• Cyburbia is a friendly big tent, where we share our experiences and thoughts about urban planning practice, the built environment, planning adjacent topics, and anything else that comes to mind. No ads, no spam, and it's free. It's easy to join!

NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Gas Price Thread

I paid $5.25/gallon on Friday


dandy_warhol said:
Around $8.15/gallon in our town.
Click to expand...

Can you buy gas on the American bases there in Germany? When I was in Japan in the '90s, AAFES operated the gas stations on the bases and they locked in gas prices at the start of the fiscal year so you paid basically the same price on the base all year long and it was comparable to whatever the average price was in the states when they locked in that contract. I wonder if it's still like that there too?
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I paid $5.25/gallon on Friday




Can you buy gas on the American bases there in Germany? When I was in Japan in the '90s, AAFES operated the gas stations on the bases and they locked in gas prices at the start of the fiscal year so you paid basically the same price on the base all year long and it was comparable to whatever the average price was in the states when they locked in that contract. I wonder if it's still like that there too?
Click to expand...
Yes, we can get gas on base with special permission/registration. They do a weekly rate that is comparable to US prices.
 
This week's price at service stations along the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway are $5.079 for regular and $6.319 for diesel. I filled up yesterday morning for $82.
 
We haven't broke the $5.00 average gas price yet, but a few stations in the bigger cities are getting that. But I think it is just a matter of time.

www.cbsnews.com

Gas in these states now tops $5 a gallon. The rest of the U.S. could soon follow

Gas costs have jumped 28 cents per gallon in the last week. Nationally, prices could soon exceed $5, one expert says.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

My concern is we are going into hurricane season, and if one hits a refinery and they have to shut down production for any period of time, that is going to make the prices even worse.

I normally will run home for lunch (10 miles each way) but decided not to do that most days anymore. Instead I just pack my leftovers or will walk across the street to the grocery store to get lunch.
 
michaelskis said:
We haven't broke the $5.00 average gas price yet, but a few stations in the bigger cities are getting that. But I think it is just a matter of time.

www.cbsnews.com

Gas in these states now tops $5 a gallon. The rest of the U.S. could soon follow

Gas costs have jumped 28 cents per gallon in the last week. Nationally, prices could soon exceed $5, one expert says.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

My concern is we are going into hurricane season, and if one hits a refinery and they have to shut down production for any period of time, that is going to make the prices even worse.

I normally will run home for lunch (10 miles each way) but decided not to do that most days anymore. Instead I just pack my leftovers or will walk across the street to the grocery store to get lunch.
Click to expand...
How long is your lunch break? Then again the average speed of travel in Chicago isn't exactly fast.
 
jsk1983 said:
How long is your lunch break? Then again the average speed of travel in Chicago isn't exactly fast.
Click to expand...
I have an hour and it is all freeway between the office and the house. Normally I am at full speed at lunch. The drive in and home is a different story.
 
michaelskis said:
We haven't broke the $5.00 average gas price yet, but a few stations in the bigger cities are getting that. But I think it is just a matter of time.

www.cbsnews.com

Gas in these states now tops $5 a gallon. The rest of the U.S. could soon follow

Gas costs have jumped 28 cents per gallon in the last week. Nationally, prices could soon exceed $5, one expert says.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

My concern is we are going into hurricane season, and if one hits a refinery and they have to shut down production for any period of time, that is going to make the prices even worse.

I normally will run home for lunch (10 miles each way) but decided not to do that most days anymore. Instead I just pack my leftovers or will walk across the street to the grocery store to get lunch.
Click to expand...
I drive 75 miles one way. The gas prices are awful, add tolls on top of that. I am taking Fridays unpaid during the summer mostly because I have no interest in spending 2-3 hours getting home on Friday evenings, but staying home on Friday saves me money and adds to my enjoyment of life.
 
Hawkeye66 said:
I try to walk the walk
Click to expand...

vince-mc-mahon-strut.gif
 
I got in walked away from an argument at work yesterday about fuel. It went like this:

Me "Hey, I have my first in-person meeting since I started here; how do we go about signing out an admin vehicle?"
Person "Go see Such-and-Such; he signs them out but I don't think he's here this week."
Me "Ok, if he's not I may take the bus over there."
Person "I just drive my own vehicle."
Me "I will if I have to ... but it cost $140 to fill it up last week so I'd rather not."
Uninvited participant "Oh, you bought a new house and now you can't afford your fancy car? It's funny how people spend money on other things but are the first to complain about gas prices."

Excuse me!??

Me "Well actually, I have no problem paying for fuel -- even though the price has doubled in the past 2 years and the governor's suspension of tax saves me a whopping $0.50 per tank -- but I don't really feel the need to drive my own vehicle when I'm on the clock and attending a meeting for work."

:cursing::mad::cursing:
 
I was the belle of the ball at the pumps at Costco today. The woman at the next pump asked me what kind of car it was on I told her a Fiat 500, then said I filled up for $23 for the last two weeks of driving. Everyone else within earshot had a large SUV or a pickup truck. The stares and dropped jaws were awesome. After more than 8 years of ownership I can finally brag about buying a tiny car. :D
 
Doohickie said:
I was the belle of the ball at the pumps at Costco today. The woman at the next pump asked me what kind of car it was on I told her a Fiat 500, then said I filled up for $23 for the last two weeks of driving. Everyone else within earshot had a large SUV or a pickup truck. The stares and dropped jaws were awesome. After more than 8 years of ownership I can finally brag about buying a tiny car. :D
Click to expand...
Yeah, the folks driving the F-150s are not liking this. But who on earth could possibly have the prescient vision necessary to foresee that gas prices would get expensive at some point in the future?
 
I will have to gas up this weekend.:car:

I get ~40mpg in my hybrid. I don't have to drive every day. I try to be efficient when running errands.

I still get a shock every time I gas up because I go so long between stops that the price hike is OBVIOUS.
 
I had a thought today: People are arguing about whether monetary policy or corporate greed is driving prices up but there may be another factor: The preponderance of vehicles that are, in general, bigger and less fuel efficient that they need to be for the purpose they're being used for. It keeps demand high when, for instance, soccer mom in her Ford Expedition has to take little Chelsea to dance class, when a Focus would accommodate both of them easily.

We raised two sons, both of whom are taller than I am at 6'-2". When they were little our family car was an Escort wagon. When they got a little bigger we got a Taurus. That car felt like a pig but would get 30+ mpg on the open road. Would an SUV or minivan provided more room? I guess but the Taurus didn't seem too cramped even on long trips.

But yeah, I think all the people who think of their vehicles and status symbols first and tools second, are contributing to their own high gas prices because their inefficient vehicles drive unnecessary demand.
 
Doohickie said:
I had a thought today: People are arguing about whether monetary policy or corporate greed is driving prices up but there may be another factor: The preponderance of vehicles that are, in general, bigger and less fuel efficient that they need to be for the purpose they're being used for. It keeps demand high when, for instance, soccer mom in her Ford Expedition has to take little Chelsea to dance class, when a Focus would accommodate both of them easily.

We raised two sons, both of whom are taller than I am at 6'-2". When they were little our family car was an Escort wagon. When they got a little bigger we got a Taurus. That car felt like a pig but would get 30+ mpg on the open road. Would an SUV or minivan provided more room? I guess but the Taurus didn't seem too cramped even on long trips.

But yeah, I think all the people who think of their vehicles and status symbols first and tools second, are contributing to their own high gas prices because their inefficient vehicles drive unnecessary demand.
Click to expand...

I think you are correct but their vehicle isn't the only thing that contributes to the problem. They often live in large lot suburban neighborhoods that are not walkable, so they need to drive everywhere they go. From a Planner's perspective, this is a great opportunity to promote high quality walkable communities with reasonable density to attract non-residential needs.
 
Cost me $84.96 to fill up the hoopdi the other day. 16 gallons at 5.31 per gallon. A tank lasts me about 2 weeks. The 2.2l 5S-FE Toyota motors show their fuel economy on the highway, so driving NYC-Philly, I will eek out about 34 mpg. But my combined MPG is only about 24. I've only ever owned one car that could theoretically break 30 combined, which was a 1981 Diesel Mercedes 300D that I had for about 6 months.

Cheapest gas around here is about 4.59 out in Suffolk County, Long Island. Cheapest in my immediate area is 4.91.

As much as I am a gearhead and love motoring in general, we should have phased out Internal Combustion Engines 20 years ago.
 
The Terminator said:
As much as I am a gearhead and love motoring in general, we should have phased out Internal Combustion Engines 20 years ago.
Click to expand...
I'm a little surprised it's taking as long as it is. When I bought my Fiat 8 years ago I thought it would be my last chance at an ICE (and a stick shift). I am selfish in that I like the mechanical process of shifting and the hum of an ICE and I'm not quite ready to give it up.
 
Batteries and charging times are going to have to get a lot better and faster and more accessible before combustion engines go away completely. An all electric car at this point doesn't interest me at all for those reasons. But a plug-in hybrid is a different story.
 
For us NC guys & gals:

Grants coming for workplace electric car chargers

The next two stories in today's Daily Digest originally appeared in the North Carolina Tribune, our new subscription newsletter focused on the intersection of business and politics.

Businesses can get a share of the state’s settlement money from the Volkswagen emissions lawsuit. The state’s Division of Air Quality will soon take applications from businesses, government agencies and nonprofits that want settlement-funded grant money to install Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations for their workplaces.

The requirements for the grants are pretty basic: You have to have at least five employees or have at least one electric vehicle in your vehicle fleet. The grant will cover 60% of the charging station up to $25,000. The application window will open on July 25.

What stuck out to me is that it’s not a competitive grant – the money will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis until the $489,544 budget for the program runs out.

That means a workplace with five people could get a charging station, while a workplace with 500 people misses out.
 
Gas on the Parkway is $5.17/gallon, diesel is $6.27/gallon. Near my house the price is $4.89 for regular and $5.89 for diesel. I drive 140 miles a day and this is very painful.
 
Did I ever tell y'all about one of my favorite cars from my teen years -- a 1988 1/2 Ford Escort? It broke down once and needed the distributor cap replaced. When I got it back, I drove for a week or two and was so mad because my gas gauge was also now broken since it hadn't moved off F. Went to the gas station and the pump stopped at less than a gallon. WTH?, I thought! What are the chances that my gas gauge is broken and also this gas pump!?? Moved to a different pump; nope, that wouldn't let me add gas either.

It then dawned on me that the gas gauge must not be wrong. Replacing the distributor cap made all the difference in my mileage.

I got 50+ miles per gallon in that little car until the day I sold it!
 
Last edited:
RandomPlanner said:
Did I ever tell y'all about one of my favorite cars from my teens years -- a 1988 1/2 Ford Escort? It broke down once and needed the distributor cap replaced. When I got it back, I drove for a week or two and was so mad because my gas gauge was also now broken since it hadn't moved off F. Went to the gas station and the pump stopped at less than a gallon. WTH?, I thought! What are the chances that my gas gauge is broken and also this gas pump!?? Moved to a different pump; nope, that wouldn't let me add gas either.

It then dawned on me that the gas gauge must not be wrong. Replacing the distributor cap made all the difference in my mileage.

I got 50+ miles per gallon in that little car until the day I sold it!
Click to expand...
I had a Geo Metro in the mid 1990s. It got 50+ mpg and you could park it anywhere.
 
Back
Top