Pulp Free

Now that I’ve started my new job with HP, on average, my driving habits have reduced my travel by 1/4th… Of course, I work from home now and when I do travel - it’s usually regional by plane. So perhaps a tank of gas for Buddy might last me 3-4 weeks if I’m mindful. There’s not a lot of gasoline consumption when I merely walk across the hallway from the bedroom for work.

So today I figured I’d make an entry for the historical preservation of my $71 gasoline fill up this afternoon… Essentially my first over $70 fill-up ever. (And oddly enough, it actually clicked off at exactly $71 - I didn’t squeeze extra in to round it off…)

Granted - I know many of you have already experienced the joys of such transactions. Perhaps $10 at a time instead of $70… (I actually typed $5 at first - but that only gets you a gallon or so any more!!! I mean - it used to fill up enough for a week!!) But this incredible milestone really left me a little jilted.

I do actually get decent mileage… On the highway I just pulled in 26 MPG (Saint Louis to Kansas City) and usually average 22 in my mixed driving. (I will admit, I get a rush flooring those 300 HP more often than I probably should). But with a noticeable difference in performance between regular and premium, I’ll take the extra 30 cents per gallon overhead. Even at that, it doesn’t scratch the surface when having to pay more than $4 a gallon. (The octane difference has cost me the same whether its $1.50 a gallon or $4.00 a gallon…)

So I’m hoping somebody can start figuring out if it’s a supply and demand “thing” or a market speculation “thing” and just get it fixed back to a lower cost for all of our sakes.

(And as a side note, don’t wait until you have 1/3 of a gallon left in the tank… Buddy mentioned that I only had 1 mile to empty when I pulled into the gas station… He lied… I probably had 5 miles left! Knock on wood - haven’t run out of gas yet!)

Ugh. I hear about this all the time. My last 3 cars all needed higher octane… And I could tell the difference in performance… So please use this as a reference (you’re welcome, Buddy… Even though I did just give you another $52 at the pump…)

Myth: High Octane is better.

NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek knows this. “Believe me, I’ve pumped gas in about every gas station there’s been in my personal cars. Whether it’s around town or on vacation or wherever, you put the regular in there it keeps on running,” he said. The NASCAR drivers, mechanics, and car makers will tell you that for 90 percent of the cars sold today, high octane is no better than regular gas. It won’t give you better mileage, more power or a cleaner engine. NASCAR crew member Lisa Smokstad told us what every expert told us.

“It is a myth that cars run better on premium gas,” she said.

Some cars do need higher octane — older cars that knock, and cars with high-compression, high-revving engines like Ferraris, Bentleys, Jaguars, Acuras, Mercedes and Corvettes.

But 90 percent of new cars don’t need it — check your owner’s manual.

Source: ABC News 20/20