Just bought gas for under $3

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:37 am

Kraken wrote:I think I paid $2.19 for premium a couple of weeks ago. I know I got a full tank for $20. The enormous pickup truck that filled up before me paid $55. I can't even imagine keeping one of those beasts fueled under normal prices...although they're saying that what we're paying now could last a couple of years. New normal?

Prices on premium are weird. Ive seen it as much as a dollar per gallon higher than regular.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 8:22 am

LordMortis wrote:Up North

http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-n ... 5172-story

78 cents per gallon was recorded at Beacon & Bridge Market while 95 cents per gallon was recorded at the Marathon in Houghton Lake. Prices were verified by GasBuddy after a review of photographs uploaded to GasBuddy's app.
How the heck is under a buck up north and still near $2 a gallon here? Though, I'm not really one to complain paying $1.79 a gallon at this point.

One of those same stations was selling for 47 cents a gallon!

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:08 pm

I got gas for 1.50/gal this morning. Seems like prices have really been falling for a little bit now.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:16 pm

We're looking at getting a plug-in hybrid or a full electric and I think the drop in gas prices will help us on that end. I'm hoping anyway.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:42 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:We're looking at getting a plug-in hybrid or a full electric and I think the drop in gas prices will help us on that end. I'm hoping anyway.

If the trend in gas prices continue, the supply of electrics should surpass the demand and drive the price down. Thats whats really needed in the US affordable electric cars. Right now they are priced too high and dont really end up providing a financial savings in the long run. Unfortunately the auto manufacturers are just as likely to slow or stop production to keep the price up.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:08 am

$1.34 - how low can it go!

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:20 am

rshetts2 wrote:
LawBeefaroni wrote:We're looking at getting a plug-in hybrid or a full electric and I think the drop in gas prices will help us on that end. I'm hoping anyway.
If the trend in gas prices continue, the supply of electrics should surpass the demand and drive the price down. Thats whats really needed in the US affordable electric cars. Right now they are priced too high and dont really end up providing a financial savings in the long run. Unfortunately the auto manufacturers are just as likely to slow or stop production to keep the price up.

The last analysis I saw (it was a few years ago at peak prices) put the break-even point at around $6.50 per gallon, so even at it's worst, it was still not cost-effective. The price of the technology has fallen a bit since and that analysis did not include tax credits which may be available. It's kind of a moot point for me, however, there's no place to charge the thing. I guess the Nissan dealer has charging stations their customers can use (maybe other dealers do too?) -- I saw a guy sitting in his car charging for about an hour reading the newspaper when we bought my wife's car. Seems like a huge imposition on one's time.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:17 am

Or a nice break from his wife and any extant children. It may have been the only peace he got.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:25 am

Perhaps. It just seems like a dismal thing to have to do on a regular (daily?) basis.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:28 pm

Jeff V wrote:Perhaps. It just seems like a dismal thing to have to do on a regular (daily?) basis.

Seriously? Dismal to plug in a car overnite? Welcome to 1st world problems 101. Dont buy a smart phone, those suckers will drive you nuts then.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:42 pm

rshetts2 wrote:
Jeff V wrote:Perhaps. It just seems like a dismal thing to have to do on a regular (daily?) basis.
Seriously? Dismal to plug in a car overnite? Welcome to 1st world problems 101. Dont buy a smart phone, those suckers will drive you nuts then.

He's referring to driving to a dealership to sit in the car and wait while it charges there.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:48 pm

rshetts2 wrote:
Jeff V wrote:Perhaps. It just seems like a dismal thing to have to do on a regular (daily?) basis.
Seriously? Dismal to plug in a car overnite? Welcome to 1st world problems 101. Dont buy a smart phone, those suckers will drive you nuts then.

You don't think driving to a dealer to charge your car every day is not an inconvenience? You must have an awful lot of time on your hands.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:00 pm

Jeff V wrote:
rshetts2 wrote:
Jeff V wrote:Perhaps. It just seems like a dismal thing to have to do on a regular (daily?) basis.
Seriously? Dismal to plug in a car overnite? Welcome to 1st world problems 101. Dont buy a smart phone, those suckers will drive you nuts then.
You don't think driving to a dealer to charge your car every day is not an inconvenience? You must have an awful lot of time on your hands.

He's referring to parking your car in your garage to go about your business while it charges there.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:04 pm

wonderpug wrote:
Jeff V wrote:
rshetts2 wrote:
Jeff V wrote:Perhaps. It just seems like a dismal thing to have to do on a regular (daily?) basis.
Seriously? Dismal to plug in a car overnite? Welcome to 1st world problems 101. Dont buy a smart phone, those suckers will drive you nuts then.
You don't think driving to a dealer to charge your car every day is not an inconvenience? You must have an awful lot of time on your hands.
He's referring to parking your car in your garage to go about your business while it charges there.

My garage doesn't have a charger and since its a rental house, I'll not be paying to install one.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:06 pm

Your garage does not have a 120V outlet?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:59 pm

stessier wrote:Your garage does not have a 120V outlet?

Those are specifically not recommended, as has been posted here in other threads discussing such things.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:02 pm

Jeff V wrote:
stessier wrote:Your garage does not have a 120V outlet?
Those are specifically not recommended, as has been posted here in other threads discussing such things.

Not recommended by whom? You'll have to point that out. They all charge fine using it. They take longer, but they charge fine.

I don't even know why I bother - you'll continue to ignore the truth just to complain. But at least it gives you something to keep you busy.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:14 pm

By the manufacturer. but I see at least one of them has a slow-charging 120V cord available. I would, however, need to run a very long extension cord to the street and I suspect this is not a good idea in shitty weather.

Anyway, it's rather a moot point at the moment since they all seem to be very tiny cars and those are not very practical.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:17 pm

stessier wrote:Your garage does not have a 120V outlet?

As far as I know, Ford and Tesla really need to have the your house rewired for their outlets to be practical.

I can't speak for others.

Also if you plug your Tesla in for 10 hours every night at 110/12 Amps you get about 30 miles per day. That doesn't cover my commute to work.

https://www.teslamotors.com/models-charging#/outlet

NEMA 5-15 Standard Outlet 110 V / 12 A 1.4 kW 3

Tesla recommend that you essentially turn your garage into an RV charging station.

Prep Your Garage

We recommend working with a trusted electrician to install your Wall Connector or NEMA 14-50 outlet before your Model S arrives. All Model S include a Mobile Connector cable and an adapter for the NEMA 14-50 outlet.

Depending on your home’s electrical system, installing a Wall Connector at maximum amperage may be more difficult than installing a 240 volt outlet due to power availability. The Wall Connector can be set to any amperage level. While you won’t charge at the rate of 58 miles per hour of charge, you will be able to enjoy the convenience of a sleek, permanently installed Connector.

I'm keeping my eyes open for the an EV but right now the cost of an electrician is part of the cost of owning an EV for my purposes and needs to be considered. Otherwise I won't have a car, I'll have a toy.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:24 pm

Come to think about it, it could be using an extension cord atop the charging cable was not recommended. And before you ask, no, it is not possible to empty out my walk-in beer cooler to the extent that it could ever accommodate a car.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:37 pm

Also of note, at a garage I am associated with, the electrical work install a NEMA 14-50 outlet was fairly extensive as the draw is so high we couldn't just convert an outlet. They had to do some VooDoo but that might be because we really need a whole nother transformer. It's hard for me to say because I don't understand or speak electrician. However, seeing what I pain it was for that garage, it is a little scary to think about the draw in my 1950's house that is already under-powered and craptacularly wired.

But still I watch. The idea of affordably plugging in an affordable car every night instead of stopping at a gas station once a week sounds awesome. Also, it has been my experience that motorized things without combustion need less maintenance.

telcta · Post by **telcta** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:40 pm

I plug my Fusion in overnight in a regular 110 outlet in the garage and never had a problem. I'm no electrician and I've read that although it charges just fine albeit slower, it's not as efficient than a 240 line - something about more electricity is wasted with the slower charge.

The car itself has a 3.3kW onboard charger so even if there were faster charging options, the quickest it will charge is about 2 1/2 hours to go about 20-25 miles. It's about 5 1/2 hours overnight in my garage which is enough to get me to work and about halfway back. Winter time and using the heat will kill 30-40% of the battery range.

We have a fair amount of charging stations, all the ones I've plugged into are free for now and most are in places we shop anyhow so it works out for me since they're usually available.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:46 pm

telcta wrote:The car itself has a 3.3kW onboard charger so even if there were faster charging options, the quickest it will charge is about 2 1/2 hours to go about 20-25 miles. It's about 5 1/2 hours overnight in my garage which is enough to get me to work and about halfway back. Winter time and using the heat will kill 30-40% of the battery range.

Wow. That is way better than the estimates I got.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:57 pm

LordMortis wrote:
telcta wrote:The car itself has a 3.3kW onboard charger so even if there were faster charging options, the quickest it will charge is about 2 1/2 hours to go about 20-25 miles. It's about 5 1/2 hours overnight in my garage which is enough to get me to work and about halfway back. Winter time and using the heat will kill 30-40% of the battery range.
Wow. That is way better than the estimates I got.

It also wouldn't serve a winter round trip to and from work. I wonder if any towing services have a frequent customer program?

telcta · Post by **telcta** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 5:06 pm

That's the most frustrating part for me and why I'm not going all electric. I've been looking at the e-golf but at 83 range would give me anxiety every day in the winter. The new leaf is supposed to get about 110 but I think it's ugly. Plus I really should then bump up to a 240- line.

Not sure what i'm going to do next. I just leased this car to try it out but besides the short range, there is no trunk. Apparently a plug-in hybrid was an afterthought for the Fusion.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 5:46 pm

telcta wrote:Not sure what i'm going to do next. I just leased this car to try it out but besides the short range, there is no trunk. Apparently a plug-in hybrid was an afterthought for the Fusion.

No trunk is deal breaker for me. I put long term storage stuff in there and it is also a requirement of my work (and best practice) to lock things in your trunk you are transporting that you don't want getting stolen when you leave your car unattended.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 5:53 pm

LordMortis wrote:
telcta wrote:Not sure what i'm going to do next. I just leased this car to try it out but besides the short range, there is no trunk. Apparently a plug-in hybrid was an afterthought for the Fusion.
No trunk is deal breaker for me. I put long term storage stuff in there and it is also a requirement of my work (and best practice) to lock things in your trunk you are transporting that you don't want getting stolen when you leave your car unattended.

And bodies. Where do you put the bodies?

telcta · Post by **telcta** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:02 pm

There is some space but it's practically useless for me. The cargo space goes about a foot and a half deep then it's all battery and the speaker mounts hang down making a small shelf about 6" high. The salesman was excited about the split seats where you could put skis through. That's it... the size of the opening behind the seat is just big enough to fit a pair of skis through.

The car is a blast to drive. It's no Tesla but at a light, hit the accelerator, there's a brief click and it just takes off. No delay, no gear changing and you can still hear the radio.

Jeff V wrote:
LordMortis wrote:
telcta wrote:Not sure what i'm going to do next. I just leased this car to try it out but besides the short range, there is no trunk. Apparently a plug-in hybrid was an afterthought for the Fusion.
No trunk is deal breaker for me. I put long term storage stuff in there and it is also a requirement of my work (and best practice) to lock things in your trunk you are transporting that you don't want getting stolen when you leave your car unattended.
And bodies. Where do you put the bodies?

Dismemberment and strategically placed. You may be able to stick one skinny leg through the split seat.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:23 pm

Back up to $1.69/gallon - up from $1.40 two or three weeks ago.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:25 pm

stessier wrote:Back up to $1.69/gallon - up from $1.40 two or three weeks ago.

I just noticed it hit $1.99 here this week.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:25 pm

We've spiked to over $1.80 in most areas.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 2:32 pm

Last week the cheap gas was $2.19 here. They warned on the news it will start rising astronomically as I presume it's time for the oil company execs to refresh their fleets of private jets.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 2:49 pm

Jeff V wrote:Last week the cheap gas was $2.19 here. They warned on the news it will start rising astronomically as I presume it's time for the oil company execs to refresh their fleets of private jets.

Don't forget the follow-on effects for your politicians:

In Illinois, and especially Chicago, a mind-boggling array of tax levies gets tacked on to gasoline's retail price, which has baked into it the price of oil, refining oil into gasoline, distributing and marketing the gas, and selling it at the service station.

The federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon. But that's applied to gas prices all over the country, so that doesn't explain why Chicago prices are higher.

Add to that the Illinois excise tax of 19 cents, which further boosts the price of every gallon of gas Chicagoans buy. But that's actually not so bad as far as state excise taxes go. In fact, it's below the national average of 20.6 cents, according to a recent report by the American Petroleum Institute. Some 30 states have higher state excise taxes than Illinois.

And everybody in Illinois pays 0.3 cents per gallon for an underground storage tank fund, which helps tank owners and operators pay for cleaning up leaks from petroleum tanks. Add to that 0.8 cents as an environmental impact fee. But together, that's only a penny per gallon more.

The killer is sales tax.

Illinois is one of only seven states to charge sales tax on gasoline. Gas taxes in most states are assessed as a fixed number of cents per gallon. No matter how wildly oil prices swing, drivers in those states pay the same built-in taxes. But Illinois sales tax changes, calculated as a percentage of the sale.
...
Illinois is unusual for allowing counties and municipalities to tax gasoline.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 3:18 pm

I saw premium selling for about $3.80 per gallon in the city yesterday.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:00 pm

Gas has gone up $.30 a gallon here over the last 3-4 weeks. Up to $2.49 now after a low of $2.19. It didn't stay down there very long.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:29 pm

Chattanooga

Motorists in Southeast Tennessee are enjoying the cheapest gasoline in America this week, according to a survey released Monday by GasBuddy.com.

The average price of regular gas dropped last week by another 1.8 cents per gallon in Cleveland, Tenn., to under $1.74 a gallon, while the average price of gas fell 2.6 cents per gallon over the past week in Chattanooga to just over $1.75 per gallon. Both cities were nearly 20 percent below the U.S. average price of $2.13 per gallon and boasted the cheapest gas prices in all of America.
...
Gas prices in Chattanooga are, on average, 50.3 cents per gallon below where they were a year ago and 19.7 cents less than a month ago. For the typical household that uses about 1,200 gallons of gas a year, the drop in gas prices in the past year is saving more than $50 a month in fuel expenses.

Oil analysts say the drop in prices may not be over and consumers may get an even bigger break at the pumps this fall.
...
Gasoline inventories are up 11.8 percent from this time last year, which "is likely to lead to even further price declines," Speer said.

U.S. oil prices on Monday dipped below $40 a barrel for the first time in three months after a price cut from Saudi Arabia.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:45 pm

My closest gas station has dropped $.15 off a gallon in the last 10 days. Down to $2.49.

The cheapest I have seen around town is $2.39

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:48 pm

It dropped to $2.12 yesterday moments after I refilled my wife's car at $2.16

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:51 pm

Jeff V wrote:It dropped to $2.12 yesterday moments after I refilled my wife's car at $2.16

So you're out fewer than 80 cents. How ever will you cope?

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:08 pm

NJ still hasn't raised the gas tax so we are looking at $1.61 locally. In the summer. That's unbelievable to me.