WHO IS PAYING THE MOST (OR LEAST) IN THE WORLD FOR GAS????

[stickyvicky]

I saw on the news the gas prices today are exactly the same as they were one year ago today?

[greggl]

Saw Sams Club had regular for $2.80 today

[WalterB]

This is a post from a year ago
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Before leaving on my trip, I checked gas prices the night before with Gas Buddy. I knew I could make it to Abilene, just over 430 miles. At Abilene, about the cheapest station I found was at Walmart for $3.02 a gallon. So off I went.

When I got off the freeway at Abilene and got to the first intersection to turn right, across the street was a Quik Trip station advertising gas for $2.77 a gallon. Well, I ain’t passing this up. So I pulled in, found a pump, (they were busy) and looked. Sure enough regular for $2.77 a gallon. So I filled up, 12 gallons, saving $.25 a gallon.

As I traveled through Abilene back to the freeway, I saw several stations at $2.77 up to about $2.85 a gallon. Temple was another 185 miles. And now I was on a state highway, as opposed to the freeway. In several small towns the prices were the same, $2.77 to $2.85 a gallon. When I got here, I looked up Gas Buddy, and sure enough, the prices shown were in that price range. So obviously, gas prices went down $.30 a gallon overnight. I sure hope they’re that far down in your area.

Except for one, it's the last post 'til March. This is when I took my trip to Temple for Thanksgiving. So, according to what I wrote here, you are right, Vicky.

[rokkerr]

Under $3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here in Florida for the first time in forever!

[WalterB]

Prices in El Paso everywhere from $2.44 - $3.00. I paid $2.46 at my station this morning.

[WalterB]

Well, I thought I was getting a deal. I guess I still did to an extent. They've been building a new station here, a Murphy station, which is associated with Walmart. Sometimes they're cheaper, so I generally go to the Murphy at the Walmart up by the freeway.

Prices here have been running around $3.50. So, today, coming back from breakfast, I saw that this station was advertising $2.99. Well, I'm jumping on that. I figured it was an "Opening Day" price, so figured I"d help them, lol. Even more surprising is that I was below 1/4 tank. Usually I only see cheap gas when I've got about 7/8 tank.

So, once home I decided to look at the Gas Buddy heat map. I see that several stations are doing $2.99. So It's not a special price. But it's still a good one. Prices in El Paso are going from $2.99 to as high as $3.50

[WalterB]

Gas today running around $3.25 here.

[WalterB]

Everyone else going down? This morning, I see we're down as low as $3.15, down from about $3.90 not more than a couple months ago. There are a number at around $3.15, but most on the East side are still around $3.40 and $3.79 - $4.00 on the West side

[WalterB]

Wow! Gas down a couple cents here. $2.95 at Murphy and Circle K. Ten cents a gal cheaper if you have their discount. I do, Murphy. So, it's $2.85 there.

[rokkerr]

No wonder a gallon price has is absurd!

[ErikB]

No wonder a gallon price has is absurd!

Could be a broken pump, but could also be a fake. They don't actually show the hose leading to the correct side of the pump. The could hold the nozzle from another pump for filming and squirt a little from the real nozzle off-screen.

[WalterB]

The other pump would have to be pretty close. But that still could be. I remember a couple times when I would turn a pump on and see 10¢ alreadt on the screen. Don't remember what I did, lol.

[rokkerr]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/17/what-th ... ption.html

ANYONE here have an electric car? The Norwegians have figured it out...

[Porsing_22]

by rokkerr » February 17th, 2024, 11:52 pm
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/17/what-th ... ption.html

ANYONE here have an electric car? The Norwegians have figured it out...
Re: WHO IS PAYING THE MOST (OR LEAST) IN THE WORLD FOR GAS????

Yes, this is mainly correct:

Two points to mention though:
1) Prices of electric cars are similar to prices of gas/diesel cars, mainly because they have significantly reduced taxes.
As taxes on cars traditionally have been VERY high in Norway (compared to e.g. the US), the tax reduction for electric cars (which normally would have been more expensive than gas/diesel driven cars) has made a significant relative cut in prices for the private buyer. This, in combination with saving on toll road and parking costs, and allowing use of bus lanes for electro-cars, gave strong incentives.
Already now, petroleum-dependant cars (even chargeable hybrids) make up only a small (and shrinking) part of total sales of new cars according to car sales companies.

2) One error/ambiguity though in the cnbc article, in the second-to-last paragraph:
"Electric cars are maybe a third of the price of gasoline because we have close to 100% hydropower."
The "a third" is the price of the fuel/electricity when charging the car batteries, not the price of the cars.

Still this means nice savings compared to the high gas/diesel prices of today (about 2.2 $/L or 5.5 US$/US gallon in Norway).

[lance_s]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/17/what-th ... ption.html

ANYONE here have an electric car? The Norwegians have figured it out...

One handicap with electric cars is driving range. Most drivers want a car that can go 400 - 500 km without "refuelling". My personal psychological barrier is Ottawa to Toronto non-stop, even though I don't make that trip probably more than once a year.

If the market would accept cars with a 200 km range, I think electric cars would come down a LOT in price.

The other issue for most of Canada and the northern US states is winter. It gets a LOT colder here than the populated areas of Norway. With petrol cars, heating the cabin comes from energy that would otherwise be wasted. With electric cars, every degree of cabin heat comes at the price of corresponding reduction in range.

[WalterB]

Good point on the heating. I wonder how folks in Minnesota get thru the winter.

I make a fair number of road trips - 2 or 3 a year? I just not interested in spending $50,000 to drive 3 hours so I can sit for another hour recharging my $10,000 battery so I can drive another 3 hours. And that's 3 hours and 2 hours for charging in the winter (on a trip.) You're going to sit there running the car AND the heater while you're charging, so it'll take much longer to charge.

And, as has been said before, my gas-powered car will go 500 miles before needing a fill-up. And that fill-up will take me 15 minutes. I still agree that electric vehicles have their place. Just not in my garage.

[lance_s]

Good point on the heating. I wonder how folks in Minnesota get thru the winter.

I make a fair number of road trips - 2 or 3 a year? I just not interested in spending $50,000 to drive 3 hours so I can sit for another hour recharging my $10,000 battery so I can drive another 3 hours. And that's 3 hours and 2 hours for charging in the winter (on a trip.) You're going to sit there running the car AND the heater while you're charging, so it'll take much longer to charge.

And, as has been said before, my gas-powered car will go 500 miles before needing a fill-up. And that fill-up will take me 15 minutes. I still agree that electric vehicles have their place. Just not in my garage.

Well, they say you should take a break every few hours on a long road trip. And electric cars will charge to 80% in about 20 minutes. Enough time to stretch your legs and get a snack. So from a safe driving perspective, maybe electric cars actually do make sense.

But I can't see a motorway rest stop having enough charging points for 50 cars to be plugged in at a time. Or people like you and I changing our driving habits... I suspect southern Norway has a much higher density of charging stations for cars than anywhere in North America.

I have actually been thinking about an electric bike with a shopping cart for small local trips.

[Davest]

Range is also the big impediment for me. My daughter is about 300 miles (480 km) away. I also drive about 400 miles (640 km) to see friends in the Atlanta area several times each year. And once or twice a year I drive 600 miles (960 km) to see friends in Erie, PA. I make all of those trips in a single day (or night) with minimal stops (like five minutes) for gas or bathroom breaks.

[lance_s]

Range is also the big impediment for me. My daughter is about 300 miles (480 km) away. I also drive about 400 miles (640 km) to see friends in the Atlanta area several times each year. And once or twice a year I drive 600 miles (960 km) to see friends in Erie, PA. I make all of those trips in a single day (or night) with minimal stops (like five minutes) for gas or bathroom breaks.

For me, round trip to the cottage = 200 km, plus a buffer for some driving there plus the car may not be fully charged when I start means 300 km range in a Canadian winter (i.e., energy to heat the cabin) means I'd be looking at close to the maximum range currently available. For road trips to Toronto, I'd have to stop and top up the charge.

[WalterB]

You and I think alike, Davest, lol. I will stop to take pictures. For example, on my last trip to LA, there was an old gas station sitting off of I-10, all by itself. I made the mistake of not noting where the hell it was, and I-10 is kind of a long road, But it's a left over memory of days long ago, before freeways. The road you see would have been the main road in the '50's. As you can see, the development of freeways, while great for the overall economy, spelled death for a lot of businesses. Bowie, Az, is an excellent example. Steins is another, Maybe I'll post some pics in my Travelogue.
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