What's up with the high cost of Fuel?    It's a Dollar more a gal. than Gas!  In Ames, Iowa.... Gas in 2.19-2.39.   Don't tell me it's because winter is coming.  That's a copout.  I feel sorry for those Truckers trying to make a living. I thought Diesel Fuel was cheaper to make. So why are we getting gouged at the pump ?  this is going to halt of lot of my horse activities.  Just venting..

I hear ya!! $3.59 for diesel and $2.68 for unleaded here in NE Michigan. One station went up $.40 in one day.

Yeah it bites alright.

Not really so. Most of these gas stations are privately owned by people like you and me. A LOT depends on how long they have been in business, how their credit is, how they pay for their shipment of fuel, and many other factors. There is a station here, who is known to bounce checks. His credit is bad, and he has to pay cash for all shipments. He gets charged higher for the fuel he gets, thus, higher prices for his customers. This same shipment of fuel goes to another station that has been open for eons. The owner probably has good credit and gets a discount which means lower for the customers. A friend of mine now leases a station. Since he is new, he gets charged a higher price than most, so his prices are higher. I don't mean to open another can of worms, but it's almost like the car insurance rates around here. The worse your credit, the higher rate you pay. I think this is BS...So if you have bad credit, does that mean you are more likely to have a car accident or claim? Or if you have good credit, does that mean you won't have a claim?

You can run 'dyed' fuel, penalty-free, for highway use.
There is an October 25th cut-off date for purchase.
It's on the IRS website. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=149429,00.html

Don't know if this is any comfort but just yesterday (Sat), the local Exxon lowered their price to 2.85 gal. One other place had 2.99, but most of the stations were still 3.09-3.19.

Don't most truckers get to charge a surcharge when fuel is higher?   Could this explain the lack of complaints........don't know, just thinking outloud...

And just think Diesel is the WASTE product in making gas. The sludge at the bottom of the tanks.I'll tell you this, if the American consumers were organized and boycotted just one oil company at a time till their prices lowered the rest would all follow suit.

Not really so. Most of these gas stations are privately owned by people like you and me. A LOT depends on how long they have been in business, how their credit is, how they pay for their shipment of fuel, and many other factors. There is a station here, who is known to bounce checks. His credit is bad, and he has to pay cash for all shipments. He gets charged higher for the fuel he gets, thus, higher prices for his customers. This same shipment of fuel goes to another station that has been open for eons. The owner probably has good credit and gets a discount which means lower for the customers. A friend of mine now leases a station. Since he is new, he gets charged a higher price than most, so his prices are higher. I don't mean to open another can of worms, but it's almost like the car insurance rates around here. The worse your credit, the higher rate you pay. I think this is BS...So if you have bad credit, does that mean you are more likely to have a car accident or claim? Or if you have good credit, does that mean you won't have a claim?

So does that mean the consumer, you and me, has to pay for this dumb @@s's bad credit?

No,  I think taxes on fuel is $0.43?  Can't remember.  But, hey, filling up 40 gallons ans saving $0.20 - I'll take what I can get!

BUT, that applies to fuel dyed at the 'terminal'.  "To my knowledge" it's dyed at the EPA regulated refinery and therefore not subject to tax.

If you go and get gas there at his prices...yes, you do pay for it.

Gas prices depend on your state. Here you go:

Hate to burst your fairy tale ideas about oil products...  In truth, a refinery uses everything in a barrel of oil to make various products.  There really is no waste product except the leakage from the various  pipe, valve & pump seal systems.    Even the sludge from the tank bottoms goes into a product.  You might know of it... called asphalt & tar.  It's valuable.  check the price of house shingles lately?

Farmbabe..

You're a voice of reason....  Thanks. 

There could also be several reasons for the extra wide price difference between diesel & gasoline:  (just my thinking)

I was reading about European tankers of gasoline coming to the States.    We now have additional supplies of gasoline, but diesel is still supplied by our local refineries ( which are still not 100% at capacity) Also, The Europeans have a lot of diesel cars so there is not any excess European diesel capacity

The EPA relaxed some of the rules on oxygen enriched gasoline so the Asian refineries are sending some of their gasoline product here.

The winter heating season is coming, so there is increased demand for the "waste products" LOL.. Number 2 heating oil is very close to diesel fuel.

High demand = high price   Simple... change your ways if you don't like the high price.  It'll be better for this country as a whole to use oil more effectively.

Two alternatives to driving my truck.

Diesel is around $1.00/gallon more expensive than gas in these parts.  So I got one of my fiance's Mustangs out of storage and am driving that around.  I left "big red" in Oklahoma with him.  I get further cheaper, and I just love slamming those gears and grinning/giggling all the way to work!

So take that Exxon!

I've been trying to figure out the diesel deal myself. A month ago it jumped .$40 in one week putting it at the same price as bio-diesel and I would certainly want to pay our farmers before Venezuela or Iraq for fuel.

January 2007 is when low sulfur fuel law and tier 7 emissions takes effect. So between now and then the fuel stations have to switch to low sulfur fuel. I was at a DC press conference last summer when Jeep introduced the diesel Liberty. I interviewed Chrysler's diesel engineers and they said that the substitute for the paraffin wax, the lubrication in #2 diesel, had a substitute to use in low sulfur fuel that cost no more than what's used now. So they didn't see much of a increase in the cost of low sulfur fuel.

But the way I see it, back in the seventies when unleaded gas came out for new EPA standards for autos, since oil companies no longer had to add lead to gas, their costs went down. But guess what, they fooled the public and raised the price of unleaded gas. So I think history is repeating itself as a marketing excuse to raise diesel prices because of low sulfur fuel.

The Chrysler engineers also told me that refineries dump a lot of left over junk in diesel so they don't have to pay to get rid of it. The new low sulfur fuel will have to be cleaner, so that could raise prices. But .$40 to a $1.00 difference between gas and diesel, should be one of those famous Congress investigations. Start those letters and phone calls to your representatives. And look for bio diesel.

The good side is research will increase and your kids may be burning water (hydrogen fuel cell) in their Kia crew cab diesel quadrasteer.