Gas Prices

  • Gas pump

    Gas prices always soar in the springtime. Northerners venture out of their houses more as milder weather arrives, and the market anticipates higher consumption for summer vacation trips. This year, analysts say, prices could cross the psychologically significant $4-per-gallon mark, adding as much as 60 cents per gallon to the current national average. There are several reasons, according to USA Today. The economy is improving, jobless rates are falling, and threats by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz continue to make global oil markets nervous. According to projections by GasBuddy.com...

  • Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and U.A.E., as shown on Google Maps
    Why MPGs Matter: Iran Threatens Oil Supply Via Hormuz Strait

    It's a truism of new-car sales: Gas prices go up, buyers focus more on gas mileage. Gas prices go down again, people forget all about fuel efficiency. Well, here's a gentle reminder about why you may want to focus on cars with high EPA ratings for gas mileage. As The New York Times reported, on...

  • Gas pump
    How Much Did The Average American Household Spend On Gas This Year?

    Filling your tank in the average car these days often runs north of $50, and for full-size pickup trucks, it can be a multiple of that number. But how much do you spend on gasoline a year? Do you actually know? Sure, you can back-figure: Divide the mileage covered for the year by each of your...

  • Gas pump
    All Taxes Are Automatically Always Bad; Are Potholes Worse?

    We've written before about the growing shortfall in gasoline tax revenues versus the highway and bridge repairs those taxes are supposed to fund. The Federal Highway Trust Fund now has an estimated backlog of $400 billion in repairs between now and 2015 just to bring the complete national highway...

  • Alaska
    $9 A Gallon Too Much For Gas This Winter? Avoid Nome, Alaska

    The rising cost of gas is one of life's inevitabilities, though how quickly the price rises depends on where you live. If you live in Nome, Alaska, then you're in for an inevitable and very expensive winter. According to Yahoo (via AutoBlogGreen), you could soon be paying $9 for every gallon of...

  • 2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid
    Hybrid Car Sales Are Down Right Now, But Will Bounce Back

    This year has been particularly difficult for the auto industry -- with some types of car suffering more than others. And although there’s an unrelenting drive towards greener, more fuel efficient cars with better gas mileage, sales of hybrid cars haven’t been as great as perhaps they...

  • Gas pump

    Remember $4 gasoline? It was just last May that gasoline soared to an average price of $4 per gallon across all U.S. markets, with even the cheapest pumps showing prices of $3.50 or more. What a difference a few months makes. Gasoline has now fallen below $3 a gallon in a handful of areas, including parts of Texas, Missouri, and Michigan. And the median gas price among all 50 states--it varies considerably, depending on what state you live in--works out to $3.53 as of this morning. INFOGRAPHIC: What's Behind The Gas Prices You Pay At The Pump? The decline in fuel costs is due to plummeting...

  • Infographic: 'What's Driving Gas Prices' from One Block Off the Grid
    Infographic: What's Behind The Gas Prices You Pay At The Pump?

    We've said it before, and we'll likely say it again: We love a good infographic (here, here, and here, for instance). Today's example covers what makes up the price of each gallon of gasoline that you buy. Not surprisingly, it includes the cost of the actual refined hydrocarbon that originated as...

  • Gasoline costs & fill-ups per month reported by Mint.com users, by city, Summer 2011
    Which Cities Spend The Most On Gasoline? Infographic Maps It

    As we've noted before (here and here, for instance), we love a good infographic. So we're pleased that Mint has allowed us to use their map of how much their users spend on gasoline--showing which U.S. cities spend the most and the least on gasoline at every fillup. Their map shows four quadrants...

  • Gas pump
    Peak Oil Perceptions: If Gas Prices Soar, Who's Most Pessimistic?

    Just three months ago, the average gas price crossed 4$ a gallon. Now, oil prices have plummeted to their lowest level this year in response to the Standard & Poor's U.S. debt rating downgrade. We'll continue to be whipsawed by changes in oil prices, reflected in the price per gallon we pay for...

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adminstrator Lisa Jackson and President Barack Obama
    White House, Feds To Push For 56.2-MPG Fuel Economy In 2025

    The two Federal agencies that set gas mileage and emissions standards for future cars may propose rules that require corporate average fuel economy to reach 56 miles per gallon by 2025. News reports out of Washington, D.C., indicate that the Obama Administration is urging the EPA and NHTSA to push...

  • Feeling Taxed at the Pump?
    Gas Prices: How Much Are YOU Paying At The Pump In Taxes? (Infographic)

    Gas prices go up and down, lately more up than down. Today, however, the U.S. government has decided to release a portion of its strategic petroleum reserve, just as crude-oil prices continued a decline that started several weeks ago. Gas prices vary enormously from state to state, due to...

  • 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost burnout

    With gas-mileage standards through 2016 now in place, the EPA and NHTSA are turning their sights toward rules for 2017 through 2025. Proposals are floating around for CAFE standards of up to 62 mpg (which means the vehicles you might buy would average about 50 mpg in actual use). Ah, the hell with that. Let's talk about how people drive in the real world. Most of them only focus on saving gas once in a while. Sometimes we think that, basically, they don't care--because gas is still far too cheap in the U.S. To assist you in the all-American pursuit of driving however you damn well please...

  • Pump handle
    What Would You Give Up For Higher Gas Mileage? Cash? Features? Safety?

    It happens every time. Gas prices go up sharply, and new car buyers suddenly decide that gas mileage is important--and shop accordingly. With gas around $4 a gallon in many parts of the country, what would you trade for higher miles per gallon? Would you pay more? Would you buy a smaller car than...

  • Gas Prices on the Rise, infographic used courtesy of AutoMD
    Gas Prices Rising: Driving Tips, Simple Repairs Boost Mileage (Infographic)

    We have to admit, we're fond of infographics. This one has three simple parts. It looks at gas prices--which recently rose to an average of $4 a gallon before ebbing slightly--showing national average prices for both three grades of gasoline and for diesel fuel. Then it suggests some driving tips...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco, New York City, March 2011
    Chevrolet Cruze Gas Mileage

    With two models--one all about gas mileage, with two transmission options, plus the other one, which has two engines and two transmissions--the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze may take some sorting out if you're looking to maximize your fuel economy. At least there's only one body style for the new 2011...

  • Gas pump
    High Gas Prices Changing Vacation Plans, Even House Purchases

    There's more than a 3-to-1 chance that your gas price fell last week. The price itself depends largely on what state you live in, but the average price of a gallon of gasoline rose in just 12 states, staying the same or falling in the other 38, according to the average pricing on GasBuddy. But...

  • Gas pump
    Dollar-A-Gallon Gasoline? Yep, Briefly, One Day In LA (Video)

    Even if some of us suspect that cheap gasoline may never come back for good ... well, we can dream, right? In the face of national gas prices averaging $4 a gallon, and fillups that can cost three figures, several hundred lucky drivers in Los Angeles hit the jackpot yesterday morning: They paid...

  • Erwin Wurm's Fat Car

    With gas prices above $4 a gallon (at least this week), we've entered a familiar cycle. Man-on-the-street interviews feature wailing and moaning about how politicians "should do something" about gas prices. Drivers start to combine their trips, and make sure to use their most fuel-efficient vehicle. And, as carmakers know, car buyers start to opt for more fuel-efficient models with better gas mileage ratings. Then gas prices fall, and we revert to our old ways. But what if gas prices stayed permanently higher? Might there be some hidden benefits? According to a new University of Illinois...

  • Sample used-car window sticker showing gas mileage, for a 2000 Honda Insight
    Feds To Mandate Up To 62 MPG By 2025; What Does It Mean For You?

    Two days ago, the NHTSA said that it would require annual gas-mileage improvements of somewhere between 2 and 7 percent each year between 2017 and 2025. Corporate average fuel economy requirements have already been set through 2016, an action facilitated by the Obama Administration soon after...

  • Old Gas Pumps
    U.S. Gas Price Now Above $4 A Gallon, On Average

    Well, it's official. Despite news last week of a sudden drop in the wholesale price of oil, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. rose to precisely $4 a gallon, according to the respected Lundberg Report. That's 12 cents higher than just two weeks ago. Your price will likely be...

  • Gas pump
    Could Gas Prices Fall This Summer? Don't Count On It

    Every year, as the weather improves in the spring, gasoline prices start to creep higher. But this year, could it be that the pattern is broken? The recent run-up to record levels--California is now paying an average of $4.26 per gallon--might be halted, even reversed, if wholesale oil prices...

  • 2011 Toyota Prius
    How Much Gasoline Can You Save With A Hybrid Or Plug-In Car?

    As of the middle of April, gasoline is approaching $4.00 per gallon across the United States and oil is surging past $110 per barrel. More and more energy observers are talking about "$5 per gallon fuel" here in the U.S. So how do you minimize your gasoline costs and maximize your mileage? What...

  • Public transport
    Want To Beat High Gas Prices? Public Transit: Winner

    There’s no doubt consumers will be faced with higher gas prices going into the future, and alternatives, like diesel powered cars and hybrids, all have their respective shortcomings. We recently looked at why mainstream automakers refuse to launch more diesel models in the U.S. and, just...

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