Old Fashioned Gas War in Ohio Brings Old Fashioned Prices - Cost Hits a Dime a Gallon

AP ^ | AP-ES-12-01-01 0543EST | AP

[TheOtherOne]

Old Fashioned Gas War in Ohio Brings Old Fashioned Prices - Cost Hits a Dime a Gallon
The Associated Press
Published: Dec 1, 2001

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Two competing grocery stores have been creating traffic jams with an old fashioned gas war - and old fashioned prices, as low as a dime a gallon.

Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, opened a new store Thursday about a quarter mile from a Meijer's store. Both stores, as part of a growing trend toward one-stop shopping, have gas pumps outside.

The price war began heating up within a few hours of the Kroger store's opening. As soon as one station dropped its price, the other countered with a lower price.

By 3 p.m., the price was 42 cents a gallon. By evening, gas was going for 10 cents a gallon.

"I've never seen people lined up to buy gas like this," said Sandra Ralph, 60, of Dayton, in line at Meijer's. "It's a fantastic publicity stunt."

Gerald Harris, 25, and his brother Matt, 19, of Dayton, headed to Kroger.

"You have to take advantage of it while you can," Matt Harris said. "Gas may never be this cheap again."

As lines grew longer, patience was short. Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies kept an eye out to break up fights and try to maintain traffic flow.

Brenda Bauer, manager of the Meijer station, estimated that more than 1,000 people bought the cheap fuel at the station.

"The longer you wait in line, the cheaper the gas gets," Bauer said. "There's a deal there."

On Friday morning, the price of gasoline at the Meijer was back up to $1.12 a gallon. But by noon, it was down to 71 cents a gallon, and it fell to 51 cents by early evening.

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On the Net:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

AP-ES-12-01-01 0543EST

[cake_crumb]

Capitalism BUMP

[mlocher]

timing is everything!

my daughter and i were passing through dayton 2 weeks ago as we went university shoppting (at purdue). i stopped that the meijers and paid 1.06 -- a bit cheaper than at home.

anybody have any gossip on purdue? good school? what to watch out for?

[box221]

It's about 70 cents/gal in my state now, plus $.389/gal tax, plus sales tax.

[SKI NOW]

"This is just another evil ploy ... blah,blah,blah."

Did you forget the (/sarcasm alert), or are you hefting around an empty gas tank on the top of your neck?

[GuillermoX]

If you have to tag sarcasm, it's no longer sarcasm.

Use a bit of discernment.