Posted on 03/15/2020 5:37:51 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
NEW YORK - At two gasoline stations in Scarsdale, a wealthy suburb of New York City not far from one of the nation’s worst outbreaks of coronavirus, attendants whiled away the minutes on a rainy Friday morning at what would normally be their busiest time of day.
“We’ve had one or two customers - that’s it,” said Julio Barrios as he sat under an umbrella at the full-service Shell station in downtown Scarsdale. “For more than a week, business has been slow.”
The coronavirus has infected at least 138,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,000, rocking the global economy.
As cases steadily grow across the United States, Americans are cancelling road trips, running fewer errands and finding they don’t have to drop their children off at school following widespread closings.
The irony is that drivers are parking their cars at a time when gasoline is more affordable, which usually spurs more driving. The average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.28, lowest since 2017, according to the American Automobile Association.
The United States consumes more than 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products daily, the most worldwide, and motor gasoline accounts for nearly half of that, at about 9 million barrels a day. But the coronavirus outbreak’s effect on driving activity is expected to be drastic.
“We would estimate commuting and leisure driving will be down up to 50%, with most impact in the northern states where the virus spreads faster now,” said Per Magnus Nysveen, senior partner at Oslo, Norway-based energy research firm Rystad Energy.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
That was a time before corporate pr people had totally taken over what racing looked like.
Filled up Friday March 13, at Murphy’s for $1.919 so call it $1.92 per gallon.
Use GasBuddy and right now gasoline in our little town is 1.91 to 1.99 depending where you buy it.
South of here in the major metropolis 1.69 to 1.75.
With Broadway closed I wonder how fast one could roar through Times Square? :)
LOL
In high school, I took “Engines And Motors” class.
We never worked on any “motors”, per se, just engines but we called them motors, anyway.
There’s no such thing as “Engines” magazine nor is Ted the Engine City Madman.
[if it weren’t cold and raining, I’d go out for a ride on my enginecycle]
:)
OMG.
I’d not be able to afford to leave the house at that price.
:(
OMG...I feel faint.
Hope it keeps dropping here, too!
I get gas points from my grocery store and last week’s fill up was $1.71, including the points discount.
I freaking LOVE to drive for no good reason and cheap gas is my joy!
This hysteria is sickening and embarrassing.
“”full-service Shell station “”
I didn’t know anything like that existed anywhere in the country any longer. I haven’t seen one in many, many years. Amazing!
Well, late one December night in 1980, I hit 45mph in a ‘73 Gremlin...but there were other cars around, so...
;)
“”a whole lot of foolish people bought perishable food in a panic the last few days, spending precious dollars on items which will rot/spoil before they can consume them””
Are you sure of that? How do you know what people are buying? I don’t know anyone who would think buying perishable food for stocking up would be a good idea. Your statement is foolish.
Maybe no one else is curious enough to ask but I am - WHY are people parking their cars? WHY are they not driving as usual? They don’t want their car to get the virus? WHAT? It doesn’t make sense!
I’m confident that as gas prices drop, companies like UPS that have included fuel surcharges in their rates will be eliminating, or at lease reducing, those surcharges.
Right?
Yes. Big TP
The coronavirus has infected at least 138,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,000, rocking the global economy.
The following statistics are from the U.S. ONLY.
CDC estimates* that, from October 1, 2019, through March 7, 2020, there have been:
36,000,000 – 51,000,000 flu illnesses
17,000,000 – 24,000,000 flu medical visits
370,000 – 670,000 flu hospitalizations
22,000 – 55,000 flu deaths
And how about the 2018 flu season in the U.S.
CDC: 80,000 people died of flu last winter in U.S., highest death toll in 40 years.
Then again, it may be nothing more than the Good Lord's way of "thinning the herd."
I had a 258 cu in with 3 on the floor.
I cut down the long shifter and because of the insane gear ratio, I could get off the line and hit 40mph before I had to shift to second gear.
Back when we could still cruise the Dual, the guys in muscle cars hated me.
I suffered a lot of jokes for that car but honestly, I loved it.
I stuffed it full of audio equipment [cassette tape players, back then] and all the speakers I could find a space for.
There was nowhere that car couldn’t go and I spent summers driving around the mud at the river bottom.
In 1981, my then-boyfriend fell asleep driving it home and wrecked the front end.
So I went to the junkyard and got a Hornet front end, which bolted right on, no modification.
It had 233K on it when the odometer stopped working and I drove it for a year after that, until the guy I married made me use it as a trade-in on a VW Rabbit.
The dealer hauled it to a junkyard in WV and a week later, my mom called me to tell me she saw a young guy driving it, tearing down I81 in WV.
For all I know, it’s still out there, somewhere...at least I hope it is.
It was a great car full of even greater memories.
:)
Awesome story.
Because of the Indiana Pacers NBA team, you will occasionally see a Pacer here painted in the team colors yellow and blue.
This sort of reminds me of the theme song from Absolutely Fabulous which apparently was written by Bob Dylan.
This wheel’s on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode !
Watched them do it. Bookmark for documentation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.