Got gas?
I gassed up my black 4-wheeled Honda (Civic) today (my black 2-wheeled Honda is trickle-charging in the garage). I got gas at Costco, a discount warehouse store, on this sunny, 60-degree Northern California day (I had to rub it in for the East Coast people having a blizzard right now. 
Maybe if you folks had made the proper sacrifices on the Winter Solstice, when you had the chance…! [just kidding!] ).
Every time that I see the oil company commercial with the cute cartoon cars “slamming” the discount warehouse gasoline, I think about comments made by a college roommate, who worked for the railroad in Pittsburgh, PA during the summers. He said that he watched tanker trucks of all the major brands filling up from the same railroad tank car. Sure, folks may add additives, but….
But I digress….
The price for regular unleaded gas at Costco was $3.199 per gallon!!!
Trickle-charge faster, Little Honda! (YouTube video, The Hondells – written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for The Beach Boys)
So, my cat-like curiosity was aroused! What the heck is gasoline “going for” in prime GOUGING spots like San Francisco? I found THIS article by those trustworthy folks at AAA Northern California, “which tracks more than 100,000 self-serve stations daily.”
Matt Skryja, spokesperson for the Media Office of AAA Northern California, Nevada, noted that different factors besides supply and demand are in play and that prices are set by analysts anticipating trends and where demand will go.
😉 I’ll say!
I just found a page where you can find the lowest and highest California gas prices for regular, midgrade, premium, and diesel fuel in the last 48 hours, according to the site. When I just looked at “regular,” the lowest price was $2.999 in Sacramento and Shafter, and the highest was $4.199 for Shell in Bridgeport. Costco in Vallejo was 15 cents a gallon cheaper than we just paid at Costco in Livermore!
Well, the trickle charger light for my 1100cc Honda Shadow Spirit has turned to green. I will leave it on overnight and perhaps take a little ride tomorrow at 50 miles per gallon.
I can almost guarantee that if you don’t have gas now, after you fill up at the pump, you likely will!
Heartburn, too…! Maybe even a little “righteous anger….” (If not then, then after you hear the quarterly profits reported by “Big Oil….”)
(Note added December 27, 2010: Today, I “topped off” air in the tires and gas in the tank of my Honda Shadow Spirit. It was not quite as warm as yesterday [today’s high was in the 50’s F], but the hazy sunshine still felt warm. I am happy to be in a place where I can ride a motorcycle at the end of December!)
-Bill at
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