Gas goes below $3.00

smigaldi said:
Iowa is mostly an ethanol gas state is it not?
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As it was told to me, and the markings on the pumps seemed to back this up, only the mid-grade (89 octane) gas has ethanol, and thus it is normally the same price as the 87 octane. As a result, most people buy the 89 with ethanol, and when the price drops like this, since the 89 is selling out the fastest, it gets to be cheaper than the 87! When I bought gas on my way home, the 89 with ethanol was $2.99 and the 87 was still $3.12. Weird.
 
Why, in God's name, would you purposely buy gasoline which has been contaminated by the addition of ethanol?

Here, in Dallas, we have no choice...
 
oh spike...:)

the state subsidizes the ethanol laced fuel, thats why its cheaper. right or wrong, that is the reason. and i am glad that while ethanol is huge boost to our state economy the state does not restrict us to no other choice.
 
tonycondon said:
oh spike...:)

the state subsidizes the ethanol laced fuel, thats why its cheaper. right or wrong, that is the reason. and i am glad that while ethanol is huge boost to our state economy the state does not restrict us to no other choice.
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We get no such subsidy here, and the mandate for ethanol-tainted fuel here is federal.

Note well: ethanol blend fuel has less energy, and will carry your car less distance. Hence, the actual cost is much higher than equivalently-priced no-ethanol gas.
 
SCCutler said:
We get no such subsidy here, and the mandate for ethanol-tainted fuel here is federal.

Note well: ethanol blend fuel has less energy, and will carry your car less distance. Hence, the actual cost is much higher than equivalently-priced no-ethanol gas.
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It required about 10 cents/gallon difference for it to make sense for me to buy the 'cheap' ethanol gas for my truck. Any less that 10 cents cheaper, and the decrease in MPG offset any savings at the pump. I haven't tested mileage in the Jeep yet. It's fuel injected, so I'm not sure if that will play any part into how it reacts to ethanol vs. non-ethanol fuel.
 
Are the MPG ratings as defined by the government based on gasoline or ethanol?
 
smigaldi said:
Ditto, big time. Paid $3.45 today, $5.54 for av gas as well :D
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Scott, we've got AvGas at Clow for $5.02. Maybe not the best, but not bad! (Except for Monday 10/13 when the ramp's being resealed and the fuel farm's closed.)
 
Watched it drop $.05 within an hour today. First run in the bus, it was $2.77 along the interstate. By the time I got back to the endpoint, it had changed down to $2.72. Not sure what we're at on the west side of town (away from the interstate). I heard on the radio today that Des Moines was under $2.70.
 
I am pretty sure I'm still paying close to 4 bucks for premium. I won't fill up for another week yet, but I'll pay attention next time.
 
kevin47881 said:
Dear Tim, I hate you. :D
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Well, then...

...you can just hate me some more because some stations are down to $2.43 here today. :cheerswine:

Diesel is $3.49ish.

I always have to laugh when the "price of gas" reports come out and they give the cheapest and most expensive locales.

Just this morning they announced the cheapest gas in the US was Wichita at $2.79. We're typically as low or lower than what they announce. I guess they don't poll here. It's either that or it's simply the name Springfield. There are too many Springfield's in this country and it's hard to tell one from the other. So, we all tend to get ignored. This one has a metropolitan area of about 420,000 and most people haven't even heard of it (except as maybe Branson's neighbor to the north).
 
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SCCutler said:
Why, in God's name, would you purposely buy gasoline which has been contaminated by the addition of ethanol?

Here, in Dallas, we have no choice...
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No choice in Washington (state), either. We get the contaminated stuff, too. Station closest to work is "down" to $3.249/gal. Lowest cost around here for now.
 
Wow I just cheked Airnav for gas prices, and Clintonville, WI (KCLI) is 3.99/gal. Not too shabby...
 
I filled up the Jag earlier this week for $2.99/gallon (premium) and regular was $2.74. Woohoo! Hopefully these prices will keep on going down to something more reasonable.

Now it would be nice if AvGas would get back down to the $4-4.50/gallon at my FBO a year ago. :)
 
TheMonk said:
$2.69/gal 87octane here.

Monk
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Brian, "here" being the east coast? That's a big place! :)

Oh, and I heard from a coworker that she saw regular at Woodman's in Aurora (IL) about a week ago for $3.13! Considering that the best I've found is $3.16 in Homewood, and by me $3.38 in Romeoville, that's pretty good. (This is all Chicago suburbia.)
 
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TheMonk said:
lol

Here is near DC. Bryan with a 'Y' please...

I'll update the profile.

Monk
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Sorry, I copied Jay's spelling!:redface:
We're getting a pretty good DC-area contingent around here! :yes: And you need to tell Beth (woodstock) where to find cheaper gas! :yes: There should only be about a $0.20 difference between regular and premium, not $0.83!:hairraise:
 
TheMonk said:
Will we ever see buck fifty again?

Monk
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To be honest, I hope not. I think we need to keep the price to the consumers high to foster investment in alternative fuels. Maybe make up the difference in some sort of fuel surcharge that goes to researchers (as opposed to the profit margin of Big Oil).
 
gprellwitz said:
To be honest, I hope not. I think we need to keep the price to the consumers high to foster investment in alternative fuels. Maybe make up the difference in some sort of fuel surcharge that goes to researchers (as opposed to the profit margin of Big Oil).
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+1

I also read an article a number of months ago (when things went nutty) that the time to raise the prices should have been a long time ago, with a tax, so that the extra couple bucks per gallon went to the US and towards alt fuel instead of to Saudi Arabia. Ironically, now that we have no choice, people ARE paying it...

Maybe give Big Oil incentives to research... I still don't understand why Big Oil wouldn't want to dominate the next wave of fuel, when you think about it - it they made it Job One right now, they'd continue their profits indefinitely....
 
gprellwitz said:
Sorry, I copied Jay's spelling!:redface:
We're getting a pretty good DC-area contingent around here! :yes: And you need to tell Beth (woodstock) where to find cheaper gas! :yes: There should only be about a $0.20 difference between regular and premium, not $0.83!:hairraise:
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I only go to the gas station near me, and it's right off the greenway - captive audience. I bet if I explored a little I could get the price down, but this is convenient.
 
I can't say that paying $1.00 less than I did 4-6 weeks ago bothers me (paid $2.57 last night), and if it keeps going down toward $2.00, great!

But at the same time, I agree with Grant that lower prices should not lessen the importance of developing alternative fuel sources. For we have now seen what CAN happen, and WILL happen again (maybe even worse!), as long as we allow offshore interests dictate the value of our energy needs.

If the automakers are happy with the drop in sales due to fuel costs and the credit crunch, so be it. But it would really be in their best interests to work in conjunction with the oil industry to develop those alternative fuels, sources, and more efficient automobiles.
 
gprellwitz said:
To be honest, I hope not. I think we need to keep the price to the consumers high to foster investment in alternative fuels. Maybe make up the difference in some sort of fuel surcharge that goes to researchers (as opposed to the profit margin of Big Oil).
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I just can't agree with saying we need higher prices. Let's think about this.

The people like us who are well off enough to be able to make a statement like that are not affected by gas prices. We can afford to go out and buy new cars, hybrids, whatever, and invest in that newer technology that will ultimately trickle down to those who buy used cars, and thus benefit them. However, that position comes from having better finances, and as such, it's easy for us to make statements like that. The other side of the coin, the people who actually are affected by high gas prices, are the ones who can't afford it. Those are the folks who drive older vehicles because they can't afford newer ones, and frequently drive trucks because they actually need them for what they do. And, let's face it, we have created an infrastructure in which it is difficult to function in most areas without driving, frequently long distances.

Gas costing me $4 hasn't hurt me, and I don't suspect it's hurt many of you, at least not those who have said higher gas prices are a good thing. Sure, I want to see the gas prices lower, but honestly I've just gone about my normal business and have driven just as much as I used to (well, actually I have been driving less, but that's because I now fly most places isntead of drive). It hasn't caused me to go out and sell my V10-powered Ford Excursion or my V12-powered Jaguar, nor would it at $8/gallon. However, that's because I know that it doesn't make any sense for me to sell them and buy a new car, because I will never save enough money to justify it. Furthermore, I need the truck. Comparatively, I know people who have gone out and sold their used "gas guzzlers" for pennies on the dollar and bought new, fuel efficient cars (thus costing them more money than they will ever save in gas). Every one of them has complained about how gas has been killing them, but it is a perception issue. What those who advocate higher gas prices really want, as far as I can tell, is for people to have a perception that they "need" something that's going to cost them less to operate, and thus create the demand that will foster the development of these alternative fuels.

Don't get me wrong - I am fully in belief that we need to find alternate energy sources, and that if we can stop burning so much oil we are all better off. However, high gas prices is not the way to accomplish this goal. Let the markets do their thing with gas prices. That's how the prices got higher and now how they've gotten lower.

This isn't meant as an attack on anyone, it's just a pet peeve of mine. I have never seen someone who is actually affected by high prices of anything say "We need to keep these prices high." It's always by people who are comfortable and able to state why imposing a punishment on those who can't afford it is necessary.

/rant :)
 
woodstock said:
Maybe give Big Oil incentives to research... I still don't understand why Big Oil wouldn't want to dominate the next wave of fuel, when you think about it - it they made it Job One right now, they'd continue their profits indefinitely....
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I would be in favor of this, although I don't know what goes on behind those doors. I suspect they know things about oil that we don't, but I would definitely like to see that sort of research being given incentives by the government, and also see incentives to the people who use them! :yes:
 
The sign at the Jewel supermarket said $2.17 a gallon for regular.

Being the B* I am, I fixed it on the way out. :rolleyes:
 
mikea said:
The sign at the Jewel supermarket said $2.17 a gallon for regular.

Being the B* I am, I fixed it on the way out. :rolleyes:
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We had a station here that had to shut down the other day - They mistyped the new price and it was much lower than it should have been. Since Wisconsin law only allows stations to change their price once per day, they had to shut down the pumps to keep from selling gas below cost.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I filled up the Jag earlier this week for $2.99/gallon (premium) and regular was $2.74. Woohoo! Hopefully these prices will keep on going down to something more reasonable.

Now it would be nice if AvGas would get back down to the $4-4.50/gallon at my FBO a year ago. :)
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:rofl: That's like my rant that I need help to make my airplane payments.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
...(I saw sub-$3 here for the first time yesterday - $2.99. I'm gonna stretch the current tank as long as I can!)
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$2.89 on the corner in Taxinois but I think that's after some kind of rebate scam. $3.05 next door at the supermarket, where it was $3.17 just last Wednesday.
 
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