Comments on: Katrina’s Effect on Gas Prices

By: SavingAdvice

SavingAdvice — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 16:34:55 +0000

It’s been $4.50 in Japan for ages (plus all the highways are toll roads)…but then Japan has great public transportation and there is no need to drive if you don’t want to.

By: YoungMiser

YoungMiser — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 01:58:45 +0000

I find it amazing that any one part of the country fully relies on 1 distribution method. Each area of the country should be provided with gas resources from at least 2 sources. For example, the south should be supplied from the south and maybe the midwest or the west. Spread out the risk.

I dont know if it is possible or not.

By: nickel

nickel — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 00:19:47 +0000

It’s not necessarily price gouging. I believe that gas stations usually set their prices based on what they paid for their most recent delivery. So if the market is moving fast (like this week) and gas station ‘A’ hasn’t received a recent delivery, then they might still be selling at a low(ish) price. If station ‘B’ across the street just got another load, and the wholesale price has gone way up, then they’ll be forced to charge more. If this is what was happening yesterday, then I’m amazed that station ‘A’ didn’t arbitrarily bump their prices up simply because the market could bear it, and they’d make a much larger profit.

By: Financial Fruition

Financial Fruition — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 22:54:04 +0000

I never understood how one station can be priced 30 cents more than another right across the street. Isn’t that obvious price gouging? Oh well, I just make the consumer decision to buy the lower cost gas. It just disturbs me a little.

By: nickel

nickel — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:47:53 +0000

The low price was at Sam’s Club, which sits on a hill and their prices are not visible from the street. Their actual price was $2.82 with a nickel off for being a member. Who knows, maybe they’ve since been pumped dry. I also saw an intersection a little further along at which Exxon was charging $2.87 and BP was charging $3.39. The lowest price in our area is usually at Kroger, especially when you factor in the $0.10/gallon discount that you get for every $100 in groceries that you buy. They were out of regular unleaded by Monday night, and out of premium (and their gas station was closed) by Tuesday. Not sure if they’ve got gas again or not.

By: mbhunter

mbhunter — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:34:39 +0000

$3.19/gallon here and climbing.

I’ve come to not running the A/C as well … it’s bearable.

How did that gas station keep supply with a $0.62/gallon price difference? I’d think that this station would be pumped dry in about 5 seconds! Almost all of our gas stations in our county are within a dime of one another.

By: jim

jim — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 17:53:10 +0000

45 mph is where the breakeven point is, under 45 then you would rather have the drag, over 45, then the drag costs more than the AC.

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 15:13:47 +0000

I’ve read that even at highway speeds it is better, but either way (as commented above) I don’t keep my windows all the way down on the highway. I do have the advantage of living in Maine where it’s only really hot for a few months, but I did live in Florida a couple times (winter/spring and then a spring/summer) and I found I still just drove with my windows open and the fan on rather than the a/c.

By: nickel

nickel — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 15:01:27 +0000

I run the AC in the summer because I live in the South, and it’s very hot and humid. Opening the window doesn’t do much. Yes, I could just skip it and live with the discomfort, but I’d rather use it sparingly than not at all. Also, the weather has been moderating recently, so I usually don’t use it at all in the mornings. With regard to your comment on fuel efficiency, I’ve read several places that at highway speeds, the extra drag of open windows is worse that having the AC on, but that at lower speeds open windows are a better option.

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 14:53:12 +0000

Why run the A/C at all? I run it a couple times a year to keep it working, but except for highway driving I just keep my windows open. The increased drag is much less than you would suffer in terms of gas usage compared to running a/c.

By: FMF

FMF — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 13:16:01 +0000

It’s up to $3.29 per gallon in Michigan. ;-(