cheese potholes? I have been there twice-in '89 and '96 and in '96 I drove my 1994 Ford Escort station wagon there from Everett, WA north of Seattle. What a memorable vacation! I remember several toll booths coming south to Chicago out of Wisconsin. Chicago has got more brick buildings than you can shake a stick at, too. My wife's family lives near the Brickyard mall in NW Chicago and when I read where you wrote Diversey street it rang one of my memory bells. That was one of the main drags near their home. Great museums near the lake and a free zoo(Lincoln Park Zoo). I remember dodging potholes to the left and to the right. A highlight on the way back to Washington state was stopping at Mt.Rushmore in South Dakota.
good ol' San Francisco - paying $1.71 at the Chevron for regular unleaded 87 octane. But if I get time to to go to the ARCO, it is substantially less - about $1.43.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
...the pothole situation has greatly improved here, I think because of our milder winters, and insane tax on everything (thank you, Mayor Daley). We still have a million intersections that don't 'line up'; that is, you have to drive ten feet to the left or right to stay in your lane from one side of the intersection to the other. This is seldom improved even if the whole intersection is 'redone'. Quite maddening.
our in-laws have driven us downtown both times I've been there. Hawthorne Racetrack-I'm sure you know that area. We drove our car there for an event and one thing I remember about that day was that it was HOT! Eeek! It doesn't get that humid in Washington state with our mountainy cloudy and seashore-type climate over here. The Museum of Science and Industry and the Field(?)house Museum (can't remember it's name)were very, very cool to visit in Chicago. Loved the "beefy" sandwiches and gyros in Chicago(and their prices!) as well!
WHY the 9/10's of a cent on the end of gas prices???
Since the link is too long for the board to handle, here's what I found in a Washington Post article...
NowYouKnow : Penny Foolish
Why are gas prices posted in nine-tenths of a cent?
-- Hayley Kaiser, 10, Alexandria
There are a couple of ideas about why gas prices include fractions of a cent. Some say it's because in the days when you could actually buy things for a penny, people were glad to pay, say, 16.9 cents per gallon instead of 17 cents. If they bought 10 gallons, they'd save a whole penny.
Others point out that the gas prices we pay at the pump include taxes that state and local governments charge. Those taxes, which gas stations must add to the price of the gas they sell, usually include fractions.
But neither of those really answers the question. Just because a part of a penny mattered 80 years ago doesn't mean we have to do things the same way today. And no matter what taxes they're charged, gas sellers are still free to set prices pretty much however they like, rounding up or down to the next whole number.
No matter how the tradition began, everyone agrees that nowadays the main reason for nine-tenths-cent pricing is the same reason hot dog rolls are priced at $1.99 instead of $2 or a new car is priced at $18,995 instead of $19,000. It just looks and sounds cheaper. When customers see a sign that reads $1.63 and nine-tenths instead of $1.64, they feel like they're getting a bargain.
Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey of American gasoline prices, says that 9/10 isn't the only fraction you'll find at the pump. "Gasoline is more about the 'odd number' under the next dollar than about the number 9 in particular," she says. Lundberg says that while 9/10 (nine-tenths of a cent) is the most frequently found price, others are used, including 7/10, 5/10, 3/10 and 8/10.
Because there's no way to pay a fraction of a penny -- and no way to get change from a penny -- not everybody thinks it's fair to include fractions in gas prices. (Fuel is the only thing that's priced this way.) People in some states have tried to get laws passed to do away with fraction-of-a-cent gas pricing. (Iowa outlawed the practice for four years in the 1980s.) But the movement hasn't had much success -- not yet, anyway.
If you believe that the whole thing's a rip-off, maybe you could write a letter to your state's governor, your city's mayor, or your congressperson. Just don't try to use one of those 36.9-cent stamps.
-- Jennifer Huget
Something you don't know? Ask us. If we answer your question in print, you'll receive a KidsPost T-shirt. Write Now You Know, KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "Now You Know" in the subject line) kidspost@washpost.com. Please include your name, age, address and phone number.
Gas dropped a dime a gallon overnight about week ago. Cheapest [Arco] now 1.25 for 87, Texaco and Chevron 1.27. Hey I like it. Can't believe those prices in SF Bay Area, and Chicago-not to mention Hawaii!
...(corner of Roscoe and Damen, so called because space enough for one car only between pumps, which restricts ingress and egress), I paid $1.789 for 93 octane today. Ah, Chicago. Luxury home prices, luxury gas prices, tax on friggin everything, but streets with flowers, trees and sprinkler systems in the medians, and no money for schools, once again. Paradise.
Prices up here in Alaska have been steady for about 2 months, the cheapest is $1.48 and the average is $1.51 for 87 add $.10 and $.20 for 89 and 91 respectively. Good thing I live next to the largest petroleum reserve in North America otherwise gas would be $3.00 a gallon up here.
$1.51US per US Gal. = $2.36Cdn per US Gal ($2.82Cdn per Imp. Gal.) or equivalent to $0.62Cdn per litre. St. John's, Newfoundland = $0.82Cdn per litre ($3.72Cdn per Imp. Gal.) or $1.98US per US Gal.
Funny, here in Nfld. we are sitting on top of some very significant oil & gas reserves yet our prices are still amongst the highest in Canada??
...on the north side of Chicago, we're still paying $1.789-1.999 for 93 octane, which apparently is about forty cents a gallon higher than anywhere else in the U.S., at least if reading this board is any indication.
I think I paid $1.889 at Shell for 93 octane. Unfortunately, that was about six to eleven cents less than I'm used to paying (at a 'Premium' station such as Shell or BP/Amoco).
I must have missed the news that drove it down. Also had a letter to the editor in our local paper regarding gas prices...
Gas-price moves
For weeks on end a couple of months ago, fuel prices at nearly all local gas stations in State College (with the exclusion of Quik Fill) were $1.359, $1.4299, and $1.499 per gallon for octane 87, 89 and premium. The fact that all Uni-Mart, Sheetz and Sunoco stations had the exact same price is either a grand coincidence or collusion.
Then, crude oil prices rose a couple of dollars per barrel. Prices at all stations moved up to $1.439, $1.4699 and $1.5399 per gallon. Again, all at the same price.
Then, oil prices dropped by $5 per barrel. Did gas prices drop? Prices did not drop even a penny for the next couple of weeks. Not at any station. Again, either this is a grand coincidence or collusion. Prices finally were reduced at local stations on Nov. 13 to the familiar $1.359, $1.4299 and $1.499.
Perhaps there is a legitimate reason that the gas stations do this. Someone ought to look into this to determine if local residents and businesses are victims of price fixing.
As I was driving around this weekend, I noticed a lot of stations that had 89 octane the same price as 93. And with one exception, it looked like all the stations bumped the 93 price down to 89 levels, not vice versa. Since my car uses premium, I'm not complaining!
The cheapest I saw this weekend (and thankfully, close to my home too): 87 - $1.379 89 - $1.419 93 - $1.419
Down to $1.36 for premium at Mr. Patel's. Mr. Bubba still at $1.39.
Both Mr. Bubba (the good ol boy) and Mr. Patel (Indian nationality) are dealing $1.19 per gallon for 87 octane. (It should be $1.01 at this time of year!)
Though I don't remember exactly what I paid last time, the north side of Chicago has been stuck around $1.80-1.899 for Premium (93 octane) for quite some time. The lowest I ever pay is about $1.649, with some 'premium' stations going up to $1.99 at some times.
...I have seriously contemplated moving away from Chicago to a smaller metropolis (maybe St. Louis again?) just to save fifty cents a gallon on gas, a couple hundred bucks a month on rent, money on some groceries (despite the fact that we're in the midwest, full of cows, milk is still three bucks a gallon here). We have tax on bloody EVERYTHING. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it does add up. Fortunately, I don't smoke, as cigs here are $4.30-5 a pack, and usually $5.50 at bars.
And I paid $1.85 again for premium gas last night (my 98hp manual transmission Accord, much to my dismay and surprise, cannot manage to get more than 15mpg city).
and 'da Cubs, though! ROTFLCDF! That does sound pretty high for gas. I buy regular unleaded for my Sportage here in Washington state and the price per gallon at my last fill-up was $1.31 I do believe. It varies everything single visit, though. Mostly in a good downward trend of late.
Hiram Ga. $1.11 per gallon at Race Track. $1.13 per gallon at Amoco/Shell/Citgo/Chevron/etc...all around Hiram.
Marietta Ga. reports of $1.07 per gallon of 87 octane.
Our town it's still around $1.18....we're too dang close to Alabama I guess. They flock over here to play Lotto and get gas for 5 cent cheaper per gallon. I'd like to have a station on the Alabama-Georgia line. Beer and wine, Lottery, and cheap gas...things the folks in Alabama counties close by cannot get unless they go to Georgia! No kidding. The owners are making out big just on those 3 commodities.
in northwest Calif, been a steady $1.83 for 87 for months. The rest of the country may fluctuate where here its just plain high and remains there. You are not alone Chicago, we are frustrated and angry here too!
Comments
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Back on topic. Paid $1.909 (dammit!) for 93 octane the other day at a Marathon (!) station.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
PF Flyer
Host
Pickups & News & Views Message Boards
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Since the link is too long for the board to handle, here's what I found in a Washington Post article...
NowYouKnow : Penny Foolish
Why are gas prices posted in nine-tenths of a cent?
-- Hayley Kaiser, 10, Alexandria
There are a couple of ideas about why gas prices include fractions of a cent. Some say it's because in the days when you could actually buy things for a penny, people were glad to pay, say, 16.9 cents per gallon instead of 17 cents. If they bought 10 gallons, they'd save a whole penny.
Others point out that the gas prices we pay at the pump include taxes that state and local governments charge. Those taxes, which gas stations must add to the price of the gas they sell, usually include fractions.
But neither of those really answers the question. Just because a part of a penny mattered 80 years ago doesn't mean we have to do things the same way today. And no matter what taxes they're charged, gas sellers are still free to set prices pretty much however they like, rounding up or down to the next whole number.
No matter how the tradition began, everyone agrees that nowadays the main reason for nine-tenths-cent pricing is the same reason hot dog rolls are priced at $1.99 instead of $2 or a new car is priced at $18,995 instead of $19,000. It just looks and sounds cheaper. When customers see a sign that reads $1.63 and nine-tenths instead of $1.64, they feel like they're getting a bargain.
Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey of American gasoline prices, says that 9/10 isn't the only fraction you'll find at the pump. "Gasoline is more about the 'odd number' under the next dollar than about the number 9 in particular," she says. Lundberg says that while 9/10 (nine-tenths of a cent) is the most frequently found price, others are used, including 7/10, 5/10, 3/10 and 8/10.
Because there's no way to pay a fraction of a penny -- and no way to get change from a penny -- not everybody thinks it's fair to include fractions in gas prices. (Fuel is the only thing that's priced this way.) People in some states have tried to get laws passed to do away with fraction-of-a-cent gas pricing. (Iowa outlawed the practice for four years in the 1980s.) But the movement hasn't had much success -- not yet, anyway.
If you believe that the whole thing's a rip-off, maybe you could write a letter to your state's governor, your city's mayor, or your congressperson. Just don't try to use one of those 36.9-cent stamps.
-- Jennifer Huget
Something you don't know? Ask us. If we answer your question in print, you'll receive a KidsPost T-shirt. Write Now You Know, KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "Now You Know" in the subject line) kidspost@washpost.com. Please include your name, age, address and phone number.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
Still $1.35 and 9/10's in State College!
Join our chat guests on Thursday...
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Love Shells 5c off Thursdays
Can't believe those prices in SF Bay Area, and Chicago-not to mention Hawaii!
Right now we are ranging in town from 1.23 (Sunoco) to 1.32 (Shell, Exxon).
Sunoco is fine!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Ah, Chicago. Luxury home prices, luxury gas prices, tax on friggin everything, but streets with flowers, trees and sprinkler systems in the medians, and no money for schools, once again. Paradise.
The Sandman :-(
wil
My usual Sunoco truck stop, Palisades Park, NJ.
87 - $1.359
89 - $1.459
93 - $1.539
94 - $1.599
diesel - $1.349
Periodically, I will also be adding the prices at the Exxon near my new home in Mt. Arlington NJ
kcram
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2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Who, in US, can beat that price??????? WHO?? How 'bout you...PF? Ahahaha!
Eat your heart out Mr Patel(@$1.45)...six cent higher and only 1/2 mile down the road! Can't do better than that. Can you?
wil
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St. John's, Newfoundland = $0.82Cdn per litre ($3.72Cdn per Imp. Gal.) or $1.98US per US Gal.
Funny, here in Nfld. we are sitting on top of some very significant oil & gas reserves yet our prices are still amongst the highest in Canada??
kcram
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$1.24 middle
$1.28 highest observation.
Also, W. Georgia "Full Service" stations $1.34 regular. There are still a few around....
Central MA Exxon:
$1.499
$1.599
$1.699
basically unchanged for a couple months.
87 - $1.379 - up 2 cents
89 - $1.479 - up 2 cents
93 - $1.559 - up 2 cents
94 - $1.599 - unchanged
diesel - $1.359 - down 2 cents
kcram
Host
Smart Shopper and FWI Message Boards
Sunday morning came and it was $1.299
I must have missed the news that drove it down. Also had a letter to the editor in our local paper regarding gas prices...
Gas-price moves
For weeks on end a couple of months ago, fuel prices at nearly all local gas stations in State College (with the exclusion of Quik Fill) were $1.359, $1.4299, and $1.499 per gallon for octane 87, 89 and premium. The fact that all Uni-Mart, Sheetz and Sunoco stations had the exact same price is either a grand coincidence or collusion.
Then, crude oil prices rose a couple of dollars per barrel. Prices at all stations moved up to $1.439, $1.4699 and $1.5399 per gallon. Again, all at the same price.
Then, oil prices dropped by $5 per barrel. Did gas prices drop? Prices did not drop even a penny for the next couple of weeks. Not at any station. Again, either this is a grand coincidence or collusion. Prices finally were reduced at local stations on Nov. 13 to the familiar $1.359, $1.4299 and $1.499.
Perhaps there is a legitimate reason that the gas stations do this. Someone ought to look into this to determine if local residents and businesses are victims of price fixing.
Price DO move in curious ways around here!
PF Flyer
Host
Pickups & News & Views Message Boards
The cheapest I saw this weekend (and thankfully, close to my home too):
87 - $1.379
89 - $1.419
93 - $1.419
Both Mr. Bubba (the good ol boy) and Mr. Patel (Indian nationality) are dealing $1.19 per gallon for 87 octane. (It should be $1.01 at this time of year!)
87 - $1.479
89 - $1.619
93 - $1.699
diesel - $1.519
kcram
Host
Smart Shopper and FWI Message Boards
And I paid $1.85 again for premium gas last night (my 98hp manual transmission Accord, much to my dismay and surprise, cannot manage to get more than 15mpg city).
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Marietta Ga. reports of $1.07 per gallon of 87 octane.
Our town it's still around $1.18....we're too dang close to Alabama I guess. They flock over here to play Lotto and get gas for 5 cent cheaper per gallon. I'd like to have a station on the Alabama-Georgia line. Beer and wine, Lottery, and cheap gas...things the folks in Alabama counties close by cannot get unless they go to Georgia! No kidding. The owners are making out big just on those 3 commodities.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick