowded with non-diesel cars, even with multiple other stations right nearby charging at least 25c less. How is this possible? I guess it could be the appeal of full serve, but that doesn't seem right.
Does Exxon have some kind of bonus program/credit card affiliation I'm not aware of that could account for this?
What surprises me is that the place is not always busy, it's not out of the way, or hard to get to.
Rocky
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The moral: This is what happens when you elect leaders who are owned by big business. They milk us little people dry because they can and we can't stop them.
Prices jerked up again at my local Chevron, to 3.25. Looks like the west coast is really getting hit by super-gouge. Highest price in Seattle proper today is 3.59, with countless over 3.30. Market forces at work, of course.
plekto, i think your statement about who gets profit of $2 per gallon is way inaccurate.
$3/gallon fuel is a bargain. let's enjoy it while we can!
i'll think fuel is getting close to "the right price" when i see people turn off their engines while they go into the coffee/donut store each morning. i mean, if you are going to leave the engine running, go to the drive-through! aaaaagh!
it's just one more pet in my menagerie of pet peeves.
Exxon alone is looking at 20-30 billion in profit(after expenses and such, even) for this one year alone. That's utterly insane levels of gouging. It's affecting prices for everything in our economy and driving inflation up.
IF it were government taxes, say, to balance the debt, it would be worth it - but we get nothing back.
Trickle-down economics only works if the wealthy spend it and distribute it evenly. Too bad they never have in all of human history and won't this time, either.
Here's a dumb question...you know that old trick of turning the air cleaner top upside down so that it can suck in more air? Does that do anything for fuel economy?
You can't turn the air cleaner top upside down on a 1985 Silverado, because of the way it's shaped. It won't fit under the hood upside down, and the butterfly nut won't reach the stem in the center. However, the air cleaner top from a 1968 Dodge Dart fits quite nicely! :shades:
Well, I calculated 11.2 mpg on this last tank, which was up from about 9 on the tank before that. I'll be curious to see if the air cleaner trick really does anything or not.
A better trick is to swap out the "chip" in the engine. Most are designed to increase power, but I've seen a few that are designed to maximize economy. That and of course, proper tire pressure and wax your car
Heard of it, but remind me which trim level I should get if I need to haul a cubic yard of topsoil, pick up a new fridge, run a load of firewood down to my Mom's place, etc? :P
Oh, in checking the odometer, I think it's about 5% slow. Either that, or my Intrepid is 5% fast. A distance the Intrepid records as 1.8 miles is only 1.7 with the truck. So that 11.2 is really more like 11.8. :shades:
Actually Andre, this would be a good time to give us a rundown on your fleet, and to keep on topic, your gas mileage from each one!
Back when it was newer, I know this truck easily broke 20 mpg on the highway, and would get around 15-16 around town. But back then, "around town", meant my Granddad running errands, or me borrowing it and driving it to the U of MD, which is about 9-10 miles away.
This afternoon, after work I ran some errands, and went into DC to see some friends, so I've put about 40 miles on it since I filled up earlier today. Surprisingly, the gas gauge hasn't even budged, although it's normally wildly innacurate anyway. Seems to take forever to get to a half-tank, but then it drops really fast. And since I put the Dodge Dart air cleaner on it, performance has improved big-time. I'm starting to wonder if there's something like an old bird nest clogging the forced-air intake that runs from the front of the truck to the air cleaner, which was its only source of air until I put the Dart air cleaner top on, and opened it up. That would probably explain alot, because a 305 really shouldn't be getting mileage THAT bad! And I can't imagine that just changing the air cleaner top to something that is freer breathing is going to make THAT big of a difference!
As for my other cars, well here they are, with my rough estimate of their economy...
1957 DeSoto Firedome 341-2bbl: 13-14 around town, maybe 16 on the highway
1967 Pontiac Catalina 400-4bbl: 9-10 around town, 17-18 highway (2.56 rear)
1968 Dodge Dart 318-2bbl: 13/17 (sad that the convertible could outrun it, outweighs it by about 1000 lb, yet gets the same or better fuel economy)
1976 Pontiac Grand LeMans 350-2bbl: 10 local, 15-16 highway.
1979 Chrysler New Yorker 360-2bbl: 9-10 local, 14-15 highway (once I clocked 22 on the highway, but that had to be a fluke, like maybe I didn't fill the tank all the way?
1985 Chevy Silverado 305-4bbl: 9-11 local, haven't taken it on a good highway cruise in ages, so I dunno anymore.
2000 Intrepid 2.7: EPA 20/29, and that's about what it gets, although with my commute I've gotten it below 18 on occasion.
Even though most of my cars are comparatively thirsty, I think my short commute makes it worse that most people would get. I'd be kinda curious to borrow my uncle's '03 Corolla, to see what kind of mileage it would get in my type of driving. I think it's EPA-rated at 32/38, and he usually gets 34-38 in his mostly highway driving. I wonder if I'd still be able to break 30?
The thing gets ~30 miles for $1 of home-filled CNG. This makes a Prius look like a Mack truck in terms of cost per mile and pollution. My cousin's husband has one and it's amazing for commuting. Actually *cleans* the dirty air here while you drive.(Los Angeles, naturally)
AND - you can get one used for about 10-12K.
1989 Cadillac Brougham City = 17 Highway = 24
2002 Cadillac Seville STS City = 17 Highway = 26
Does the Dart still run?
I paid $2.71 a gal. for slop in Amarillo Shell I have a hard time feeding my lawn mower. :surprise:
Rocky
I've always wondered about that...how much fuel does it actually take to make a given amount of electricity to power something like a mower, weed whacker, or electric car?
I think my electricity currently costs about 8 cents per kilowatt. So 37.5 kilowatts is about the same price as a gallon of gas.
Last month my electric bill was about $75, which would come to around 940 kilowatts. That's also about the same cost as 25 gallons of gasoline. I wonder if 25 gallons fueling an electric generator would have provided all my electric needs for the past month?
FWIW though, I can cut my grandmother's yard and my yard with the tractor, about 2.5-3 hours of riding time, and I'd guess it takes about 1.5 gallons of gasoline.
I'll move it around in the yard every once in awhile, using the truck to either pull it or push it. Another trick I wouldn't be doing with a Yaris! :P
Oh, update on the truck...as of this morning I've gone 50 miles on this tank, and the fuel gauge needle has barely moved. Normally by this time it would be down to about 3/4. I pulled the air intake duct apart to look for bird nests or other blockage, or anything else, but there was nothing there. Having the Dart's air cleaner top on there really seems to have helped performance once it's warmed up, but, and I had a gut feeling this would happen, the sucker bucks and sputters when it's warming up in the morning. I might be able to get away with this trick in the warmer months, but when it starts getting cold, I'll probably have to put its regular air cleaner top on.
I still can't believe that this trick is really helping fuel economy that much, but I guess I'll find out for sure the next time I fill up!
Ugh, I don't even want to THINK about hurricane season. Are they calling for another rough one this year?
Neways house your caddy doing on the octane booster ?
Rocky