I haven't seen gas go up in price by less than 17 cents at one time in 7 years. In the midwest the oil companies collude weekly on the price and the time of each increase. It's usually 25 cents, but I've seen as much as 45 cents in one day (once, anything over 35 cents is rare). The individual stations will gradually lower their prices during the ensuing period as competition dictates.

It's a constant timing game to buy gas here.

You can tell gas is going up as much by the frequency as the amount of these collusive increases. Our last collusion day was Friday, when it went from $2.99 to $3.29. Two such increases in one week is rare, and means prices really are going up. Only during 9/11 and Katrina did I see 2 collusion days in one week.

I bought gas on Friday for $2.99 in the Prius. I've only driven about 180 miles on that tank (11 gal.), so I've got about 2/3 of a tank left. I love that car!

Just so you guys don't feel too bad I filled my Pontiac up today. $54.00 for 9.8 gallons. When I started driving it, gas was 32 cents a gallon, of course I was only making 45 cents an hour. So a gallon of gas used to cost 3/4 of an hour's work. Now it cost me 1/6 of an hour's work. Everything considered this is better than the "good old days" eh.

Around here I think the most fuel prices went up in one day was 20-30 cents/gallon and that was a while ago.
Here where I live the vast majority of gas is sold by convienence store chains.
They make all their money/profits from selling all the food, coffee, soda, etc. and not much on gas (according to them).
With every rise in gas prices sales of their money-makig items go down until the consumer accepts the gas price increase and starts buying more coffee again.
I think that has something to do with gas price increases that seem to happen more often here but are less drastic that in your area.

Speaking of timing, I must have been lucky on my trip to Kalamazoo last summer when it comes to timing.
I had to fillup my tow vehicle a few times in Ohio and found the fuel prices on the Ohio Turnpike to be consistently less
than my Pennsylvania and a LOT less than my Michigan fillups.
Then again the Ohio TP was MUCH BETTER than the PA Turnpike when it came to road surface and the Turnpike Plazas.
Funny how Ohio can do all that and charge cheaper tolls than the PA Turnpike.

Your Prius sounds like an economical vehicle. The spouse of someone I work with has one and like it a lot.
It has somewhere between 175K-200K miles on it and is still on the original batteries and gets very good MPG.
While my commuter car is no Prius when it comes to MPG it does not do too bad around town at 30 MPG and 35-40 MPG on the highway.
Not bad for a 23 year old beater. Something about having a vehicle get that MPG and being long ago paid for tends to help soften the blow from nigher fuel prices.

What is your 23 year old beater, Charlie?

Hey, even a picture would be cool!

wayne ,Bob , with referance to the truckers, ask your wife if she has seen a change at the super market.Oranges are damm near a buck a peace. I saw green peppers on the shelf yesterday so old the damm pigs wouldnt eat them. I cant wate for the farmers market to reopen. If it travels by truck,and most everything travels by truck the price is going up.

Yup. Of course. Ultimately, there is only one source of money to pay for everything, including the truckers fuel. It's like the feds "giving" everyone a nice check this summer to spend. They are just "giving" our own money back (minus a fat administrative surcharge, of course)....Bob.

The local weekly rag yesterday published a longer version that clears this up. Apparently people in line were abandoning their vehicles in the traffic lane to particpate in the "mele" (That's the term used by the police to describe the altercation.). It was the impediment to traffic and public saftey that brought about the request to shut the station down.

BTW, 2 days later gas is back down to $3.29 in most places. Where and when the next 30 cent increase comes is anybody's guess.

Back in the 70's, didn't the 55 MPH Speed Limit reduce the demand for fuel by using less of it?

My wife works for a large paper company and the trucks that deliver there have an added fuel sur charge.

The next increaase??? Gas jumped from $3.15 to $3.39 a gallon in the last couple of days and word is it's not stopping until $4.00 is reached. And that's the cheap stuff.

My "beater" is not a "beater" in the true sense of the word.
It is rusting in places and does not always get washed and waxed when it needs it.
It does get regular maintenance and has been very reliable for the last 11 years and 74K miles that I have owned it.
My Daily Driver is a 1985 Volkswagen Golf.

Here are the photos you asked for:

http://www.gti16v.com/miscpics/vwgolf1.jpg



http://www.gti16v.com/miscpics/vwgolf2.jpg



This is the only 4 door Volkswagen that I currently own (my other 3 VWs are 2 door models).

BTW, as of Friday evening, here in Eastern PA gas was $3.299/$3.399/$3.599 and Diesel was $4.199.

Thanks Charlie,

Gas in Tappahannock, Va today is at $3.05 regular.

Wayne

Oh man. I had a 70 something diesel Rabbit. It got 52 MPG no matter city or hiway. This was during the last gas crunch. I would put 5 gallons of furnace oil in it and drive all week. I REALLY wish I had it back........Bob

Your Rabbit Diesel was probably a 1978 or 79. Back then I knew people who had that model and got mileage in that range on a regular basis.
FYI, now-a-days Rabbits from that era with a diesel engine are fetching extremely high prices due to fuel prices.
It is not uncommon to see a 1980-84 VW Pickup with a diesel engine being sold for more than it's original MRSP by a BIG margin when it is in good-very good condition.

FYI, there are a growing number of people in the Volkswagen community that are running their diesel VWs on used cooking oil.
They get the cooking oil for free from restaurants, clean it up through a filtering process and run it in their cars.
Their cost/gallon is well under $1.00 and they do not get significantly less MPG than regular diesel fuel.
The people that do this tend to be owners of older VWs (pre-2005) with the highest percentage being the pre 1990 models.

A friend of mine has a 2000 something VW Jetta Diesel. He easily gets 700-800 miles on a tank of fuel.
That combined with the ride comfort and performance make it a great car to have these days.
Unfortunately, finding one of these diesel Jettas in good condition at a reasonable price is next to impossible.

I have read a number of articles and press announcements that Volkswagen is working on a diesel/hybrid vehicle.
When that comes out it could easily surpass all current vehicles on the market when it comes to MPG.
This technology combines the best MPGs of both a Hybrid and Diesel. Should be interesting to see it's real world MPG and what it costs to buy one.

Hey, why a hybrid? Just rerun the old VW diesels again. Even the old models beats the devil out of most everything else out here these days.

Wayne

It's not just the diesel cars that selling for high prices. Check out the prices being paid for diesel manuals (VW and others) on eBay sometime! I recently sold an early 1990s M-B diesel manual for well over $200.00, and while clean it wasn't in all that great of condition either.

When the second generation Prius came out I saw an interview (I think on Motorweek) where a Toyota spokesman was asked why there was not diesel Prius being planned. He said that the hybrid system didn't adapt well to the typical diesel's power curve.

I'll be very interested in the VW diesel hybrid when it comes out. Combining those two technolgies should bring about amazing results. I hope it works out!

Bhigdog, please p/m me and let me know what class your entering or judging. Good Lord willing and the creeks dont rise Ill be there Want to meet you, also got to find mr lampshade.Dick

Just dreaming again, I started driving about 1953-54, had a ten year old car I know would run faster than any local speed limit. Bought a new gulf gas called gulftane for 12 cents a gal.I know at least I think I got near twenty mpg. with that P.O.S. Then the Gov. steped in and started telling the auto makers how to make cars. Now I have a ten year old truck gets 12 mpg.and gas just went up to $3.35. WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?? Progress.

1. Gas actually averaged about 24 cents/gal. in 1954 in the U.S., which adjusts for inflation to $1.85/gal. today.

2. There was a lot more oil available to make gas out of in 1954.

3. None of that oil had to be transported accross water in 1954.

4. We used a lot less gas in 1954 (both individually and collectively).

5. There were no 10 year old cars in 1954 due to WW2.

6. 20 mpg. would be exceptionally good mileage in an older used car in 1954. Rare, but not unheard of.

7. If you were driving a 10 year old truck in 1954 you'd be lucky to be getting 10 mpg., and most rural speed limits would be well beyond your top speed.

8. Nobody's told anybody how to make anything. Not really. Establishing safe standards for a consumer product is done every day. It's up the manufacturer to meet them as it will. Where formulations (gas) and software (cars) have been directly established governmentally, it was done exclusively by consensus with industry.

9. Cars now last 2-3 times longer in terms of time, and 3-4 times longer in terms of mileage, than they did in 1954. Also they need far fewer repairs and maintenance outlays, all the while spewing out much less than 1% of the toxins typically emitted by a used car in 1954.

10. Cars average 27.5 mpg today. "Trucks" average 20.7. Those numbers haven't changed in almost 15 years (although this Administration just signed a bill to do just that very slowly beginning this year). If interested the C.A.F.E. page in Wikipedia provides a vigorous and changing discussion on the subject. Driving a 12 mpg truck as daily transportation is, and always has been, a choice.

Dave in 54 I was 15 and from the time school let out till 10pm and all day Sat. you could find me at a local gas station called Sids Gulf.I pumped gas and ran erands for free in hopes someone would come in with a flat or a car that needed a bath.I got 35cents for repairing a flat, Sid got 40 cents. A compleat wash cost a buck fifty and I got half.Took me the better part of a year to earn 55 dollers for my first car, a 42 ford. I foolishly traded it for a 41 chev. Both cars would run a hundred mph.and eather one would make it to Buffalow 200 miles away, on a smidgen over 10 gal.After that I had a 37 Dodge 2dr.coupe with seats that folded into the sides. Some folks called it a busness mans coupe or salesmans spec. I dont remember what the speedometer went to but I know I broke it on rt. 11,a2 lane road.Cars used to run. They had real mtrs. In 65 a fellow by the name of ,I think Lenny Kennady turned 104+ mph. in the quarter with a 65 Buick skylark stock except cheeter slicks and headers and he done it in a speck over 8 sec. Cars didnt last back then???Check the thickness of a real 1940 fender and then check todays. I think some of todays cars start to rust befor they leave the fac.all thi Imho. Dick

Whoops, I misspoke again. Happens when you get old and feable. Motor Trend tells me it was 0-60 in 7 sec and 104.5 for the quarter.at 13 sec. Not to shabby for 1965.

When your whole premise is that cars were better back in the day than they are now, this might be a good phrase to avoid!

I parked my Ford Diesel today. Pulled out the new Dodge crew cab with bi-fuel. (Gas and or natural gas). Natural gas out here in Utah is 63 cents. Beats 4 bucks. Hope this helps.

Dana , you realy know how to hurt a guy. Tell me more about your flex fuel please. BTW my daughters name is Dana Joann, her husbands name is Dana Joseph. Makes life intersting.