Metro Detroit Gas Drops below $3

[Lowell]

Good news for Detroit [Us] and good news for Detroit [Automakers - their more profitable guzzlers sell better]? Maybe not so good for the planet?

Is the fracking revolution maybe finally be having its effect? Not even the current Middle East turmoil is stopping the price slide. How does this affect you?

Hey wait. Here it is for $2.90.


Ooo... $2.88.


And the winner is $2.85. Fill 'er up!

[DetroitPlanner]

In spite of how I love gas guzzlers as it means more money for transit/road improvements there are very few guzzlers being manufactured these days and the CAFE is steadily increasing to be in the mid 50 mpg per federal requirements.

We have two conflicting policies in this economy. By choosing one of conversation of energy we are negatively impacting our ability to remain mobile as transportation policy [[and funding) are based largely on consumption as a primary input.

[Gpwrangler]

It's been going up and down for years. Higher and higher each time. I'm always surprised when it drops since demand never goes down.

[ABetterDetroit]

The kingdom controls the spigot/excess production to feed the world supply. They have recently had a serious wake up call threating their very existence and are looking to mend fences with powerful friends very quickly. Its not really hard to figure out.

[thoro]

Mid term elections are coming. Wait until they're gone and see where prices end up.

[Zacha341]

^^^ Not to mention all the other nut-so policies pending. In the meanwhile my small V6 block is loving the gas savings. I even purchased 89 octane today! Thank goodness my model can take 87 as standard.

[Jimaz]

DetroitGasPrices.com is a good website to follow for information like this. They have charts and maps and news stories about local and national gas prices. They'll even send you emails warning of expected price increases in your area based on predictions by professional analysts. It's all free.

We've been on an unusually long downward slide price-wise since mid-June, more recently since Sept 7. It looks like it might be leveling off at the moment but who knows?

They've had recent stories claiming it's due to increased fracking but you have to take their "news" stories with a grain of salt. Some of them are crowd-sourced.

From Bankrate.com: 5 reasons why gasoline prices will drop

Reason No. 1: People are driving less
Reason No. 2: Cheaper gas blends are refined in winter
Reason No. 3: The price of oil has been falling
Reason No. 4: No major disasters
Reason No. 5: Consumer confidence

There was another story about how the recent difference in spot- and futures-crude prices is making it more profitable to warehouse crude offshore in tankers.

[Willi]

Fracking needs to be abolished before we really screw up this state

[mikeg19]

Seems like a lot are hitting the $2.99 range [[never thought I'd see a gas price starting with a 2 again), but I hate how these stations lure people in. For instance, a station near my house has a gigantic $2.78 gas sign out front. But only after you pull in does it specify that this is the price for a unleaded fill up with cash and a car wash that you have to purchase. $2.88 is then the cash price, then $2.99 is the credit/debit price.

What is REALLY pissing me off is the fact that the mid grade 89/91 is substantially more expensive than the 87 gas. Typically, it's always been a ten cent ratio between them, for example:

87 - $3.19
89 - $3.29
91 - $3.39
93 - $3.49

I pulled into a station last week and the price for 87 was $3.09 [[credit), so I assumed that 91 would be about $3.29. NOPE. It was at $3.41. I've noticed a similar trend at other stations as well with this jump. Not sure why this is like that.

But as I always try to tell others, don't get pissed at the gas station owners. They aren't the ones setting the price point for gas. They are typically selling it at wholesale pricing or even at a loss to try to draw people in for the item's that actually make them a profit [[basically anything inside the gas station store).

[ndavies]

Paying for premium fuel when all the car requires is 87 octane is a great waste of money. There are very few cars on the road that require anything other than 87 octane. If you put premium fuel in a car that only requires 87, You have fallen for the Oil companies marketing bullshit.

[ferndalien]

Think about this when [[if?) the state legislature gets together to talk about tying road funding taxes to the price of gasoline instead of on a per-gallon basis. Revenue at $3/gallon will be 25% less than at $4/gallon.

[mikeg19]

Paying for premium fuel when all the car requires is 87 octane is a great waste of money. There are very few cars on the road that require anything other than 87 octane. If you put premium fuel in a car that only requires 87, You have fallen for the Oil companies marketing bullshit.

My car is turbo charged and is required to have 89 octane. Some places only have 91 so it just depends.

[Honky Tonk]

How does this affect you?

I've bought a $.99 Arizona ice tea the last couple of times I've filled up.

[jackie5275]

I've been enjoying it. It actually didn't deter me from making a trip to Birch Run to get my kid a North Face coat for winter.

[jackie5275]

Although, psychologically, this is awesome. In reality, we're only saving a few bucks. I know. I know a few bucks is a few bucks. I'm not knocking that, but when the price difference is only a few cents, heck even a dime, you're only saving maybe $2.00 max per fill up. Most cars' tank capacity is 12-20 gallons. So, even if you have a 20 gallon tank, save a dime per gallon, you're only saving $2.00 or getting about 2/3 of a gallon more. I try to think about this when looking at gasoline prices to prevent myself from driving around looking for a price that's a penny or 2 less than what's near my house.

[Honky Tonk]

Although, psychologically, this is awesome. In reality, we're only saving a few bucks. I know. I know a few bucks is a few bucks. I'm not knocking that, but when the price difference is only a few cents, heck even a dime, you're only saving maybe $2.00 max per fill up. Most cars' tank capacity is 12-20 gallons. So, even if you have a 20 gallon tank, save a dime per gallon, you're only saving $2.00 or getting about 2/3 of a gallon more. I try to think about this when looking at gasoline prices to prevent myself from driving around looking for a price that's a penny or 2 less than what's near my house.

I've saved $1.62 on my last fill-up. Arizona ice tea, in the can, is $.99, so I saved $.63 on my last fill-up. One caveat, though, you have to make sure the attendant gives you your $.01 back, [[they don't like to do that), otherwise you're not saving as much.

[Baselinepunk]

The kingdom controls the spigot/excess production to feed the world supply. They have recently had a serious wake up call threating their very existence and are looking to mend fences with powerful friends very quickly. Its not really hard to figure out.

Time to update yer talking points. The "Kingdom" is currently being overshadowed by US output right now. Further, instead of backing off production in order to raise the price of oil, "the Kingdom" has ramped up production. It's said that this is to affect the European market while Russia is showing it's ass in the Ukraine. Great, I love low gas prices; however, these prices reflect some big jitters in the global economy. In addition, oil needs to be around 80-85 bucks in order to make shale procurement profitable. If oil stays this low for a little bit more, the Alberta tar sands will cease production. But don't tell that to the carpet baggers in N. Dakota, now, hear?

[Baselinepunk]

Although, psychologically, this is awesome. In reality, we're only saving a few bucks. I know. I know a few bucks is a few bucks. I'm not knocking that, but when the price difference is only a few cents, heck even a dime, you're only saving maybe $2.00 max per fill up. Most cars' tank capacity is 12-20 gallons. So, even if you have a 20 gallon tank, save a dime per gallon, you're only saving $2.00 or getting about 2/3 of a gallon more. I try to think about this when looking at gasoline prices to prevent myself from driving around looking for a price that's a penny or 2 less than what's near my house.

I disagree. Compared to when gas was almost 4 bucks a gallon, on a 12 gallon fill up, I saved almost 10 bucks. At that price, which is not sustainable, over a year that saves me over 500 bones a year. Now, that may be chump change to folks like you, but for me and my family, that means clothes for a growing family and maybe, just maybe, a family night out -- which would pump some dough into the local economy. Please note that, no matter how hard the local gas station owners force me to walk into their store because the only have one [[yes, one) gas pump with a working debit card reader, my saved money will not be pumped into the local gas station dealers pockets. They can Argo fuck themselves.

[Bham1982]

Great news for working class Detroiters. More money in their pockets.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Yeah, but how long will it last? Probably not long. Some excuse will come out why it's going back up. It's all a game.

[Jimaz]

Yeah, but how long will it last? Probably not long. Some excuse will come out why it's going back up. It's all a game.

Yes, about three hours ago I received this email from DetroitGasPrices.com:

Watch out! Gas prices could be jumping in Detroit! Warn your friends.
Pre-Hike Average: 2.99
Projected Average: 3.19 +/- 0.07

[ABetterDetroit]

Time to update yer talking points. The "Kingdom" is currently being overshadowed by US output right now. Further, instead of backing off production in order to raise the price of oil, "the Kingdom" has ramped up production. It's said that this is to affect the European market while Russia is showing it's ass in the Ukraine. Great, I love low gas prices; however, these prices reflect some big jitters in the global economy. In addition, oil needs to be around 80-85 bucks in order to make shale procurement profitable. If oil stays this low for a little bit more, the Alberta tar sands will cease production. But don't tell that to the carpet baggers in N. Dakota, now, hear?

Your missing my point even though you just said it. "the kingdom has ramped up production". You bet they have [[only country in the word that can do that easily) and everyone else produces at max capacities. Now ask yourself WHY? Russia? They don't give a damn about Russia and the Ukraine. Could anyone be naive enough to not connect the dots? Ok, you do know that we are now fighting another war in another country again in the middle east right? How come this never happens in Africa when atrocities, human suffering, civil war, brutal dictators, genocide etc goes down there? It's all about the oil period. Drill baby drill and try to stay out of wars over oil.

[Cliffy]

I have a car that requires premium gas and was paying close to 4.30 for most of the year and now I filled up at 3.43 last week. Would be nice if it drops another .50 but my I'm saving over $10 a week.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Yes, about three hours ago I received this email from DetroitGasPrices.com:

Like I said, It's a game. One week it's a refinery going down in Illinois, the next week it's the uprising in Syria. I heard the only reason it has dropped now is because they are switching over from summer blend gas to winter. Yeah right.... I expect it to rise just in time for the holidays.

[sumas]

As much as I like to save a buck here or there, gas prices are still too low. Transport is important but so is conservation. Really try hard to plot errands, drive neighbors, carpool etc. to limit gas expenditures.