At the pump

[Sue U]

I see gasoline has now dropped below $3/gal at my corner station, which is about an 18% decline over the last three months. What are you guys paying?

[Joe Guy]

Still $3.95 to $4.25 per gallon in my part of the SF Bay Area.

[rubato]

Close to 4$ for 91 octane.

Cheap

Yrs,
Rubato

[Lord Jim]

Down to $3.81 at our neighborhood 76 station...

Still way too high, but at least headed in the right direction, (for the time being)

[Rick]

$2.99 +/-

[Econoline]

Still a lot of variation around here...mostly between $3.50-$3.80 for regular and $3.70-$4.00 for diesel (which is what I use)--with some occasional outliers in either direction.

[Daisy]

$7.68 equivalent in the UK for unleaded at the supermarkets.

[Jarlaxle]

$3.239 a couple hours ago.

[MajGenl.Meade]

US $5.24 equivalent here - better than the UK ha ha!

[Guinevere]

The same $3.299 Jar paid -- no-name, they pump it for you, and no stupid "discount" for cash.

Most places along my route into Boston yesterday were 3.399 +/- $0.05 and up, some with a $.10 cash discount. I saw one other place for 3.299 (also no-name, and they pump it), and there was a line to get a pump.

[Long Run]

$3.29. I still think that a prolonged time period with gas at this level or lower will do more to jolt the economy in a positive direction than anything the Fed or Congress does.

[dales]

$0

I ride the bus and don't own a car.

[Crackpot]

Guin

What's your problem with discounts for cash?

[dgs49]

I don't pay close attention usually, but the signs I'm seeing say $3.50/gal for regular at most places (Western Pennsylvania).

Isn't it entertaining that when prices increase you hear people screaming that the oil companies are an oligopoly (not using that word, of course), but when prices float down, there are no joyous exclamations about the market economy at work.

I read a few days ago that the new Chevy Impala will shortly be sold with two fuel tanks, one for gas and one for compressed (or was it liquified) natural gas. The article said that converting a conventional engine for natural gas was costly, but engines could be made to accept natural gas without much trouble. It was said that in $ per BTU, natural gas was equivalent to conventional gas at US$1.50 per gallon.

One of my car mags came in last week with an article comparing what appeared to be the most economical passenger cars available in the U.S., with focus on the new Cruze diesel (which has great specs), VW diesels, a Prius, and a Hondy Hybrid. Not surprisingly, the new Prius kicked butt. The good thing about the article was that it factored in the higher cost of diesel that neutralizes much of its MPG advantage.

[Econoline]

The van I drive now (a 2004 Dodge Sprinter with a 5-cyl.diesel/5-spd.auto) is larger than my previous van (a 1993 ford Econoline with a 6-cyl.gas/4-spd.auto) and gets ~80-100% better mileage in city driving and ~40-50% better mileage on the highway. Diesel fuel sells for ~10-15% more than regular unleaded, and usually there are a couple months every summer when diesel sells for less than gas. You do the math...I know I have, repeatedly.

Plus, I now have over 390,000 miles on it and hope to make it last for a half a million miles. What's the typical longevity of a hybrid?

(BTW...the Smart fortwo diesel gets ~60mpg and the new version of the Ford Transit Connect minivan gets >50mpg with the diesel engine; neither is available in the U.S.)

[Jarlaxle]

The same $3.299 Jar paid -- no-name, they pump it for you, and no stupid "discount" for cash.

Most places along my route into Boston yesterday were 3.399 +/- $0.05 and up, some with a $.10 cash discount. I saw one other place for 3.299 (also no-name, and they pump it), and there was a line to get a pump.

Let me guess: little place on 3A in Quincy, just off the Fore River bridge.

[Lord Jim]

I was just going to post something in the Science forum asking how Econo had managed to post something 45 minutes in the future, (naturally I assumed that he had somehow mastered the technology of time travel, and I was going to ask him if he would send me a copy of the blue prints for his machine) when I discovered that the explanation was far more mundane...

I had neglected to adjust my board preferences for the return to standard time...

[Crackpot]

The smart is also a death trap even when compared to other vehicles in its class

[Econoline]

The smart is also a death trap even when compared to other vehicles in its class

I doubt it...other vehicles in its class are mostly motorcycles.

[Lord Jim]

Or golf carts....