Category — gas prices

Save the date: this Friday, August 15th, 2008 from 12 noon to 1 pm Pacific time.

That’s when two hunters plan to reveal the dead body of a Bigfoot they discovered in the Georgia wilderness at a press conference in Palo Alto, CA. I thought I knew just about all there was to know about Sasquatch investigations, but I have just discovered that there is a whole Georgian Bigfoot history that I knew nothing about. So if the press conference Friday turns out to be legitimate and not another Sasquatch hoax, this Bigfoot discovery may feel like a sort of victory for the people of Georgia.

Here’s a photo of the alleged Bigfoot:

I am a little skeptical (and I’m not the only one), but I am still curious about the press conference. I hope it’s not just a publicity stunt!

Here’s the latest gas price report from the Shell and Chevron at Olympic & Bundy:

Regular: $4.69

Plus: $4.97

Premium: $5.09

Diesel: $5.39

Since my gas price posting on 6/11/08, Regular and Premium gas have jumped 10¢, Plus has jumped 8¢ and Diesel is holding steady. Since my first gas price posting in April, Regular and Diesel have jumped 70¢, Plus has increased by 88¢, and Premium has gone up 90¢.

Perhaps it is time to seriously consider The EFuel100 MicroFueler, “Earth’s First Home Ethanol System” and start fueling up at home.

It’s been almost a week since my last gas price update, and the price has jumped another 10¢. I am not sure if it was a gradual or sudden increase, but it occurred at some point over the past 6 days. Apparently, it’s not going to get better any time soon. Expect $4 to be on the low end of the price range.

Here are today’s gas price at Olympic/Bundy Shell and Chevron stations:

Regular: $4.59

Plus: $4.89

Premium: $4.99

Diesel: $5.39 (a 20¢ jump since 6/5/08)

SIGH. Maybe I should look into an electric scooter for some of my longer trips.

I have been seeing a lot of buzz about hypermiling recently, but in all honesty, I had been avoiding reading any of the articles until today. I think that maybe I am just really bitter about gas prices right now and felt like the articles were an orchestrated attempt by the media to assuage the vitriol of gas-price hating people like me. I have calmed down now, though, and so I have decided to take a look at all the hype about hyper-milers.

Basically, hypermilers are people who maximize the MPGs their cars get by using a bunch of various strategies, sometimes getting as much as 60 MPG or more on a car that normally get 34 MPG. Some recommended hypermiling techniques are simple to implement and will definitely decrease driving stress and gas use. Driving the speed limit, keeping the car tuned and keeping the air conditioning off are all ways to get better gas mileage. We just recently took the Thule rack off the roof to help reduce wind resistance and improve our gas mileage; if you have a truck, using a bed cover will also help improve your MPG.

Some of the other recommended hypermiling techniques are much more controversial. I personally get nervous when I see people drafting big rigs in an effort to try to save gas, and I don’t think I’d feel comfortable shifting into neutral and turning off the engine while coasting. But those techniques also supposedly help people get better gas mileage. Great gas mileage is definitely something to aim for, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of safety.

More info on hypermiling:

• CleanMPG.com
• Edmunds.com

Thank you Shell! Thank you Chevron! Thank you for raising gas prices yet another 10¢/gallon in less than 48 hours! Here’s today’s rundown from the intersection of Olympic and Bundy:

Regular: $4.49

Plus: $4.79

Premium: $4.89

Diesel: $5.19

After yesterday’s gas post, I didn’t think I’d be posting about gas prices again for at least a week. Boy, was I wrong!

The gas fairies were hard at work overnight, raising prices a whopping 10¢/gallon in less than 24 hours.

The lowdown from the Shell and Chevron at the Olympic/Bundy intersection:

Regular: $4.39

Plus: $4.69

Premium: $4.79

Diesel: $5.19

I guess it should be somewhat encouraging that the price of diesel dropped 20¢/gallon, but somehow I can’t get too excited about it. I have a feeling it will be back up soon enough.

The Shell and Chevron at Olympic and Bundy have new record high gas prices:

Regular: $4.29

Plus: $4.59

Premium: $4.69

Diesel: $5.39

With the exception of diesel, gas prices have risen 14¢/gallon in less than 11 days. Sigh. Los Angeles needs much better public transportation if gas is going to continue to rise.

The good news is that I am getting a lot more exercise, since I have decided to officially forgo driving anywhere within one mile of my house. I am sure cutting out a lot of short trips is probably much better for the environment and the car anyway. The bad news is that I am rapidly wearing out my favorite pair of running shoes. But at least that gives me an *excuse* to do some shoe shopping!

I nearly fell over when I saw the gas prices at the Chevron and Shell stations at Olympic and Bundy today. Just in time for the holiday weekend and the official start of summer, I guess!

Regular: $4.15

Plus: $4.45

Premium: $4.55

Diesel: $5.39

Great googly-moogly, this is insanity! I need a biofuel vehicle ASAP!  Or one of these:

My friend S’s theory about gas prices has unfortunately fallen to pieces. Here are the prices at both the Chevron and the Shell at the intersection of Olympic and Bundy in West LA:

Regular: $4.05

Plus: $4.23

Premium: $4.33

Diesel: $4.69

I think I saw the price of regular listed as $4.25 at the 76 at San Vincente and 26th, but I am not 100% sure because I was driving by, so I *hope* I just mis-read the sign. Because that is really, REALLY bad.

Well, the Chevron and the Shell by my office both agreed on $3.99/gallon today. The rest of their gas prices are the same:

Plus: $4.09/gallon

Premium: $4.19/gallon

Diesel: $4.69/gallon

My friend S has a theory that it will hang out at $3.99/gallon for a while, because people will only grumble if it’s $3.99/gallon, but people will be outraged if it’s officially $4/gallon, even though it’s essentially already $4/gallon. I guess will see, because I am already on the way to being outraged.