Nope, this isn't a map showing the temperature that gas flows out of the nozzle into our car's tank to boost the myth that it's better to fuel early in the morning. No, this is a U.S. map (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) that shows color-coded gasoline prices (by county): the redder the color, the more expensive the gallon of gas while the greener the color, the cheaper the gas is. If you go to the site and zoom in on the map, you can drill down to the municipality level. Zoom in again and you'll end up with color-coded gas stations. My search found gas over $4.20/gal for Regular gas in Washington state, and under $3.12 near Dallas. The interactive map lets you even choose four different fuel types: regular, medium, premium and diesel, although E85 and biodiesel additions would have been a nice touch. Thanks to John and Larry for the tip.

[Source: Gasbuddy]

Photo: splorp - Licensed under CC 2.0

Higher gas prices equal fewer miles driven. Fewer miles driven equals fewer traffic fatalities. At least, that's the assumption, 'cause it's really impossible to know for sure what is driving the current death rate decline on American roadways. Still, that above equation sure makes sense, so we're gonna go ahead and conclude for ourselves that it's true. Add that to the fact that many drivers who can't get off the roads have slowed down to counter the high fuel surcharges which accompany a lead foot, and total motor vehicle fatalities are down 9-percent this year.

There have only been two other times in American history where traffic death statistics dropped so drastically in such short order, one of which was when the country endured its last gas price spike during 1973 and 1974. Coincidence? Hardly. One more good effect from higher gas prices is that fewer drunk drivers are on the roads, as more drinkers choose to consume their alcohol at home instead of driving to the bar. See? High gas prices do have their advantages. Thanks for the tip, Alex!

[Source: AP via AT&T]

American drivers getting angry when the gas pump automatically shuts off $50-75 into filling their cars might want to stop whining. In Norway, it can cost upwards of $130 to fill the !3.2 gallon tank of a MINI at $9.85/gallon. A new survey indicates that even at above $4/gallon, American prices are still among the cheapest in the world, in large part due to low taxation. Only 19 percent of the pump price of fuel in the US is attributable to taxes. Pretty much the only countries in the world with cheaper gas than the US are major exporters of oil that essentially give gas away. In the UK, more than 81 percent of the current 9$ price of a gallon of fuel goes to taxes.

At the $4.15 that gas runs where I am right now, even eliminating the tax entirely would still bring the price to only about $3.40. Americans who really want to save at the pump are now following the path of drivers elsewhere and just migrating to smaller, more efficient vehicles, driving less and changing their driving styles. Europeans, on the other hand now actually have a reason to complain about high fuel taxes. Truck drivers, fisherman and farmers are all feeling the pain and pushing for some relief. The taxes in Europe made sense from a public policy perspective in the past to encourage efficiency, but with the price of crude so high now, it may be time to back off.

[Source: Detroit News]

High gas prices have us all feeling the pinch ($65 bucks last night for me), and as you're all well aware, many folks are changing their driving style, the amount of driving they do, or, in some cases, saying good-bye to their cars or trucks entirely. One beneficiary of people's changes of heart is Zipcar. The car-sharing service announced this week that its average monthly signups are triple what they were a year ago, with 40% of its new members citing fuel prices as the reason they've decided to join. Services like Zipcar allow people to use cars by the hour or by the day, and the vehicles are generally situated in urban areas where car ownership can be inconvenient, expensive, or, in many cases, both.

According to Zipcar (their announcement is pasted after the jump), members who opted to participate in the company's latest survey are saving as much as $600 per month by choosing the service instead of owning a car of their own. Figure in a car payment, insurance, gas budget, and garage/parking costs, and that number gets believable in a hurry, especially for someplace like Manhattan. The company also says that its members are more likely to also use public transportation as they settle into their car-free (or "car-reduced", so to speak) lifestyles, and that the environmental benefits of the service are myriad. If any readers are current Zipcar users or patrons of a similar car-share service, we'd like to know your experiences and hear how well (or badly) it has worked out for you in the comments below.

[Source: Zipcar | Photo: akseabird]

After Pittsburgh police noticed a Hummer (yep, a Hummer... what else?) sitting conspicuously close to a five-hundred gallon tank of gas at a golf course, the vehicle suddenly took off. Considering that the top speed of a Hummer is right around one-hundred miles per hour, we can safely say that the driver was giving it all he had in an attempt to get away. The high-speed chase ended as the Hummer smashed into a tree and rolled several times in a nearby parking lot. The eighteen-year-old-driver sustained leg injuries which required a hospital stay and will face charges after being deemed healthy.

Sixty-eight gallons of gasoline were said to be found missing from the tank by the golf course superintendent. To recap: this story is further proof that:

1. Hummers are very expensive to fill up.
2. Gas thefts are on the rise in the face of record-high fuel prices.

[Source: WPXI News]

The sky-high price of gas has hit some dealerships pretty hard. A perfect example of this is Moody Chevrolet in River Falls, Wisconsin which last sold a pick up truck sometime in February. While their truck inventory sits outside and waits patiently for new homes, the Moody brothers still need to sell something and that something now happens to be scooters. They might not have the profit margin of a Tahoe or an Avalanche but they don't cost nearly as much to stock either. They have sold 20 of the two-wheeled econo-cycles so far this year and suspect they could sell a lot more if they could only get their hands on them. Apparently, the scooter supply is as short as the demand for trucks is, well, non-existent.

According to the report from KARE11 there is one scooter on the premises that's not for sale. It's the red one that Mike Moody uses to get back and forth with while his Suburban sits in a garage at home. Because of its 45 mpg disadvantage, it only gets to come out and play when it's raining. Mike seems to have a good attitude about the situation though saying, "[It's] another mode of transportation and that's the business that we're in."

[Source: KARE11]

Considering all of the press that has been inked (or typed) regarding both John McCain's and Barrack Obama's various plans for the ailing automotive industry in America, you may think that the two hopeful presidential candidates would be in tune with the plight of the average driver who fills his or her tank. Or not. It seems that Republican John McCain is not aware of how much a gallon of gas costs. In fact, he says, "I don't recall, and frankly, I don't see how it matters." We have no intention of pushing any sort of political agenda, and this writer in particular is not attempting to back either politician with this writing, but the question begs to be asked: how in the world could somebody living in the United States not know how much gas costs today? Every time the news is turned on or the internet is fired up, citizens are bombarded with constant reminders that gas has crested the $4 a gallon mark. It must take a really busy man to be completely unaware of the price of gasoline these days.

Update: McCain apparently knew the price of gas when he gave a speech on June 18. See here.

[Source: Auto Observer]

Seriously folks, none of us are all that happy with the amount of money it takes to fill our tanks these days, but perhaps dousing your car with fuel and lighting it on fire isn't the best way to get your point across. Or, maybe it is, as this type of stunt is certainly getting lots of press. Regardless, one man in Germany decided to do light a fire with his 1995 BMW 3 Series sedan, which he parked on the grounds of the Frankfurt Convention Center in Germany before setting it ablaze.

Though we in no way advocate such displays, we can all surely empathize with the unemployed thirty year-old German man. It's interesting to note, though, that gas is still significantly more expensive in Germany that in the United States, as gasoline in the European country is currently hovering around $9.40 per gallon in U.S. dollars. German authorities are currently considering what, if anything, to charge the man with, including possible charges for damage to the environment. Thanks for the tip, Nick!

[Source: AP via WIBW.com]

Photo by Cyfer13. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Before gas prices began soaring skyward, it had often been suggested that an artificial increase to the price of gas could have the effect of forcing consumers to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles and could keep people from making frivolous trips. It's now safe to say those projections were likely true. Now that fuel prices are what they are, more people are choosing hybrids and other fuel efficient models, and some are even choosing two wheels over four. Additionally, Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, projects that $7.00 per gallon of gas could potentially remove ten-million vehicles from roadways in the United States alone. What's more, Rubin predicts that by 2012, the average miles driven will drop by as much as fifteen-percent.

Interestingly, Rubin compares U.S. driving habits with those of individuals living in Britain. Statistics show that ninety-percent of American drivers commute every day to work in an automobile, while only sixty-percent of British workers do the same. Fuel prices in America, though rising, have yet to match those that many European countries have seen for years.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

The Chinese government has managed to keep the country's economic growth engine humming along - despite slowdowns in most other countries - by keeping fuel prices low. The government has been subsidizing gasoline to keep the price at $2.60/gallon, an increase of only nine percent since the start of 2007. By the end of the summer that situation may change as the central government is expected to lift those subsidies. The price of refined petroleum in China is about half that of the rest of the world. In 2007 the central Government spent about $30 billion keeping the price of gasoline down an amount that is surely much higher this year as oil has hit $140/barrel. Of course, none of these changes will happen until after everyone has gone home from the Olympics. After all, the Chinese wouldn't want the world to see protesters being arrested and carted off as gas prices double. The increase in fuel prices needs to come even though it will probably slow down the auto industry. The traffic and pollution problems of cities like Beijing and Shanghai can only be helped by such a slow down.

[Source: Seattle Times]

Here in the United States, consumers who fill up their fuel tanks are just now beginning to see the type of pain that Europeans have seen at the pump for years. Reactions to the recent rises in gasoline and diesel fuel are pretty much what you would expect, with new car purchasers eschewing gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient models left and right. Even manufacturers have gotten into the game, offering low cost fuel for up to three years in Chrysler's case, or giving gasoline away for free for a few months, as Suzuki has done.

These same manufacturers, though, are not planning on such tactics in Europe, where the trend has been towards smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles for a long time now. Only Kia is considering fuel incentives at all, according to Auto Express. Even here in the states, the cheap gas ploy has seen decidedly underwhelming response, so we don't expect to see many manufacturers opt for this type of incentive much in the future. Just building more fuel efficient cars in the first place seems to make much sense, wouldn't you say?

[Source: Auto Express]

With Gasoline prices at record high levels, more drivers than ever are trying to unload their SUVs and get into vehicles that don't consume as much fuel. Some are moving to smaller more efficient cars, while others are hopping on public transit. Still others are opting for pedal power. Barry Dahl of Bismark ND seems to have picked a most opportune time to open his new bike shop. He sold more than fifty bikes in his first month in business. Bike shops all over the country are having record sales this year and even those who aren't buying new ones are getting their older bikes fixed up. Shops that have seen declining repair business for over a decade are seeing a big up-tick in business this spring. For those of you haven't ridden your bike to work yet this Friday may be a good time to start. The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Day on May 16. Depending on where you live, this may be the time to start. Fortunately here in the Ann Arbor area, we have lots of bike lanes and, for people who work in the downtown area, there are places to lock up your bike. Try it, you might like it.

[Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

The Kelley Blue Book seems to track nearly everything related to cars and transportation. We recently became aware that a new KBB survey indicated that consumers are changing their car-buying habits because of high fuel prices. Not every purchaser is choosing as efficient a vehicle as they could, to be sure. According to KBB's latest survey, new car buyers are spending less on non-essential activities, like going to the movies, eating out and even purchasing new homes, all because of those same high gas prices. This data seems to indicate that it's not just the automotive industry feeling the pain -- the entire economy is at the mercy of petroleum.

Only twenty-two percent of respondents indicate that high gas prices are not affecting their spending habits at all. One bit of good news is that carpooling and other alternative transportation methods are on the rise, which should result in some reduction of vehicle emissions. Still, the five-percent increase cited since October of last year indicates that the public still has a long way to go before carpooling or mass-transit becomes a serious option in our collective minds.

A win is a win, right? We're content to consider the fact that two-thirds of new car buyers in the U.K. are considering going green for their next car purchase a good thing, despite the fact that most of them are doing so to save money, not the environment. What Car? group editor Steve Fowler says that "with the cost of living increasing and with wages failing to keep up, car buyers are saying financial pressures are of more concern than helping the environment." If this is the case, it seems that new graduated road taxes in the U.K. may have the desired effect of forcing consumers to purchase low-emitters. Follow past the break for the entire press release.

The San Francisco Bay Area always leads in cultural trends, technology, and gas prices. It may be mocked and marginalized as unrepresentative, but eventually the country catches up. As tourists stroll up the Panhandle toward the entrance to Golden Gate Park admiring the quaint Victorians of the past, the future interrupts at the corner of Masonic and Fell Streets. Self-serve unleaded regular has reached $4.18 a gallon.

The New York Times reports today on the confluence of factors causing oil to reach $114 a barrel while the average U.S. price per gallon hit a record $3.39. Diesel now averages $4.12, and the economy is beginning to feel the impact as prices rise to keep pace with increasing transportation expenses. Small disruptions to supply - pipeline problems in the Midwest and Nigeria and bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico - are having oversized impacts on the world market. President Bush's attempt to jawbone oil producers into increasing supplies has been rebuffed. Speaking of its oil reserves, Saudi Arabia's king said recently, "Let them remain in the ground for our children and grandchildren who need them."

[Source: New York Times]