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The last time gas averaged under $3 was July 24. (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060817/BUSINESS06/608170392/1019)

Alejandro Bodipo-Memba – Detroit Free Press – August 17, 2006

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Under_3_00_Gas_prices.jpg
Average US price per gallon below $3.00.

Average U.S. gas prices fell below $3 a gallon Wednesday for the first time in several weeks.
Pump prices across the nation are averaging $2.99 a gallon, reports Heathrow, Fla.-based AAA. The last time gas was under $3 was July 24.
Bargain shoppers can realize further savings by logging on to several Web sites including MichiganGasPrices.com, Automotive.com and AAA's Fuel Finder Web site, http://aaa.opisnet.com, to find the best prices. For example, at AAA's site, consumers can enter their zip code and find the cheapest gas available within 10 miles.

According to aaa.opisnet.com, the Clark station on Pine Grove in Port Huron was selling gas for $2.76 a gallon Wednesday afternoon.

Fueleconomy.gov also provides motorists with money-saving tips and strategies to lower fuel costs.

On Monday, gas prices dropped 10 cents to an average of $3.02 in Michigan, after the UN-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon. A year ago, prices were averaging $2.53 a gallon across the state.

aieeee, it should be going the other way... sheeple react to that
numbers game, and when they see 2.something as opposed to
3.something they all start getting complacent again.
.
Mark Morford had it so right... $10/gal right now and keep it
there, and then you'll see some serious mobilization and
innovation. Oil companies could simply cash out at the end of
the peak and hopefully they'd be up to speed working on something
real by then.
.
_H*

Happy to see this, never thought under $3 would seem like a bargain.

My son just called me on the cell and told me that gas was $2.599/gallon in Elkhart, IN.

He should fillup all his vehicles at that price, because this website has the lowest price in Elkhart at $2.81:

http://www.indianagasprices.com/index.aspx?s=Y&fuel=A&area=Elkhart&station=All+Stations&tme_limit=24

He just got home and said that there were several stations at $2.599. Apparently there are about 5 or 6 stations that are having a price war. He said there was a 7-11 that wasn't involved in the war that was at a more normal $2.799; the price that they were selling premium at the station he bought regualr for $2.599.

He should fillup all his vehicles at that price, because this website has the lowest price in Elkhart at $2.81:

http://www.indianagasprices.com/index.aspx?s=Y&fuel=A&area=Elkhart&station=All+Stations&tme_limit=24

Still well over $3 in CT, though at least the "cheap" station dipped one more cent to $3.089. I'm happy to see it go down for selfish reasons, but it's worrisome to consider what will happen if and when the national average dips to a "bargain" $2.50 or lower. We seem to have an incredibly short memory regarding fuel price volatility when things seem to be going OK.

Hi All:

___This might give me one last shot at getting rid of the MDX for a good price and picking up a Prius II for the wife for a decent one … maybe??? She wants the #$_*U#$%_($UT_(U#%#_U(#T_W_ TCH now instead though :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

haha you could wait till 07 models are out and 06 are at a bargin for a prius II?

Wayne i'm sure with your skills you can convince your wife to drive a prius over the tch ;) unless you felt the tch was easier to hypermile in.

Over here in Canada, prices are still 1.10 so around 3.80 a gallon

#$_*U#$%_($UT_(U#%#_U(#T_W_ TCH now instead though :(


Hey, it could be worse! Those who put in even a modest effort seem to be geting mid-high 30s, with several drivers over 40mpg on the GH database. So that puts you at, what, 70mpg with the A/C on? :D

To put it in perspective, this is coming from a guy with a girlfriend who regularly announces that she likes the idea of driving a full-size pickup some day because she likes them. I pray that she's kidding, because if not...how about $5? Do I hear $5 to drive the point home?

What's wrong with the TCH, xcel? It's bigger and faster than a Prius II, doesn't have the super-aero styling and gets very good MPG.

Hi Guys:

___I know, I know … I really like the TCH for any number of reasons including it is larger, safer, superior ride, far more std. amenities, more luxurious when loaded up, and even easier to drive with less in your face Hybridization. Like anyone that has been bit in the past (the wife’s Acura MDX was purchased when gasoline was < $1.40, I nailed down > 25 from it on a test drive around town before I knew anything about hypermiling, and I did not think gasoline would more then double in just over 3.5 years) plus my wife’s inability to drive like a normal human being (it drives me absolutely batty too ;)) all to get maybe 30 from a TCH makes it a poor choice for her in my eyes. With the Prius II, at least she will (should???) be able to touch 45 because it absolutely wants to shut down that ICE at every opportunity. I have seen new Prius drivers the first time they hit EV and continue to drive silently for a mile or so … I think my wife could get into that. She doesn’t know about the recharge hit but running EV and then the deadly FE sucking recharge should get her to that 45 I would hope she could achieve … The TCH does not perform in a similar fashion unless forced into a fuel economy saving situation nearly as easily … With a Prius II, I would immediately install an EV switch for getting her into and out of the drive properly, and a point even further down the road place some inexpensive 2 - 5 kWh packs of Li-Ion’s into her so even my wife can’t kill it because the wall outlet is so much less expensive then gasoline.

___I do not know how to explain it other then imagine you are heading down an absolute flat highway, no obstruction’s and nothing in the way of distractions all the while you are lightly but continuously accelerating and decelerating for no apparent reason whatsoever? My wife picked me up from the hospital the other day with an ~ 15 mph tail wind and the MDX was sitting at 25.2 mpg over 115 miles. This was by far the best my wife has ever achieved over that kind of distance and I was ecstatic. We are talking 44 #’s in the 35 # max sidewall rated Michelin X-Terrain’s and just the right amount of Mobil1 0W-20 … You know, mechanically perfect. On the way home, she drove it into the dirt and we were down to less then 21.x all because of an uncontrollable and continuous micro-speed up/slow down she subconsciously performs that drives me absolutely crazy!!! I can take the Accord to the store and back from dead cold and get 50 +. I have seen her get less then 20 :( She needs a pure EV in the worst way because she really does throw it away for no reason anyone will ever be able to fathom in this lifetime, the next, or the next after that :( An HCH-II would be driven into the mid to high 30’s with her behind the wheel and the TCH might see less then 30 on a normal basis. At least the Prius has a chance at hitting a more normal 44 - 45 from her … Our only saving grace is that she has placed < 2,000 miles on the MDX in the last 6 months due to her telecommuting and cross country position so it is not such a killer on the family budget but if I am one of the apostle’s for increasing FE and lowering emissions no matter what one were to drive or drives like, she would be akin to … (you know who I mean ;)) in the exact opposite fashion through no fault of her own :(

___Maybe this is why I try so hard because as a husband and wife hypermiling team, we suck :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

For me, the HyCam is an upgrade from my wife's current Buick Regal that I record at varying between 22MPG in the winter to 25 in the summer. She's already sold on the HyCam but wants to wait until the Regal is older. It's an '03 and by the time she's ready to trade it in, there might be a second generation HyCam already.

Xcel...far be it for me to tell someone what to do, but if it were me...I'd get her the TCH.

- She'll never accept the Prius as a 'daily driver', given the little I know about her. You may get her to acquiesce, but she'll hate the Prius, because she wouldn't have picked it, and it's just 'too out there' for her taste. Then you'll suffer the fallout :(

- If she knows about the tire pressure in the MDX and accepts it, then she wants to learn and improve. Maybe in her own way, but the desire *is* there, I think.

- I have a g/f that does the throttle variance, too, when she drives my car - and she knows what I can achieve in the thing, which makes her want to improve (she can get just under EPA with it on a longer cruise). Drives me nuts, too. But you have to be careful in how you teach - too heavy handed, and you lose them. Take the small gain now for the larger gain later :)

- Once she sees the 10min display in the TCH, with the EV portion, she'll have a natural curiosity to improve and build from there. Trust me.

- Don't drive her car at first unless you absolutely must. You'll discourage her when she sees what you get with the thing. Once she breaks EPA, then allow yourself to drive it on the *rare* occasion.

Finally, you don't suck as a team. Rather, she hasn't bought into the 'team' concept (yet). Get her a hybrid, and she may, though. If she's telecommuting and a road warrior right now, and for the foreseeable future, then there's no rush except for the trade in value. I almost posted last night what I thought you'd get in trade for the MDX, but held my tongue. If that's your concern, get rid of it sooner rather than later, as trade values for SUVs will only decline or stay stable at best, and when the new MDX comes out in spring '07, it's going to be moving up in price, similar to what the '06 RL costs (The new RDX is taking the price point now occupied by the existing MDX). That'll bring the price of your MDX down even more after the FMC occurs.

I thought I could just visit

http://www.spr.doe.gov/

and see if they have added to the crude oil source stream in recent days, but that web site is a bit lacking in, um, transparency.

DAS

My dad used to do the up-n-down thing on the gas too, which
even as a kid before knowing anything about cars or driving
irritated me. His argument was that periodic coasting with
engine drag "brought oil up around the rings for better
piston lubrication" or some such muck. It didn't even
vaguely resemble P&G ... more like push-n-flop, with extra
energy flinging away at every transition.
.
_H*