Gas prices

I followed up on that, and at this site found that .18 gas in 1950 adjusted
to inflation would be $1.47
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

"vintage" > wrote in message
...
>I have no idea Mike. Also, remember that those prices are adjusted for
> inflation.
>
> "24Bit®" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Tue, 8 May 2007 12:29:25 -0400, "vintage" > Amazingly
>> Replied without Prejudice below:
>>
>> :>I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart of
>> historic
>> :>American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
>> :>With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also historically higher
>> than
>> :>American, basically because of our higher taxes at the pump.
>> :>It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning and the Canadian dollar is pegged
>> at
>> :>.9048 American.
>> :>The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
>> :>One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
>> :>Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars = .955 x
>> 3.7854 =
>> :>$3.61.5
>> :>
>> :>
>> Hey Fred, I don't remember the price being any where near that in the
>> 50's,
>> not saying you're wrong, but I can remember it going for 17.9 a gallon.
>>
>> Mike
>
>

On Tue, 8 May 2007 13:15:42 -0400, "vintage" > Amazingly
Replied without Prejudice below:

The only reason I remember is that we had a bunch of 18wheeler gas burners,
and the pump only went to $100.00, had fun back then!!

Mike

:>I have no idea Mike. Also, remember that those prices are adjusted for
:>inflation.
:>
:>"24Bit®" > wrote in message
. ..
:>> On Tue, 8 May 2007 12:29:25 -0400, "vintage" > Amazingly
:>> Replied without Prejudice below:
:>>
:>> :>I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart of historic
:>> :>American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
:>> :>With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also historically higher
:>> than
:>> :>American, basically because of our higher taxes at the pump.
:>> :>It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning and the Canadian dollar is pegged at
:>> :>.9048 American.
:>> :>The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
:>> :>One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
:>> :>Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars = .955 x
:>> 3.7854 =
:>> :>$3.61.5
:>> :>
:>> :>
:>> Hey Fred, I don't remember the price being any where near that in the
:>> 50's,
:>> not saying you're wrong, but I can remember it going for 17.9 a gallon.
:>>
:>> Mike
:>

On Tue, 8 May 2007 13:26:23 -0400, "vintage" > Amazingly
Replied without Prejudice below:

Ok, thank you!!

:>I followed up on that, and at this site found that .18 gas in 1950 adjusted
:>to inflation would be $1.47
:>http://www.westegg.com/inflation/
:>
:>"vintage" > wrote in message
...
:>>I have no idea Mike. Also, remember that those prices are adjusted for
:>> inflation.
:>>
:>> "24Bit®" > wrote in message
:>> ...
:>>> On Tue, 8 May 2007 12:29:25 -0400, "vintage" > Amazingly
:>>> Replied without Prejudice below:
:>>>
:>>> :>I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart of
:>>> historic
:>>> :>American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
:>>> :>With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also historically higher
:>>> than
:>>> :>American, basically because of our higher taxes at the pump.
:>>> :>It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning and the Canadian dollar is pegged
:>>> at
:>>> :>.9048 American.
:>>> :>The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
:>>> :>One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
:>>> :>Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars = .955 x
:>>> 3.7854 =
:>>> :>$3.61.5
:>>> :>
:>>> :>
:>>> Hey Fred, I don't remember the price being any where near that in the
:>>> 50's,
:>>> not saying you're wrong, but I can remember it going for 17.9 a gallon.
:>>>
:>>> Mike
:>>
:>>
:>

Today, Roadsign made these interesting comments ...

> On Tue, 08 May 2007 08:08:32 -0500, Mark E. Bye
> > wrote:
>
>
>>
>>These are exactly the same points I was making to a friend the
>>other day when I went on my own rant about the oil industry.
>>Specifically, that they are reaping record profits while they
>>don't seem to plan for maintenance, repairs, or other
>>improvements to their infrastructure.
>
> I work for a major instrumentation supplier to the oil
> industry. Your comments about not planning for maintenance,
> repairs, or other improvements to their infrastructure is just
> incorrect. In NW Ohio there are several larger refineries that
> I frequently call on. They are constantly trying to improve
> the refining process by trying new approaches in
> instrumentation.
>
> Sometimes a refinery has a "turn-around" to bring a unit down
> for maintenance. Usually a once per year process. This turn
> around costs the oil company a huge sum of money and lost
> production time. The costs of the items that must be replaced
> is also escalating. (Seen the price of copper recently?)
> Refining crude to gasoline is one of the most expensive and
> corrosive processes that I deal with, but one that we still
> currently need.
>
> I live in SW Ohio and the lower grade gas is $3.15 right now.
> I must agree with Jerry about that being "cheap" by comparison
> to anything else. Compare the inflated cost from 1960 to 2007
> of almost any product and today's prices are higher, but the
> increase in the cost of a gallon of gas is low by comparison.
>
> Not being argumentative Mark, just pointing out some of the
> costs of doing business for an oil refinery.
>
Tony, you are by far more the expert about this stuff than me, so
I didn't comment on this part of the OP's post. About the only
thing I would add is that it is more the environmental lobby and
the individual states, IMO, that is stopping new refinery
development or upgrades to existing infrastructure including the
18,000+ miles of interstate pipelines and NOT the greed of the
oil companies. As you know from your quality training, it is
ALWAYS less expensive in the end to do preventative maintence
than to have to fix a major outage caused by a problem that could
have been detected and fix earlier. I suppose I could lay some of
this on the EPA which has also pretty much denined any requests
for new refineries - and new nuclear plants - for decades citing
the usual reasons, most of which are invalid, again, IMO.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, vintage made these interesting comments ...

> I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart
> of historic American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
> With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also
> historically higher than American, basically because of our
> higher taxes at the pump. It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning
> and the Canadian dollar is pegged at .9048 American.
> The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
> One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
> Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars =
> .955 x 3.7854 = $3.61.5
>
>
I did research on this last year, and posted a link to the source
at your request. My research of the CPI back to the early 1960s
suggests higher prices today than indicated on your chart.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, 24Bit® made these interesting comments ...

> On Tue, 8 May 2007 12:29:25 -0400, "vintage" >
> Amazingly Replied without Prejudice below:
>
>:>I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart
>:>of historic American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
>:>With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also
>:>historically higher than American, basically because of our
>:>higher taxes at the pump. It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning
>:>and the Canadian dollar is pegged at .9048 American.
>:>The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
>:>One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
>:>Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars =
>:>.955 x 3.7854 = $3.61.5
>:>
>:>
> Hey Fred, I don't remember the price being any where near that
> in the 50's, not saying you're wrong, but I can remember it
> going for 17.9 a gallon.
>
Mike, I can't remember what my father paid when I was a kid, but
about the time I got my license in 1963, prices fluctuated around
about two bits. I do distinctly remember prices from 1972 because
I was burning many, many tanks in my 1972 Plymouth Gran Fury 440
visiting my girlfriend, now my wife, who lived some 25 miles from
me. When the price wars were running hot, regular was around 25-
28 cents, otherwise it'd creep into the 30's and 40's and
occasionally got to 50 cents.

As to today's prices, we all had this debate in the summer of
2005 when gas suddently spiked from the low $2 range to mid-to-
high $2 by fall. That's about the time I got my first (4-door!)
Charger HEMI. But, while gas peaked just about at the $3 level,
it quickly retreated back into the low $ range, and last fall it
was about the same as a year before. It has only been in the last
2-4 months that we've see the current run-up. And, don't forget,
a BIG part of the 2005 spike was due to Katrina taking out - or
allegedly taking out - at least one refinery and quite a bit of
pipelines.

About the time of the 2006 elections, there was a lot of debate
about the war in Iraq destabilizing the region - oh, how I love
these euphemisms! - and raising oil to $100/barrel or more. IIRC,
oil peak at just a bit over $70/barrel. Don't know what it is
today, but it retreated back into the mid-$50 range and has
fluctated up to about $50, I think.

So, there some games being played with oil futures but there's
been nothing special in the war on terror and no weather related
outages. So, we're left with the conspiracy theorists or the
simple fact that just 12 months ago, the United States was
burning about 8.5 million gallons of gas/day, and last month it
at 9.3M, a 10% increase in only a year. So, it doesn't surprise
me that the oil futures went through the roof again, and the oil
companies, sensing bigger profits, raised prices. Bottom line: if
we want lower gas prices, we need to conserve. Yes, that would
probably mean I have to dump my HEMI but people driving around by
themselves in big trucks and SUVs and trucks would also have to
rethink their habits.

One other thing: It is May, and the usual late spring run-up is
under way in anticipation of the summer vacation season. Reason?
Same one as every year - vacations mean many hundreds of
thousands more miles driven, and making micro economics 101 -
supply and demand - work its magic.

--
HP, aka Jerry

On Tue, 08 May 2007 14:57:22 GMT, "HEMI-Powered" > wrote:

>Today, Mark E. Bye made these interesting comments ...
>
>> These are exactly the same points I was making to a friend the
>> other day when I went on my own rant about the oil industry.
>> Specifically, that they are reaping record profits while they
>> don't seem to plan for maintenance, repairs, or other
>> improvements to their infrastructure.
>>
>> By the way, I live in northern Wisconsin and paid 3.349 for
>> premium yesterday, which is the lowest price in my town for
>> that grade. Wisconsin also has one of the highest gas taxes in
>> the country. If your travels take you in this direction, my
>> experience has been that prices in Minnesota, Iowa and
>> Missouri are cheaper than they are here. YMMV in Illinois.
>>
>Premium was $3.35 yesterday here in MI. My 2007 Charger HEMI
>burns mid-grade, which was $3.25. What car(s) do you own that
>take premium and why do you think that the price is all that
>high? I bought a performance car because that's what I WANT, not
>what I need and I do NOT complain about the gas price. As I just
>related to Blue Oval, on inflation alone, gas should be in the
>high $4 range, so where is this giant conspiracy? As to profits,
>isn't that the goal of a corporation? And, gas prices vary VERY
>widely regionally for a number of reasons, but primarily
>distribution from central locations and regional requirements for
>blending the fuel for things like temperature or emissions. Want
>to pay less? Drive less in a much more fuel efficient vehicle.
>
>Think about it: in the mid-1960s when muscle cars ruled and gas
>was cheap, maybe as low as 25 cents or as high as 50 cents, a
>good yearly salary was $7-9,000 and those cars only cost $4K.
>But, in the city you were lucky to get 5-6 mpg and even at
>reasonable speeds on the highway, getting more than 7-9 mpg was
>pretty difficult. Same was true for the really large cars with
>large engines of the day. And, compared to the clean cars of
>today replete with every safety feature possible, driving in the
>1960s was a dirty affair and downright dangerous.

'02 Jaguar X-Type. The manufacturer recommends premium grade fuel.

vintage wrote:
> I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart of
> historic American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
> With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also historically
> higher than American, basically because of our higher taxes at the
> pump. It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning and the Canadian dollar is
> pegged
> at .9048 American.
> The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
> One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
> Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars = .955 x
> 3.7854 = $3.61.5

This numbers stuff makes my eyes do the Scrooge McDuck, irises
spiralling out of control.

The figures on that chart are adjusted for inflation from where to the
displayed numbers?

From http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi

"
What cost $.25 in 1955 would cost $1.75 in 2005.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2005 and 1955,
they would cost you $.25 and $0.04 respectively.

Do you want to do another calculation?

"
Yes, I do.

"What cost $1.00 in 1980 would cost $2.68 in 2006.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2006 and 1980,
they would cost you $1.00 and $0.37 respectively.

"

Thank you.


When I was a young driver in Los Angeles and environs, 1953-56, we'd
consistently get four gallons for a buck, at an ordinary "service
station"; the self-serve and "nickle-off" places were 19.9 cents a
gallon.

I also remember quaking when over the period of just a year or two it
went from a quarter to seventy-five cents, and being very depressed
when it went over a dollar. Seventies and early 80s, if I recall
correctly.

An early memory in L.A. was a "gas war" when it was 12 gallons for a
dollar. Down from the usual price of eight for a dollar. Mostly it was
twenty cents a gallon just post-WWII.

That's what I remember. The only thing that makes my eyes go McDuck
more than numbers is research.

--
Frank ess

In 1971 I can remember buying Sunoco's Premium 260 on Friday and Saturday
night, race nights, to put into my 70 Charger R/T and it was an "exorbitant
" price of .$50 a gallon. According to the inflation calculator it would be
$2.51 in 2006. So how do we get to somewhere between $4.00 and $5.00?
Corporate greed. yes it is the job of a corporation, or any business to make
money. Their exorbitant profits, phony "shortages," refinery problems, etc.,
etc., etc. are what people are fed up with. Why is it EVERY year, just about
time the summer vacation season begins, there are gasoline shortages? Why is
it EVERY year, at the beginning of the home heating season, there are fuel
oil shortages? Why is it EVERY year we hear about not enough refineries, and
NONE are being built?

I, and I'm sure most everyone else, wouldn't mind paying a "fair" price for
their gasoline, but when they see BILLIONS in profits, per quarter they do
tend to get the feeling the oil companies ARE lying to us, ARE creating
these "shortages" to drive up prices and ARE NOT building new refineries
because it would cut into their profits. They KNOW they have a captive
market. They KNOW we can not do with out our cars, trucks, trains, planes
and any other mode of transportation that uses petroleum. I believe it's the
"backward" country of Brazil that has automobiles powered solely by alcohol?
Yet we can't build those here in the U.S.? Corporate greed filling the
"election coffers" of our politicians keeps us from paying a fair price for
our gasoline! Her in the U.S. it's "A Government of BIG business, FOR Big
Business, BY BIG business."
(Stepping down from the soap box)

"vintage" > wrote in message
...
>I followed up on that, and at this site found that .18 gas in 1950 adjusted
>to inflation would be $1.47
> http://www.westegg.com/inflation/
>
> "vintage" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I have no idea Mike. Also, remember that those prices are adjusted for
>> inflation.
>>
>> "24Bit®" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On Tue, 8 May 2007 12:29:25 -0400, "vintage" > Amazingly
>>> Replied without Prejudice below:
>>>
>>> :>I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart of
>>> historic
>>> :>American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
>>> :>With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also historically
>>> higher
>>> than
>>> :>American, basically because of our higher taxes at the pump.
>>> :>It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning and the Canadian dollar is pegged
>>> at
>>> :>.9048 American.
>>> :>The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
>>> :>One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
>>> :>Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars = .955 x
>>> 3.7854 =
>>> :>$3.61.5
>>> :>
>>> :>
>>> Hey Fred, I don't remember the price being any where near that in the
>>> 50's,
>>> not saying you're wrong, but I can remember it going for 17.9 a gallon.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>
>>
>
>
>

Fred, out west in BC in the lower mainland we're hitting $1.26.9 per litre.
I filled up my 2005 Vibe this morning in Mission at $1.21.9 per litre and my
car took $50.00 CDN to fill up. I'm getting about 40 mpg in the car. It's
now costing me almost the same to fill as my 88 Suburban did a few years
ago.

Dave C

"Frank ess" > wrote in message
...
> vintage wrote:
>> I am not an expert on this subject, but I did see this chart of
>> historic American gas prices adjusted for inflation.
>> With a few exceptions, Canadian gas prices are also historically
>> higher than American, basically because of our higher taxes at the
>> pump. It was $1.05.5 / litre this morning and the Canadian dollar is
>> pegged
>> at .9048 American.
>> The price/litre would then convert to 95.5¢ / litre American
>> One American gallon = 3.7854 ltres
>> Price in Canada of an American gallon in American dollars = .955 x
>> 3.7854 = $3.61.5
>
> This numbers stuff makes my eyes do the Scrooge McDuck, irises spiralling
> out of control.
>
> The figures on that chart are adjusted for inflation from where to the
> displayed numbers?
>
> From http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi
>
> "
> What cost $.25 in 1955 would cost $1.75 in 2005.
> Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2005 and 1955,
> they would cost you $.25 and $0.04 respectively.
>
> Do you want to do another calculation?
>
> "
> Yes, I do.
>
> "What cost $1.00 in 1980 would cost $2.68 in 2006.
> Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2006 and 1980,
> they would cost you $1.00 and $0.37 respectively.
>
> "
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> When I was a young driver in Los Angeles and environs, 1953-56, we'd
> consistently get four gallons for a buck, at an ordinary "service
> station"; the self-serve and "nickle-off" places were 19.9 cents a gallon.
>
> I also remember quaking when over the period of just a year or two it went
> from a quarter to seventy-five cents, and being very depressed when it
> went over a dollar. Seventies and early 80s, if I recall correctly.
>
> An early memory in L.A. was a "gas war" when it was 12 gallons for a
> dollar. Down from the usual price of eight for a dollar. Mostly it was
> twenty cents a gallon just post-WWII.
>
> That's what I remember. The only thing that makes my eyes go McDuck more
> than numbers is research.
>
> --
> Frank ess