Gas prices are up, obviously, the highest in seven years, in nominal terms (not inflation adjusted). There doesn’t seem to be as much of a public reaction, in part because it’s really not all that high (around $3.46 average in December). The average fuel economy of cars has been going up too, so the hit to the pocketbook is not that significant. Still, one all-too often hears about how cheap it was back in the good old days. How many comments have there been over the years about memories of 29 cent gas, as folks who were around back then fondly reminisced about those low gas prices.
Obviously they forgot about inflation, as well as fuel economy. Twenty gallons of 30 cent gas in this ’63 Pontiac cost $6.00 then, but that’s $50 in 2020 dollars. And its 13 mpg mileage means that it was costing close to 20 cents per mile (2020 dollars) just in gas. A 2020 car getting 30 mpg would cost half that per mile, even at current high prices.
And then there’s the fact that this family man likely had more mouths to feed, other than the venturis on his 389 V8.
Here’s the full chart of gas prices, nominal and inflation adjusted (to 2020 dollars, which I’m going to use for the rest of my commentary, unless otherwise noted). If you want to see the year-by-year prices, both nominal and adjusted, as well as more commentary, here’s where these are from. It does end a bit early, and doesn’t show the run up since 2020.
As we can see, gas started out quite expensive, at well over $4/gal. It came down in the 1920s, as the large oil companies saw improved efficiencies through scale and improved technology. It dropped again during the Depression in nominal terms, but actually increased in adjusted terms because of the deflation at the time.
Between 1946 and 1962, it was in a fairly narrow range between $2.60 and $2.90 per gallon. Then there was a downward trend through 1972, in which year it bottomed (for the time being) at $2.22.
Before we go further, a couple of things to consider. Actual purchasing power (income in relation to inflation) was of course considerably lower in the 1940s and 1950s, when it began to increase steadily with improved productivity and other factors. Gasoline was much higher proportion in income back then, which explains the popularity of six cylinder cars and the rapidly swelling influx of imports.
Ever bigger cars with bigger engines, automatics and power accessories grew in popularity the same time the adjusted price of gas was declining (1962 – 1972) and peaked right at the time of that historic low (up to then) in 1972.
Another factor to consider is the annual distance driven per year, which increased steadily throughout this whole period as the move to suburbs was on, big time.
So there were various factors that played into the impact on wallets from the price of gas. Folks drove less back in the early 50s, but the cost of gas was not insignificant in relation to income. It was a real factor for drivers of modest and lower middle-incomes.
The impact of the two energy crises are of course obvious on this chart, and the $3.81 price in 1981 was a new high-water mark since about 1920. But it came down again quite rapidly, bottoming out in 1998 at $1.61, the all-time low based on full-year national averages.
There were of course fluctuations both within those years as well as regionally, so undoubtedly folks will remember prices higher and lower than is shown here.
That brings me to my question as to whether I once bought the cheapest gas ever (not counting loss-leader gas wars). Over the Dec. 2001 – Jan. 2002 holidays, we went to California, where gas prices are usually higher than in Oregon, and typically the highest in the country due to very high taxes. But they were quite low already in the Bay Area where we stayed first. The kids wanted to go to Disneyland, and in Anaheim, I started seeing sign for 99 cent gas. When I saw one for 98 cents, I decided to fill up and I made a point of telling the kids: You will never see gas this cheap again. (Those were nominal numbers; that adjusts to $1.47 in 2020 dollars)
Someone in the comments recently questioned my memory of that, so I found this chart of monthly gas prices for the Southern California region: $1.02 in December of 2001. I don’t remember why it was so cheap; US oil prices did hit a temporary low of $30.46 (2020 dollars) in November of 2001, but that was still almost 50% higher than the then all-time low of $20.44 in December of 1998. There must have been an excess in California refineries at the time; it was not a local “price war”.
It appears I may have been wrong in what I told my kids: gas dropped briefly below one dollar in a few locations in the country in April of 2020, at the height of pandemic lock downs. Oil plunged to $22.06 in March of that year, but it was a short-lived phenomena, and both oil and gas prices rose quickly from that point forward.
Maybe I wasn’t actually wrong, as they never went that low out here on the West Coast, so we never did see them below a dollar here.
It is fascinating to see how gas prices have tended to revert to the $2.86 mean for the overall period (1918-2020), despite significant fluctuations and increases in taxes, at least in some states.
Related:
Excellent article Paul, inflation adjustment is so often forgotten (or purposely ignored) in
historic vehicle discussions. What I wondered was how anyone could afford to drive the big
land boats of the seventies, but then realized that so many of the current trucks get similar
low double/single digit mpg.
“but then realized that so many of the current trucks get similar low double/single digit mpg.”
Even if we’re counting the current crop of big HD gassers, I’m not sure I can agree with that. The most popular models are half-tons getting in the mid/high teens city, low 20s highway.
I was specifically thinking of lifted trucks and
as well as 3/4 tons, etc. I don’t see that many
trucks riding on stock type tires and wheels
In my area.
Another point to mention is that we probably drive further than we used to. Suburban sprawl and Euclidean zoning are largely post-WW2 phenomena; in that lead-pic Poncho’s day most such ‘burbs were fairly close in so it was a couple miles at most between home, school and shopping center and probably at most a 10 mile drive to Dad’s work, certainly outside 2 or 3 largest metro areas. A few generations of that later you have a recipe for putting a lot more miles on.
Gas price is very complicated to track over long period of time. Beside the inflation, local tax also plays very important role. Plus, almost all oil refineries gets the crude oil through contact, so its costs are difficult to track although the daily crude oil is good indicator. But we have say the recent gas price spike does eat into family budget because we paid much less two years ago. Please note on spring of 2020 Taxes crude oil futures were negative 37 dollars for few days, so someone did jump in and bought those contacts which eventually reflected into gas.
As the lowest gas price without inflation adjusted, I bought premium for 89 cents/gal in central Jersey in eve of 2000. I recalled by then some gas stations got in price war selling 69 cents/gal of regular gas. But NJ government accused the selling below costs and threaten posting fine.
On the subject of gas, does anyone have issue with the regular gas from Costco? For both of our vehicles (2011 v6 Venza and 2015 Odyssey) we notice the Costco regular gas does affecting the engine performance, we don’t see this from regular gas from BP and others.
Generally speaking, top-tier brands (BP, Shell, etc.) are the way to go for gas. They might be more expensive, but the minor increase per gallon is pennies, and well worth the extra cost.
Ironically, Costco claims their Kirkland Brand Gas is Top Tier….
https://www.costco.com/fuel-promise.html
Top Tier’s site confirms it….
https://www.toptiergas.com/licensed-brands/
How is that ironic?
Interesting data. My personal experience is that social and cultural values, changing over time in the US, have played a big part in the perception of gas prices. For example, I graduated from college in 1977 and started at an engineering job about 30 miles away, a 60 mile round trip commute. I was immediately connected with other engineers who lived near me, and joined their carpool. One guy’s slant-six A100 was a lot more pleasant if there happened to be five of us, than my own Vega GT hatchback. But I digress … my point is that carpooling was considered important then to save on driving expenses, even among fairly well-paid professionals. And the charts Paul included show 1977 as a fairly low point, though prices went nowhere but up for a few years afterwards. And for what it’s worth, despite generally improving fleet fuel economy, two of my current vehicles are among the thirstiest I’ve ever owned.
@Tygerleo, please don’t tell me that…
I sometimes get regular from Costco for my daily driver, but for my (cherished) cars, I get premium from Costco, because in Michigan, premium is grossly overpriced ($0.70 to $0.80 more per gallon) at BP (which is what I always put in, as I hope it is still like Amoco).
Anyway, I have not noticed a difference between BP and Costco.
However, I HAD the perception that my 2nd 86 Golf GTI with 100k seemed to get about 1 to 1.5 mpg less than my 1st 86 Golf GTI when it had 135k miles. Now, 27.5 to 28.5 vs 28.5 to 29.5 mpg is pretty minor–in summer driving, and about 1-2 mpg less on 150-200 mile trips (each way).
Now, there are many variables. The driving was comparable, not identical. We also have manufacturing variation. It’s possible car #1 was closer to “spot-on” as far as engine and fuel-injection than car#2.
However, there is another possible explanation. I think that from 1986 until the 1990s, most gasoline, certainly name brand 93-octane (Mobil, Amoco, Exxon) was GASOLINE, with no methanol.
At some point, the amount of ethanol in motor fuel increased. Today, Costco and BP have ethanol, though hopefully less than other brands. Ethanol has less energy. So fuel with 5% to 10% ethanol has about 98.4% to 97.3% the energy of “pure” gasoline.
and that seems to be the difference in my fuel consumption.
So, just now I did some quick online research. So, the government mandated ethanol use in motor fuel “to lower emissions” because ethanol emits less pollution when burned. OK. I believe, they did it at the behest of senators from big farm states, to help their contributors from big agriculture, like Archer Daniel Midland, Conagra, etc.
And studies show that the production of ethanol causes more pollution than what it saves.
So, this case, “the science” appears to show that ethanol is NOT helping the planet.
However, the “the science” used is a half-truth, since it only looks at auto tailpipe emissions, and glosses over
And that makes sense! Let’s all use about 3% more fuel, we won’t notice, so we can enrich big agriculture. Extrapolate that to other facets of daily lives, and…. I forgot, I come here to get away from the other facets…
I look for stations that advertise that they have non-ethanol gas. The last time I filled up a week ago, it was $2.80 for 87. Their ethanol gas was 10 cents cheaper. I have noticed a slight improvement of a 1.5 mpg or so, so your math works out.
My vehicle’s EPA ratings are 24/29 but I hypermile so I have usually averaged the hwy mpg in my daily use for decades.
Here’s an interesting comparison though. Across the border in Oklahoma, they started selling E-15 which was the cheapest gas during the recent spike as in 20 cents cheaper than E-10, so I ran two tanks through my car. My owners manual says I can use up to E-15.
My mpg dropped drastically! According to my records, the previous tank averaged 29.79 mpg. The first E-15 I averaged 22.94 and the next one was 22.1 mpg. I went back to no ethanol and the next tank was 27.48 with a couple of gallons of E15 still in the tank and the two after that were 30.42 and 29.86 mpg.
I agree. Ethanol gas sure wasn’t helping the planet in my case, as my average mpg dropped 27%.
I shudder to think what a FlexFuel Suburban gets running E-85 at 75 mph! My guess would be 15 mpg.
I’ve never seen gas stations advertise “non-ethanol” gas.
I would pay $0.10 more for it, just because I prefer no alcohol in 30 year old cars.
The availability of ethanol free gasoline depends on where you live. I took the attached photo on 10/31/2020 in Page, Arizona, which is close to the Utah border. Ethanol free pump gas is not available at all in Tucson, Arizona, which is where I’m living right now. Back when I lived in Montana, many stations served non ethanol premium by default; on my last couple of trips there, premium now contains ethanol, but the straight up stuff is still available for an extra 30-40 cents a gallon.
In my travels, I’ve encountered E85 that was actually priced competitively with E10 and diesel in North and South Dakota back in 2015 or 16… didn’t suss out the exact cost in units of energy per dollar, but it was in the ballpark. E85 was once available a a couple of stations in Tucson, always at haha prices… It’s nowhere to be found now. There are stations with four octane levels of gasoline in northern Utah; the lowest one IS 85 octane (MON+RON/2). I don’t think I’ve seen a motor vehicle produced in the last 50 years that allows less than 87 octane, but some stations in high altitude states still peddle the substandard stuff.
Edit: It rendered the photo sideways… Oy!
I also never find gas stations in Central NJ selling pure gas either. Rumor says Sunoco 94 is non-ethanol gas. Strangely in upstate NY, you will see independent gas stations selling pure gas, I guess there is really demand for the small engine snow mobile and boat engine.
In my opinion, the whole ethanol business is BS. It was sold to us a renewable US source fuel. But it uses so much energy to produce a gallon of ethanol from corn in US. It is produced with a lot of carbo emission in production and also produces another carbon emission in use. More, it puts a lot of stress in world food production, some true progressives accused US ethanol production as war against humanity!
I have found that non ethanol gas can usually be found in lake areas that cater to boat owners. Ethanol raises hell with boat motors.
I know there are websites to find non ethanol gas but stations are scare. I dont think they want to advertise since it is illegal to use non-ethanol for road vehicles. Only lawn mowers, jet ski’s, etc are allowed because no gas tax is collected for roads, if i recall. I wish ethanol would go away.
Gas prices in New Jersey were always much lower than in adjoining states because of low state per gallon taxes. I used to gas up (and get off the tolled Jersey Turnpike) at a point halfway from NYC to DC, the first place where there is a crossover to a parallel interstate. The interstate is also smoother and nicer than the turnpike. This would be enough gas for DC and the return to the crossover. I wasn’t the only one.
A few years ago New Jersey raised its gas tax to something like that in the surrounding states. Not sure if they still insist on full service only.
Point of clarification: N’Joysey and Orygun do not insist on full service, they prohibit self-service. Full serve is generally not offered; they do not check your tires, engine oil, or windshield washer fluid. They do not clean your windshield. No, what you get is “mini serve”: they fill the tank (when they get around to it) and take payment from you (when they get around to it) and sometimes they even remember to replace your gas cap.
Richmond BC does not allow self service gas stations, due to a fire in the 1970s when “self serve” was just starting.
It looks as though Richmond banned self-serve in 1966 and Coquitlam in 1959 not in reaction to any actual adverse event, but for the same bogus reasons as the few other North American jurisdictions that don’t allow it: Eeeeee, it’s not safe! Eeeeee, ordinary motorists aren’t trained to safely do it! Eeeee, there’ll be big fires and explosions, eeeeeeee! (and then, decades later, Eeeeeee! Youth employment opportunities, eeeeee!)
But in Jersey, the attendants expect a tip for their fine efforts. Same with vehicle inspections. My cousin found that if you leave a $20 on the front seat and it WILL pass. Too much trash on collection day? Leave a 12 pack with the rest of the stuff. I know, it’s all magic.
Wait, wait, whoah. A tip for the gas jockey?!!
New Jersey is no longer the cheap gas state anymore because of gas tax increases. More ironic is the tax was passed by our former fat Republican governor.
California gasoline standards may be tighter than other regions. Costco is about $.50 less than name brands around here, not insignificant. Both the 5.7 Vortec in the pickup and the 1.5 i-VTEC in the Honda cannot tell the difference. For convenience, the Honda gets Chevron, Mobil or Shell sometimes.
Thank you for helping me see how prices from my early driving years (late-60s, early-70s) figure into the bigger picture. It’s not hard to remember all the spikes, and this really shows the early-1980s bump. I appreciate you bringing fuel economy into the picture–I know my 1970s-80s cars got nothing like what I take for granted today.
Today’s column will be a good one to recommend to younger friends who’ve heard about the “cheap gas” days of yore, etc.
Here’s 1991, with Popular Mechanics wanting to go coast-to-coast on $100 in gas, then catching a price dip, with cost totaling only $64:
Good article. So many variables, but data is actually and notionally correct.
I remember $0.65 for unleaded on Long Island around 1977-78. That was also the number in Consumer Reports (for the “annual cost of fuel”). I remember paying $1.25 for regular unleaded, $1.35 for premium unleaded on my first fill-ups in 1981-82, the drop in fuel prices in 1985 or 1986 leading to under $1 per gallon for the first time for me.
Going by memory but I think that gas station was located in Buzzards Bay. The Pontiac owner looks so old until you look close. He might be 40. If you look close at the pump on the right, the wind must have spun the price sign around but gas from that pump is 24 cents.
Funny, just yesterday I was looking at a 1963 ad which explained the three grades of Gulf gasoline.
The sign is on the Good Gulf pump, and the pump on the right is the agulftane pump. Gulftane was cheaper than Good Gulf, and was of a lower octane. It was advertised as such: “It’s for cars that just don’t need extra octanes to do their best (and for those motorists who appreciate the extra thrift).” It probably caused pinging on all but the lowest compression engines of the time.
So the sign may be correct.
The cheapest gas I ever saw was in the winter of 1999. I remember filling up for 73 cents per gallon, and premium was 95 cents at the local Marathon or Admiral or whatever it was back then.
https://money.cnn.com/1999/02/21/home_auto/gasprice/
On a more personal note, I’m retired with limited income, but I put California premium in my car and it’s $5.15 as of yesterday. Fortunately I’m not driving that much so maybe my overall fuel costs aren’t that much. Still it’s got to be better than my college days when I had to only put $2 worth of gas in, at least now I’m filling it up.
For an amusing comparison, here’s a July, 2021 StreetView of the gas station in the opening shot. In the opening 1963 shot, gas was 29.9¢ – which works out to $2.74 in modern dollars*… very close to the $2.93/gal. in the StreetView image:
(*calculated using the overall BLS CPI Inflation Calculator)
This post and the comments made me realize that in almost every day since 1988(1985 if you count mopeds and dirtbikes) I can’t recall ever getting a “bad tank of gas”.
I seem to recall a brief hesitation from my ’92 Mustang that went away when I refilled, so maybe that’s one, but I’m not even sure.
Its just something I heard about and figured I’d have sometime but just never have.
Knock on wood.
That’s amazing consistency of product.
I always read (and heard first hand) that gasoline is all the same with any inconsistencies the result of contamination and/or bad filtering.
Some thoughts here…
I used to be involved with the manufacture of gasoline detergents. They all started with the same base detergent and we added additives to it for engine cleaning/moisture absorption; stuff like that. There were different blends for winter and summer as mandated by EPA for urban areas. Many had a “marker” in their batches of a miniscule amount that could be used (through proprietary tech) to detect if it was their gasoline in a car to be used for warranty claims/legal reasons. The overall blends were all The Same except for tiny variations of this or that, for cost. These blends were used in the U.S. and abroad, all having the same basic components and used in all the “brands” of fuel. The -only- one with a different detergent base was BP-Ultimate. It had a completely unique product. Don’t know much about it, except that it smelled vaguely like ammonia. I thought at the time that it might simply be so that their “Ultimate” could be clear as was advertised as the time. The other was a shade of brown/gold. Think “STP Gas Treatment” (wink wink) but much much thicker as a gallon of it went into over 6,000 gallons of gasoline. (Obviously OTC stuff is diluted with whatever solvents or you’d only need a dropful and the container on the shelf would be quite small) Yes, it was literally the same stuff already in your gas.(Surprise! They got you to buy a thing!)
Where was I?
So you had basically all the same gas with all the same detergents (except one) going everywhere for everything. I had no involvement in ethanol additives or other emission-specific stuff, just the detergent side of things. I suppose that’s a whole different set of variables but since I’ve written this long thing I’m going to send it anyway.
How does that work with the “additive” – i.e. where/when is it added to the fuel? Before the tanker truck leaves the dock? Or does the driver drop a gallon of the magic juice in when he refills the 6,000 gallon holding tank at the corner station and hope that it mixes well enough or is it something else entirely?
I do know this: all the gasoline that’s sold in Eugene and a 60 mile radius or so comes in via the same pipeline, from Portland and/or Seattle. All the various tanker delivery trucks fill up at this pipeline station, and then deliver it all over town. And there’s just two tanker delivery companies; maybe three. The deliver to all the stations; brand name, independent and Costco.
So is there any difference in the various brands of gas? If so, it has to be in an additive that’s added when the tankers fill up, or maybe some of the brands have storage tanks there on site and add it then.
But having seen this, I don’t believe there’s any genuine difference in any gas brand or independent dealers. It’s all marketing BS, from what I can see. But maybe I’m not seeing it all.
Government regulates the gasoline in US, so on paper it should be same. Consumer Reports always insists all gasoline sold in US are not different, they go further to insist using regular gas if engine allows. But I can say in Central Jersey Costco regular is different from BP and other big names.
Ironically my mechanic who worked in Acura in early 2010 said Honda bulletin accused BP gasoline causing engine problems.
So what are you saying? That only 87 octane gasoline is piped in? No other fuels?
Obviously not. I’m not an expert on how fuel pipelines work. I know there’s a way to move different fuels and more or less purge them in between.
My point is that I have some doubts as to whether the various brands are actually discreet products that come through the pipeline. But I could well be wrong. I would have to research it further.
My real point is that I have zero brand loyalty, as it’s all the same to me.
“Before the tanker truck leaves the dock?”
That’s my understanding. As Paul notes, many areas only offer bulk fuel at a single location. As each tank is loaded, the loading dock adds a octane/additive package specific to each customer, which then mixes with the base fuel load as it travels to their station.
You are correct sir.
My dad sold petroleum equipment, my brother was a petroleum engineer, and I had a good friend who drove a gas tanker.
The additive package is (was?) mixed in as the tank truck was being filled. Since various brands will fill from the same bulk tank the gasoline is the same, the additive package may differ, and the amounts of additive mixed in can differ – but it’s all automatically done.
(The comment did a weird thing and my phone may have been the culprit. So in case my other comment surfaces please delete it as this one has mission-creep)
The detergent blend is added at the time of gasoline filling of the tanker at the terminal. One gallon for a 6,000 gallon load was common but could vary. I didn’t have first-hand experience with that but that was my understanding.
A couple tidbits since we’re here:
The moisture absorption additive in the detergent was about one gallon per 6,000 gallon batch. Very concentrated. A drop into a glass of water turns all the water into a froth/foam, presumably able to be burned by combustion.
The marker for product ID was a tiny tiny amount (don’t remember exactly, like a Kool-Aid scoop) of crystalline powder into a 6,000 gallon batch. I think some kind of I.R. is used to detect it at such an absurd dilution by the time it’s in the fuel. (Most batches didn’t have it as it was thousands of dollars for one pail. Not something you want to spill)
“I can’t recall ever getting a “bad tank of gas”.”
My experience matches yours, but I use these two recommendations for avoiding bad gas:
1) Use stations selling lots of fuel. Even if the tanks have water contamination (typically rain water), regular fuel deliveries dilute the water and spread it out into many fuel tanks.
2) Avoid fueling up while the fuel truck is there. When the truck unloads fuel into the tank it CAN roil up sediment and water from the base of the tank, which then makes its way into your tank.
Great advice, Dave. Thanks.
I normally strictly adhere to #1 and the one time I did it on a trip it bit me. I had planned on stopping in the last large town before we left the interstate but I messed up and didn’t stop. Get to the point where we get off the interstate and realize I need gas to get where we are going and there is just a little run down station at the interchange and I had to no choice but to get gas there. Next day pulling a long grade and there was a loss of power, like a clogged fuel filter. I was able to make it back down into a town with an auto parts store and after a new filter it was back running as it should. I changed it 3 more times before I made it home.
This is interesting, partly on its own and partly because I’m an economics stats geek. These numbers square quite well with my memory that the early 80s and 2006 were the peaks in my lifetime. I also remember the late 90s as a golden age for owning a big Ford van with a 35 gallon tank.
That 2012 peak – I am not remembering that one, and I wonder if using average national prices might have taken into account some factors that might have affected coastal areas more than me in the midwest.
My other curiosity in the stats is in the 1929-32 period – I wonder if the model this guy uses for inflation adjustment actually took into account a deflation rate of something like 40% due to a sharp increase in the value of the gold-backed dollar due to the depression. That period was a long-ago anomaly, and I wonder how the modern calculating model deals with it – these fuel price numbers of that period seem to have oddly small fluctuations. Or, the plummeting demand for gas during the period (as with every other consumer good) may have offset the deflationary effect.
I have been a little amazed at the relatively restrained prices of fuel lately.
25.9 is the cheapest gas I ever bought, 1970-72 would be my guess, Mobil station. I just checked on Google maps, 36 miles round trip to buy the cheap gas, it was probably 40.9 in my home town. The 63 Ford 352(406 heads and cam) 4 speed 3.50 gears probably didn’t get 15 mpg with me driving it. Should have done the math.
There were “Cut Rate” gas stations, Imperial may have been the brand, that were selling at 19.9. Nobody would admit to buying gas at a cut rate station. That all changed when the first gas crunch hit.
Now I have two stations very close by that are usually the low price leaders in my area. The down side is two of my vehicles are premium only and the truck, 2018 F150 3.5L EcoBoost can use regular or premium, I use premium when towing the RV. The next trip I may experiment and see if I can figure out fuel mileage effects of the different fuels. Fuel mileage is easy to calculate but with towing there are so many other things affecting the fuel economy its difficult to pin down the difference caused by the fuel choice.
The ironic thing is my 2018 F150 SuperCrew 3.5L 10 speed 4×4 3.55 gears 6.5ft box Max Tow pickup gets better fuel mileage on the highway then my 1972 PINTO station wagon 2.0L 4speed radial tires AM radio Red with the wood siding and no power steering, power brakes, A/C etc
After the period of Rube Goldberg pollution reduction the introduction of computer controlled fuel injection etc. modern IC engines are far more efficient not to mention far less polluting today than (can it be?) cars of 50 years ago. Too bad about the CO2….
CO2 is not a pollutant, and not a problem. My garden loves it. (I will not be reducing my CO2 output no matter what our so-called “leaders” might want. No electric car or rooftop solar panels for me, thank you very much.)
Not this again. Yes, CO2 is not a pollutant in the traditional sense. It’s not noxious — i.e., doesn’t cause asthma or other respiratory ills in people. But it is a greenhouse gas and is a major contributor to human-induced climate change.
If we somehow could plant and rapidly grow a trillion or so more trees around the world in areas not affected by too little rainfall, they could help to mitigate the problem.
It was the spring/summer of 1999, around the time I graduated high school. I lived in northeastern Pennsylvania, and Sheetz (a gas station convenience store chain from Altoona PA, that was expanding fast in the Mid Atlantic at the time, and was a trendsetter in using touchscreens to order from their large menu of (quite good, actually) made-to-order food a solid 15 years before this started to become common in the fast food industry. They had just opened a new station in my sleepy hometown, which was at an intersection of a road that led to a locally popular amusement park, Knoebel’s. Gas was already historically cheap, but when Sheetz moved in they tended to trigger a bit of a “gas war.”
That spring and summer, I distinctly remember Sheetz at that location selling 86 octane gas for $0.799 – the cheapest I have EVER seen in my life. 89 octane was $0.829, and IIRC 93 octane was $0.899. I wish I had photo evidence, but I was still firmly in the film photography camp at that point, and didn’t spend time taking pictures of gas pumps.
For some low-priced-gas viewing pleasure, check out the opening credits to The Sopranos on HBO; those would likely have been filmed in 1997 or 1998, and there’s a quick shot of a gas station in what is likely Elizabeth or Newark, NJ, with under $0.99 gasoline. Perfectly encapsulates that era of “Pax Americana,” where people were claiming history had ended and we had won, yet there was something a little uneasy about it all in the air; change was coming, we just didn’t know the form it would take. The ultimate calm before the storm.
About that period of “Pax Americana,” I remember it well: driving past a cut-rate station with the name “Lowest Price” on my way home from work. This had to be in the spring or early summer of 1999. Bill Clinton had avoided impeachment (technically conviction), the stock market was going gangbusters (the dotcom boom), and here was regular gas at about 80 cents a gallon.
I recall thinking to myself, “Enjoy it all while it lasts!”
Just a typo correction: it was 87 octane, not 86 octane. I last saw 86 octane in PA around the early 90s.
In the summer of 1999, I filled up for $0.73 per gallon at the old P&R Petroleum on the Tilton Road in Northfield, New Jersey, and I remember saying to myself that this would never, ever be seen again.
Yesterday I saw the most expensive gasoline price I have ever witnessed in North America, C$1.72 per litre. For the 94 octane no-ethanol fuel I always use, it was exactly $1.99. I have always used this fuel and my Golf is now configured to need at least 91. I have been sternly warned to never use 87 in it.
While fuel is expensive, my fill-up yesterday only cost C$78.00, since I drive a relatively small car. Living in a walking area helps limit car use. That $78.00 tank will last me at least a month. I understand not everyone can live in a walking city but where I live, it is actually a lot more convenient to walk on my errands.
My Depression era parents always taught me that one should never consume to the limit of one’s income. When I was car shopping in 2018, I could have bought a larger, more expensive car but these Depression era values kept me from doing it. Conserving less rather than more has always suited me, but to each their own.
As the price of crude rises our gas/diesel goes up when crude falls the price lags far behind coming down $50 yesterday in my Hillman of regular 91 = 18 litres I only wanted to check for leaks it smelled of gas last time I actually filled it, found the leak just a split filler vent hose simple fix, but its now well over $120 to fill it from empty and it doesnt go far on a tank
Definitely a different story in Vancouver.
When I moved here in 1979, gas was C$.90 per litre. It’s now about C$1.70 per litre (about US$5 per US gallon) – whereas by simple inflation it would be about C$.90.
Most of this is policy-driven of course – a constantly-increasing provincial (soon to be national) carbon tax plus a regional transit tax, in addition to the ‘normal’ federal and provincial sales taxes.
To feel better we can always look at Europe, where gas prices are generally 40-60% higher than even ours.
Poor proof-reading. 🙂 In 1979, gas was C$.25 per litre.
I rccall my dad buying gas in 1967 or 1968, on a trip to Grandpa and Grandma’s house in Ohio (along I-75) for 19 cents a gallon in a time of the ‘gas wars’. When I worked at a Sunoco station in ’73-74, I watched gas soar from 36.9 cents to around 54.9 cents (despite Nixon’s “price controls”, remember those?) But two years ago, at the start of the pandemic, when so many people were ‘grounded’ at home, I bought gas locally in Wisconsin for 99 cents a gallon. Adjusted for inflation, that’s the cheapest gas I’ve ever bought, by far! (The 19 cents in 1967 = about $1.50 in 2020.) Though gas prices in the midwest are up to about $3 a gallon (and many people are complaining), gas is still way cheap, from a historical viewpoint.
Having worked in sales at a Chevrolet dealership in 2010-11, I’ve seen the HP & MPG ratings on their flex-fuel vehicles. On e85 the HP goes up and the MPG goes down. On regular gas, it is the reverse.
Ethanol has a higher octane and lower density, so it makes sense. The engine adjusts to the higher octane by making more power, but the mixture has to be richer primarily due to fewer carbon atoms per gallon.
From memory (and pretty much borne out by the charts) fuel seemed cheapest from about 1985 to 2002. Low lead regular 89 PON was about $.75 /gal. in the mid to late 80’s. I was glad as I was mostly feeding a 13 mpg ’73 Fury. I was premium fuel only for the 90’s and early 2000’s. In ’98 crude had sunk to about $18./bbl., if my memory serves. Premium fuel was about $.95/gal. The cars that I used that in did 25 to 35 mpg averages.
On one hand, I understand gas/crude oil, is an international commodity, with global pricing. So, that might have a little bit of effect on things. But my god, the price manipulation beyond that is bizarre. I’m in Northern Calif, but for an assortment of reasons have very regularly gassed up in Bakersfield since ’90 or so. Til just after 2000, it was 10-20 cents a gallon cheaper down there. Then all of the sudden it flipped and has been 10-20 cents a gallon more expensive. For the past 10 or 20 years there’s been a 10 cent a gallon difference between regular/mid/premium. Now it’s shifting to 20 and 10 or 15 and 15, but some places still only a dime difference. And sometimes on vacation I’ve seen 60 or 70 cents a gallon difference between regular and mid grade. Curiously only on stations that only list the price of regular on outside signs, though the pump does show what they’re charging.
We travel some, mostly west of the Rockies and gas prices for the most part, aren’t much different than our infamous California prices. But I see national averages or some midwest/south and gasp at how much lower they are. And the old song about how stations can’t charge less because they’ll lose market share? Now they can charge whatever they want, but how can they say that with a straight face?
The blends. Heated O2 sensors put cars into closed loop so quick now, and cats light off fast, I really don’t believe using oxygenated fuels really makes much difference, except to the makers of ethanol and their bank accounts. And wouldn’t that be illegal anyway as it’s altering emissions systems by changing the air/fuel ratio from factory calibration? Apparently not in spite of my interpretation of regs.
Lastly, if anyone’s made it this far, the lowest gross I’ve ever seen was before I was driving in the 60’s, I saw on occasion below 20 a gallon, probably 18.9. Lowest I’ve paid was 23.9 in the early 70’s before it all went to hell. And at one of those 23.9 occasions I saw diesel at 16.9. I knew my car wouldn’t run on it, but I still wanted to gas up with it at that price!
Cheapest ever seen was the .25/gallon that the Montgomery Ward service station was charging during the 73 gas crisis. Apparently, the guys at corporate hadn’t figured out that you could charge more due to market conditions. This persisted for about a month until someone woke up and raised the price. Until then, I was able to buy all I wanted without waiting in line at a great price.
Last week I saw the highest price ever, $7.50 for a gallon of #2 diesel at a non-branded station, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park. Oddly, propane was $3.55, cheaper than we pay in Los Angeles.
Wow, how much was regular unleaded? Currently in my area (central VA), there’s only about a 20-cent spread between regular gas and diesel.
87 gasoline was about $6 there, but $5.15 just a half hour away at Stovepipe Wells. Currently in Los Angeles diesel is generally the same as 89 gasoline.
I have complete electronic records for gas prices paid dating back to 2004. The highest nominal price (not inflation adjusted) for unleaded regular was $3.91 at our home in Charlottesville, VA in June 2008.
The lowest was $1.39 in April 2020 near the start of pandemic, besting previous lows in December 2008 and February 2016 by about a dime.
I lost my old hard copy records, but I recall paying about 75 cents per gallon during the crude oil bottom in 1986. My lowest ever, again from memory, was paying 50.9 or 51.9 cents for unleaded regular at an Omega station on I-70 near Dayton, Ohio in 1976. My car at the time, a ’75 VW Rabbit, had a cat so couldn’t use the 2-cent-cheaper regular leaded.
Tangents: Upvotes for anyone using constant prices.
In other places on the internet many people don’t remember the spike of 2008.
Are we still bailing out the Highway Trust Fund?
Is the per-mile cost of gas anywhere near keeping up with the rest of the cost of running a car?
Yes, in June-July of 2008, gas prices peaked at over $4.00 in many places in the US. No doubt it was over $5 in California. I personally paid just under $4, at $3.91.
I’ve taken your suggestion about constant dollars (Nov. 2021, using the CPI inflation calculator).
So for the unleaded 87 prices I cite in my prior post, plus Dec. 2008, now adjusted…
1976 personal low: $2.56
1986 during the oil glut: $1.92
June 2008: $4.97(!)
December 2008 (after the financial crash): $1.98
April 2020 (start of pandemic lockdowns): $1.51
In response to your question about the highway trust fund, I’m pretty sure we’re still bailing it out from general revenue (that is, other taxes). The trust fund doesn’t take in enough money from the gas tax, which has been frozen at 18 cents and a fraction since 1993.
Good stuff, picking up where my distracted/occupied/lazy self left off.
Also one more thing (but you don’t have to do anymore research for me):
Gas used to be 10 cents a gallon between Regular & Better, and another 10 cents to Super. In rough terms, that was only maybe one cent a mile, even less if the car got well over 20mpg real world.
Now it’s quite a lot more. I am amazed that on many places on the internet (not here) if gas goes up 20 cents a gallon people really soil themselves, but the grade price difference is hardly ever part of the question.
Some fifty years ago, plus or minus, car ads would say “On regular gas!” as a selling point. Today, not so much.
Metro Detroit, since summer 2000, 93-octane premium, my extremes
Nov 01, 2001 paid ONLY $1.269 (Amoco/BP)
Sep 02, 2012 paid $4.399 (BP)
Back in October 2001, I bought a 1979 5th Avenue on eBay. One Saturday, a friend and I drove out to a little used car lot in West Virginia, near Cumberland MD, in my 2000 Intrepid and picked it up. I remember topping off out there, so I could start off on a full tank. When we got back home, I topped off again.
I just checked that car’s mileage record, which I put into an Excel spreadsheet. On October 20, 2001, I paid $1.079 per gallon to fill it up. I can’t remember the octane, but I’m thinking I put midgrade in it. I remember we topped off the Intrepid at the same time, but my records on it don’t go back that far, at least in Excel, and I don’t know where my paper log got to. I’m a packrat, so I know it’s around somewhere. But, I seem to recall putting 87 octane in the Intrepid, and it was under $1.00/gal!
Taking inflation into account, that timeframe might be the cheapest I ever paid for gasoline. Of course, we were also deep into a recession, in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, and oil/fuel prices had tanked, so there were extenuating circumstances!
On 4/29/20, I put 87 octane in a 2003 Regal, and paid $1.679. I can also remember putting gasoline in my 2000 Intrepid on Christmas Day, 2008, and paying $1.499/gal for 87. That was a huge drop, considering it had been around $4.00/gal just a few months before we slipped into the Great Recession.
All I know is I was a teen driver in the 70s and and the gas price was much easier to afford as a restaurant dish washer than the $5 a gallon price in my area. Working 80 hrs a week hauling the stuff everyone needs to survive.
All I know is that a 1972, I was 16 years old and worked at a Union station making minimum wage of $1.65 an hour. premium gas at the time was 39.9 cents a gallon. so figuratively,40 cents a gallon goes into $1.65, a little over four times.now if you take today’s minimum wage and you compare the cost versus 4 gallons of gas,here in California,that would make the minimum wage about 20 bucks an hour currently. So now does somebody want to tell me how gas prices aren’t more expensive now, comparatively? And any wage over $1.65 an hour would make the cost of gasoline even cheaper in comparison to now.
The US federal non-farm minimum wage was $1.60/hr from 1 Feb 1971 until it went up on 1 May 1974 to $2/hr. Your $1.60/hr pay in 1972 would be $10.67 in today’s dollars. Today’s minimum wage is $7.25/hr, which in 1972 would’ve been $1.09/hr, and one hour’s work at that wage would’ve bought 2.73 gallons of gasoline at 39.9¢/gallon.
Compared to the price of a gallon of gasoline, it’s much bigger that today’s minimum wage is 32% lower than it was in 1972, and that average American income stopped keeping pace with inflation in 1974. The US federal minimum wage has never exceeded its 1974 purchasing power (though it equalled it briefly in 1978).
One thing that might be missing from these calculations is the increase in taxes over a period of time. I think the wholesale price would be more accurate.