Local gas prices (non-political)

[ctenidae]

No more guesses on the highest oil price (inflation adjusted) ever? Come on, guys!

 

[loafer89]

sometime between 1939-1945??

 

[ctenidae]

You'd think so, loafer89, but you'd be wrong. Funny thing is, there is no discernable reason for this particular spike, as there wasn't even much in the way of demand at the time. At least, I don't think there was.

 

[bvibert]

No more guesses on the highest oil price (inflation adjusted) ever? Come on, guys!

1763?

 

[loafer89]

1859 Titusville oil discovery?

 

[ctenidae]

Ooh, loafer's getting closer!

And Leon's getting larger!

 

[Stephen]

Ooh, loafer's getting closer!

And Leon's getting larger!

OK... total weirdness... my co-workers and I were just sitting around here quoting lines from this movie.

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."

-Stephen

 

[ctenidae]

I don't know why that one popped into my head.
Personally, I'm just glad someone caught it.

 

[loafer89]

Ooh, loafer's getting closer!

And Leon's getting larger!

The Tower, The Tower, Rapunzel, Rarpunzel

I like the:

Honey, I want the lawn water, the dogs feed, the gate locked, and the kids in bed by 9, and get a note to the milkman, no more cheese.

I think I got that right??

 

[loafer89]

1869-peak price

Sperm Whale oil was $1500 a barrel, in todays prices in 1855

Good thing that kerosene became available as a substitute, poor whales

 

[ctenidae]

Close enough, Loafer- 1864, actually- $8.06/barrel. Makes me wonder, what did they use oil for in 1864? Greasing machinery, sure, but not much else, I'd say.

 

[loafer89]

They used oil for lighting, since the electric lamp was not invented until 1879, and nearly hunted the sperm whale to extinction by 1860.

 

[ctenidae]

Ah, yes, lighting. Not sure what gas they used for gas lamps, whether natural or pulled from oil, though kerosene and the like is oil (obviously). Interesting.
I do know that synthetic quinine was produced from coal tar (accidently- the guy was trying to make blue dye), but that's beside the point, except for gin and tonics, which you should consume in moderation, and not drive after.

 

[loafer89]

I was just reading that the Sperm Whale was the principle source of candle wax and whale oil for lighting. The discovery of petroleum in Oil Creek in 1859 hastened the demise of whaling, as did the union blockade in April 1861. The south had to find alternatives to whale oil and used shale oil from coal.

Thanks for the trivia question, I should have remembered this with all the whaling museum stuff on Long Island :dunce:

The gas lamps used coal gas.

 

[skijay]

Fuel prices vary so much in my town. I have my urban commuter that I have been driving more. It runs on Mobil 87 the best.

I have to use Hess or Sunoco on my other vehicle. For Hess or Sunoco I have to cross the border.

It used to be crossing the MA border would be at least .15 cheaper per gallon. Now it is the same where I go as it is in CT.

Trivia:

How come in PQ, Canada gas prices are the same per liter at every station? It is like there is no competition between brands.

 

[loafer89]

I toured the Pioneer Coal Mine in Pennsylvania in May of 2005. This is an Anthracite coal mine, and there is a plan to produce petroleum from the coal.

Here are some pictures, sorry but mines are on the dark side:

The piece of wood in the picture is a fossil of a tree that is about 30 million years old

 

[ski_resort_observer]

The highest price for gasoline when adjusted for inflation was circa 1982. Compared to the rest of the world our gas is cheap.

Politics DOES effect the price of crude as the price is dependent on supply and demand, present and the future. Politics can affect that.

In the early 70's during the "gas crisis" people did start buying more compact cars like Toyotas, Datsun(later changed to Nissan) and Honda. As usual the big three were caught napping. Too bad they never learned from their mistakes.

GM has gone from the largest company in the world(Walmart now has that distinction with 1.4 million employees)to a company that cannot survive financially unless big changes are made.

 

[SkiDog]

I am going to guess that eveyone here DOES know that those "specs" the manufacturer gives you regarding octane level for your car are BULL.....yeah sure you get closer to their EST MPG #'s, but man with prices the way the are now, fill it with regular. You'll only loose a mile or 2 per gallon and then give yer baby a "treat" occassionally with the good stuff.

I run my WRX on regular gas and it runs JUST FINE....

M

 

[hammer]

I am going to guess that eveyone here DOES know that those "specs" the manufacturer gives you regarding octane level for your car are BULL.....yeah sure you get closer to their EST MPG #'s, but man with prices the way the are now, fill it with regular. You'll only loose a mile or 2 per gallon and then give yer baby a "treat" occassionally with the good stuff.

I run my WRX on regular gas and it runs JUST FINE....

M

I thought that octane only mattered on high performance cars that needed it to prevent knocking.

The last time I "had" to use high octane gas was on a turbocharged engine.

Otherwise, I just go with the 87 octane stuff...

 

[bvibert]

I thought that octane only mattered on high performance cars that needed it to prevent knocking.

The last time I "had" to use high octane gas was on a turbocharged engine.

Otherwise, I just go with the 87 octane stuff...

High compression engines are generally recommended to use higher octane, but most modern high compression engines have knock sensors and will automatically retard the timing to prevent knocking. So, yes, in most cases you can drive on which ever grade you want and not cause problems, you just might not get as good of a performance out of it...