Posted on 08/07/2005 5:10:04 PM PDT by traumer
Drivers Tired of Paying More for Premium Gasoline Switch to Regular
For some people, it's hitting the big five-oh that really hurts -- that is, dropping $50 on a tank of gas. For others, it's just that relentless upward creep in prices that gets their attention.
Whatever the trigger, drivers pulling up to the pump in vehicles that ostensibly require high-grade gas are wondering if they really need the more expensive fuel or whether it's okay just to fill it up with regular. As gas prices soar, car owners increasingly are going for the cheaper stuff -- no matter how fancy their wheels. And station owners and oil companies are seeing the impact: Sales of premium and mid-grade gasoline are tumbling.
It's an age-old response, industry experts say, for drivers to switch from pricey, higher-octane formulations of gas to cheaper alternatives whenever gasoline prices rise substantially. Now, with prices stuck stubbornly high, oil experts wonder whether high-grade gas will go the way of the Studebaker.
"I foresee no serious decline in prices anytime soon, so the question is, will consumers' buying habits change permanently if the higher prices stay as they are," said Daniel F. Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association, which represents independent filling stations. "Will it be more difficult to attract consumers back to the higher-octane fuels? I don't know."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Lot of charges, the last being illegal. Do you have anything more than speculation? Are you charging that the collusion is forcing up the price for crude or gas? I dealt with the refinery matter elsewhere. The impact on crude prices is about 5 bucks.
About 30 years ago. There are some refineries that Royal Dutch Shell has out in Northern California that were refit to meet the new gasoline blend requirements mandated about ten years ago. Likely some similar refits have been done in other refineries in the last 15 years.
I grew up in a refinery town and the unions had a regular beef about this topic.
But no new ones have been going up for decades.
Nobody wants them, but everybody needs them.
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