I paid $2.459/gallon for 87 octane unleaded (Exxon) gasoline in Baton Rouge, LA on 9-11-05. Although supply was a problem, prices never went above $2.639 in this area. I'm a little confused about why Philadelphia would be hit so hard by gas prices when they were completely unaffected by the hurricane. I personally know of four major oil refineries in that area (Valero - Paulsboro, NJ), (Sunoco - Marcus Hook, PA, Philadelphia, PA and Westville, NJ) unaffected by the hurricane and there are probably many more than that.
I have to say I've never seen "Ultra" gas sold anywhere I go. 94 octane? never seen it.
The highest I've seen is 93 octane..... 91 in California. I drive several times a year across country California tofrom Tenn and back. I've never seen Ultra on my route and my cars use premium.
Just wondering, why would a person need 94 octane vs 93?
Mark
2010 Land Rover LR4, 2013 Honda CR-V, 2009 Bentley GTC, 1990 MB 500SL, 2001 MB S500, 2007 Lincoln TC, 1964 RR Silver Cloud III, 1995 MB E320 Cab., 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach
Sunoco Ultra 94 is sold at Sunoco stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware as far as I know. I run my cars on either it or Amoco Ultimate 93 if I can't find it.
Driving into town this morning, I saw 87 dropping about 4 cents in a lot of places to $2.85. On the way back to the ranch, I passed a station raising only premium by a dime to $3.19 while keeping 87 at $2.89.
I still have "PRE KATRINA" gas in my Prius so I am trying to wean it until prices keep dropping. Definitely a huge disparity between stations. Of interest is that Gulf is the cheapest gas. Any idea why?
Gulf- $2.99 reg
Shell- $3.39 reg
I am predicting a national average of $2.48 by Oct 31.
You can advance the timing in your engine, to eke out a couple more hp. On a racetrack, you want three-digit octane.
(In WWII, the Germans had to use 87 or 89 octane gas for their Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs. I don't think that's on the exact same octane scale, but the Americans could feel their P-51 Mustangs 110-octane gasoline, and that made an important performance difference.)
In Fremont, CA (near San Jose) regular is down to $2.95 at the Chevron near my house. Small drop, but now it's under $3!
I noticed the price dropped in Columbus, GA (100 mi SW of Atlanta on the Alabama border) today to about $2.84 for 87 octane. Add about 10 cents for each upgrade. It was about $3.11 several days ago.
In the small community I live in there are four gas stations/quickie marts. For regualr unleaded gasoline the current prices are $2.96 a gallon. It has been the case that the higher octane gas is actually the same price, or lower, becaise (I am guessing) it is ethanol. Being in the heart of corn/soybean & ADM country I guess plays a part in that.
The much promoted E-85 ethanol gasonline is no longer a cheap (er) alternative since it is now $2.89 per gallon. As recently as June the E-85 was consistantly .30 to .60 cents per gallon cheaper than regular unleaded.
I have read in recent weeks that the much promoted E-85 is a losing cause for Illinois producers. I guess it actually costs more to produce it than what it can be sold at. Perhaps that is an early problem that will iron out in time. But it can not be too encouraging to those who have invested heavily into it.
This past weekend, while visiting in the Saint Louis Missouri metro area, I saw regular unleaded gasoline for a low of $2.73 to $2.85 per gallon. Ofcourse, when I returned home, the prices were still at $3.09 per gallon.
.....how prices can jump $1 a gallon overnight, but when the price should and could come back down just as quickly, it usually takes weeks for the price to come down A PORTION of the amount it increased? They think they're so sly with the way they manipulate prices, but it's still gouging no matter how they do it.
I'm not so sure I'd lay the blame on the oil companies per se. We did have an earlier post in this topic that had an explanation about why prices go up fast and come down slow. I don't LIKE the explanation, but it made a convoluted sense. The market where the prices are set is NOT the one that takes place at the pump, it's in the commodities market.
Here's a copy of the post:
#2296 of 2616 Re: Really and truly [pf_flyer] by kcram HOST Jul 07, 2005 (9:27 pm) Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 07, 2005 1:52 pm)
I can give you this answer, but you may not believe me, or like it. I know this only because my dad's best friend owned gas stations for 40 years.
A lot of people complain that the fuel in the holding tank is paid for, so why does the price go up daily on the same fuel? And that is true, the delivered fuel is already paid for. Here's the reason the price changes: the price at the pump reflects what it will cost the service station to replace that fuel. And since gasoline futures can change daily, even hourly, pump prices will often change to match. This is also the reason prices don't come down as fast as they rise... the service station owner can't take the chance that a brief downturn will last until he places his next order.
I really don't mind that they base the pricing at the pump on the "price ahead" (for lack of a better term, but I think that it should work the same in both directions. Personally, I don't see what would be wrong with taking a delivery at a price and selling the product at a price until the next delivery. if the price has changed, certainly the retail price can reflect that. But to say that the price has to go up because the next time it's delivered it's going to be more expensive and then to say it can't be lowered because the expected lower price MIGHT not hold strikes me as wrong. But the core of the problem was seen BEFORE any Katrina damage happened. Prices spiked based on what MIGHT happen. And that didn't happen at the oil company offices, that was strictly a futures market deal.
.....then oil companies should rebate that extra money back to the stations to then be passed along to the consumer instead of just pocketing it as additional profit. Not good business.
I did not see these prices for myself, but there is another website where people can report gas prices. Please note that the prices I report here are 87 octane with ethanol. The majority of stations in this area were today selling for $2.79 per gallon. However, there was one station selling at $2.56 and another at $2.67. The highest price for this particular octane was $3.09 and that was right after Katrina hit. It seems the prices are steadily going down every few days.
local Shell station dropped a few cents per gallon, down to $3.079/$3.159/$3.219. So it's coming down, little by little.
I had to run up to Gambrills, MD last nite to get my truck out of the shop. Gas tank is replaced, so between it not leaking anymore and not getting water in the system anymore, hopefully it'll get better economy. Although now the fast idle is sticking, so I have to really gun it to make it kick down...I'm sure that's really going to help my hypermiling efforts! Anywho, there's a Citgo up there, on the Route 3 median, where gas was down to $2.899/$2.999/$3.099! Cheapest around, too; in general most sations up that way were 20-30 cents more.
...haven't budged in Philly all week. They seem to be stuck at $2.989/$2.999 for regular with Lukoil asking a ridiculous $3.199 for regular. I imagine business has fallen off there.
ok, the oil companies are the rich ones here, they only drive up the prices to make an profit, trust me i know i have done some research on this, the oil companies are very rich in deed...........maybe if they dropped the price in half they would be able to make even more money because that is when ppl will start purchasing more as it is more affordable, yah sure the the katrina situation is part of the blame but the other part is the oil companies are hiking prices because they know the usa is going to freak out and buy a hole bunch of gas because they think that we are going to run out of it, ppl the U.S. has alot of gas on reserves just in case it does happen, did you know that the gas stations are barely making any profit from selling gas, even when the gas avarge was $1.25/gallon and ppl i have no clue why the gas prices are the only thing in the spot light as it is not the only thing that is rasing in price, any thing that you buy is going up because of the gas prices being so high that other companies are forst to raise to level out the cost of transporting goods due to gas.. i am a csr/collector for an major auto finance company and the customers i talk every tell me on how much their busnesses are suffering because of the gas prices....if every one in the USA would not buy gas for one day the oil companies would loose out on alot of money and that is because of how much of it is sold each day....and ppl wonder why i drive an electric car and let my gas powerd sit at home, the only time i would use the gas one is to go on vaction.
Sheetz 87 - $2.599/gal. -- only 10 cents more than pre-Katrina.
Alas, my Frontier was running close to "E," so I half-filled the tank yesterday with $2.699 gas. First time since Katrina I put gas in. The Camry still has about 3/8 of a tank of pre-panic gas.
Meanwhile, so-called "Lowest Price," which had shot up to $3.499 at the height of the panic, is back down to $2.689 for 87.
jsjm17, everything I know about the gasoline industry you can put in a thimble. But one thing is for sure, if people stop buying gas for one day is not going to do zip.
What will make a difference is if people actually don't buy gas for a week or more, everybody! Also what will help, is if we continue to use less over a long period of time. Kudos to you for driving an electric!
Even if the oil companies cut oil prices in half, the demand would increase but the refineries probably couldn't keep up which would clog the system. It would put us right back where we are today, at maximum capacity.
I see fuel prices falling here in southern California as well. Premium seems to be about $3.09--- $3.16 depending on the station (as of yesterday). I will need to fill up today so, hopefully, it has fallen overnight.
Mark
2010 Land Rover LR4, 2013 Honda CR-V, 2009 Bentley GTC, 1990 MB 500SL, 2001 MB S500, 2007 Lincoln TC, 1964 RR Silver Cloud III, 1995 MB E320 Cab., 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach
pf... there are lots more flavors of ice cream i want to try! speaking of gas prices, if you take the dubois exit, do not take a left to get gas. back when i bought gas at sheetz(taking a right) for 2.56, the station if you took a left was was 2.94! this was mid august.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
OK... it's another Penn State home football weekend, so I'm conditioned to expext prices to be bumped up as 100,000 folks drop in for a visit. But we had another 10 cent drop to $2.69 for 87 today.
Oh yea... the strawberry was pretty good at the Creamery today!
on Sunday, 9/18 at 11am at the WaWa approaching the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, it was 2.60 for 87; first time I recall the Exxon next door ever being cheaper--it was $2.59 for 87. Woo Hoo!
Here in texas prices finally dropped to 2.59.. not bad
I read a story in the newspaper that people can make their own gasoline from food scraps for about 10-20 cents a gallon that works on all types of cars. Then I saw a website, www.infobboks.org that sells a book for $10 that has plans & diagrams on how to build this machine. Sounds interesting. Has anybody tried to make their own gasoline before? Please let me know.
...have Regular @ $2.819. Haven't been to my local one in a while. The lowest I've seen so far is $2.799 at Wawa and some no-name place across from the Cadillac dealer. I hope Rita doesn't mess-up this downward trend.
Comments
-juice
The highest I've seen is 93 octane..... 91 in California. I drive several times a year across country California tofrom Tenn and back. I've never seen Ultra on my route and my cars use premium.
Just wondering, why would a person need 94 octane vs 93?
Mark
Sunoco Ultra 94 is sold at Sunoco stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware as far as I know. I run my cars on either it or Amoco Ultimate 93 if I can't find it.
Still "bridging the panic" -- riding on <$2.50/gal. gas in my two vehicles.
Things are looking a bit erratic!
-juice
Gulf- $2.99 reg
Shell- $3.39 reg
I am predicting a national average of $2.48 by Oct 31.
(In WWII, the Germans had to use 87 or 89 octane gas for their Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs. I don't think that's on the exact same octane scale, but the Americans could feel their P-51 Mustangs 110-octane gasoline, and that made an important performance difference.)
In Fremont, CA (near San Jose) regular is down to $2.95 at the Chevron near my house. Small drop, but now it's under $3!
-juice
The much promoted E-85 ethanol gasonline is no longer a cheap (er) alternative since it is now $2.89 per gallon. As recently as June the E-85 was consistantly .30 to .60 cents per gallon cheaper than regular unleaded.
I have read in recent weeks that the much promoted E-85 is a losing cause for Illinois
producers. I guess it actually costs more to produce it than what it can be sold at. Perhaps that is an early problem that will iron out in time. But it can not be too encouraging to those who have invested heavily into it.
This past weekend, while visiting in the Saint Louis Missouri metro area, I saw regular unleaded gasoline for a low of $2.73 to $2.85 per gallon. Ofcourse, when I returned home, the prices were still at $3.09 per gallon.
We saw prices jumping up 10 cents per gallon, at times twice a day!
Now we see prices slowly moving back down, but 5 cents at a time, and maybe only once every 3 days.
Gas is still about 50 cents higher than it was when I last filled up, just a few weeks ago.
-juice
Here's a copy of the post:
#2296 of 2616 Re: Really and truly [pf_flyer] by kcram HOST Jul 07, 2005 (9:27 pm)
Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 07, 2005 1:52 pm)
I can give you this answer, but you may not believe me, or like it. I know this only because my dad's best friend owned gas stations for 40 years.
A lot of people complain that the fuel in the holding tank is paid for, so why does the price go up daily on the same fuel? And that is true, the delivered fuel is already paid for. Here's the reason the price changes: the price at the pump reflects what it will cost the service station to replace that fuel. And since gasoline futures can change daily, even hourly, pump prices will often change to match. This is also the reason prices don't come down as fast as they rise... the service station owner can't take the chance that a brief downturn will last until he places his next order.
I really don't mind that they base the pricing at the pump on the "price ahead" (for lack of a better term, but I think that it should work the same in both directions. Personally, I don't see what would be wrong with taking a delivery at a price and selling the product at a price until the next delivery. if the price has changed, certainly the retail price can reflect that. But to say that the price has to go up because the next time it's delivered it's going to be more expensive and then to say it can't be lowered because the expected lower price MIGHT not hold strikes me as wrong. But the core of the problem was seen BEFORE any Katrina damage happened. Prices spiked based on what MIGHT happen. And that didn't happen at the oil company offices, that was strictly a futures market deal.
-juice
I had to run up to Gambrills, MD last nite to get my truck out of the shop. Gas tank is replaced, so between it not leaking anymore and not getting water in the system anymore, hopefully it'll get better economy. Although now the fast idle is sticking, so I have to really gun it to make it kick down...I'm sure that's really going to help my hypermiling efforts!
Too bad for me I filled up the tank last night, I wouldn't have made it another day.
-juice
87 - $2.999
89 - $3.099
93 - $3.199
94 - $3.249
diesel - $2.699
I imagine people who always felt they needed premium are discovering that the middle grade does the job...
kcram - Pickups Host
I had horrible timing, I paid $3.29 and now it's $2.99 again.
Then again, I had great timing for the last tank, and filled up just before the price spikes.
-juice
Sheetz 87 - $2.599/gal. -- only 10 cents more than pre-Katrina.
Alas, my Frontier was running close to "E," so I half-filled the tank yesterday with $2.699 gas. First time since Katrina I put gas in. The Camry still has about 3/8 of a tank of pre-panic gas.
Meanwhile, so-called "Lowest Price," which had shot up to $3.499 at the height of the panic, is back down to $2.689 for 87.
What will make a difference is if people actually don't buy gas for a week or more, everybody! Also what will help, is if we continue to use less over a long period of time. Kudos to you for driving an electric!
Even if the oil companies cut oil prices in half, the demand would increase but the refineries probably couldn't keep up which would clog the system. It would put us right back where we are today, at maximum capacity.
I see fuel prices falling here in southern California as well. Premium seems to be about $3.09--- $3.16 depending on the station (as of yesterday). I will need to fill up today so, hopefully, it has fallen overnight.
Mark
speaking of gas prices, if you take the dubois exit, do not take a left to get gas.
back when i bought gas at sheetz(taking a right) for 2.56, the station if you took a left was was 2.94! this was mid august.
Oh yea... the strawberry was pretty good at the Creamery today!
I am sure it is a market correct price and that legitimate models can be used to defend it
-juice
I read a story in the newspaper that people can make their own gasoline from food scraps for about 10-20 cents a gallon that works on all types of cars. Then I saw a website, www.infobboks.org that sells a book for $10 that has plans & diagrams on how to build this machine. Sounds interesting. Has anybody tried to make their own gasoline before? Please let me know.
james