I drive from SoCal into the mid-west in my Prius. I like to use the, "old" U.S. highway system. The speed limit can go as low as 55. However, I'm retired so I can plan to take a couple of days for example to drive from Long Beach, CA to Tucson, AZ.

But to answer the thread's question, the following was in today's LA Times' Business Section:http://www.latimes.com/business/prin...,1900851.story

It seems that out here gas consumption has dropped around 1.1% and apparently drivers are slowing down all over the country. More carpooling, bike riding and motorcycling going on. Well, that's it in a nut shell

The Times can be chary about who looks at their website's material.

The following is quoted from the L. A. Times, Feb. 18, 2008. Byline: Ronald D. White

"In California, the nation's biggest fuel market, drivers have been burning through less gasoline than they had the year before for six straight quarters. From July through September, the most recent data available, Californians used 46.2 million fewer gallons, or 1.1% less than in the year-earlier period."

"With gasoline prices doubling since 2003, motorists nationwide are conserving fuel by taking fewer trips, driving slower and paying premiums for the most fuel-efficient vehicles, the Congressional Budget Office said in a recent report."

Our state wants to raise the gas tax 6 to 8 cents and then there so many storys about gas an they seem it getting unstable. Here is a copy of a e-mail i just got. a lot of you have probably seen it all ready:
#AOLMsgPart_5_45892abe-6284-46a7-9b54-6814fe15fc3d .hmmessage P { PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px}#AOLMsgPart_5_45892abe-6284-46a7-9b54-6814fe15fc3d BODY.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma}WHERETO BUY YOUR USA - GAS

WHERE TO BUY YOUR USA-GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON--
Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it.
It might even be good for us!

The Saudis are boycotting American goods.

We should return the favor.

An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.
Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.


Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends

I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell......................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.........144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil.............130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway..117,740,000 barrels
Amoco..........................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo Gas comes from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans.

Do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (Oil is now $90-$95 a barrel)

Here are some large companies that
DO NOT import Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco...............0 barrels
Conoco................0 barrels
Sinclair................0 barrels
BP/Phillips..........0 barrels
Hess....................0 barrels
ARC0...................0 barrels

Also: Pilot, Flying J, Love's, RaceTrac, Valero

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy
and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much
they are importing.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.

Now, don't wimp out atthis point.... keep reading and I'll
explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I'm sending this note to about thirty people.

If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and

those 300 send it to a t least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) .. and

so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people,

we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers !!!!!!!

If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten
friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you gu essed it ..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all yo u have to do is send this to

10 people. How long would all that take?

If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next eight days!










Need to know the score, the latest news, or you need your Hotmail®-get your "fix". Check it out.=
More new features than ever. Check out the new AIM(R) Mail!

Well gas/petrol is a global market, so even if you don't buy from the importers you're still supporting demand here. Also frequently big oil will trade/buy/sell with one another so there can be no guarantee of the origin location of your gas. A selective boycott will just mean those companies experiencing a drop in demand will just sell to those experiencing a surge in demand.

However I try to use BP and the smaller ones (Pilot, Flying J), both for price and convenience, but also in BP's case they actually are working to diversify into being a more general energy company. You can get their home solar systems and wind and it seems like they have a plan beyond oil. Can't say that about ChevronTexaco or ExxonMobil--they really don't. Its as if senior management at these companies doesn't have a time horizon beyond their options maturing.

You probably have read about BP being accused of dumping from their Whiting (known to me as "stink city")facility into Lake Michigan. For more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP

In all, not a bad idea. I think the easiest for me in SoCal is Volaro.

Yes I am aware, they take quite a hit on the PR for that in this city. I even saw some gas flaring there driving on the skyway over X-mas, which I thought was illegal but apparently not in Indiana (or the fines so trivial it makes business sense). Not sure if that was BP or one of the other industrial ops there though. Sure looked pretty at night, but wouldn't want to raise any kids near there breathing in that crap.

I'm sure all big oil, like any industrial/chemical company does its fair share of polluting. At least BP recognizes that their business model is going to change in the next couple of decades and is making adjustments and investments. From the looks of it all the big American oil co's are in denial except for Marathon. Can't wait to see what kind of ridiculous lobbying/stunts the big boys try to do when the ship has left and they can't reproduce their peak profitability.

I'm not going to read all 124 posts... so I will reply just to the title.

"What if gas goes sky high???" ( you mean it hasn't? )

You can always try ethanol.
Call around, as I found 60 cents of price difference within Nebraska alone.
Here's one of the best: Sutherland, Nebraska. Just north of I80.
$1.999 yesterday. And 85% or more was made in the U.S.A.

Oh... this is a DIY FlexFuel Hybrid.
$250 chip mod is all it takes to run straight E85.

Does anyone know if there is a web site that shows gas tax for each state? I have seen gas stations with totally different prices when I cross state borders....Joe

U.S. Gasoline Taxes by State I just found the 2002 gas taxs

http://commonsensejunction.com/notes...ine-state.html and 06

Taxes on ethanol ( E85 ) are reduced in many states by 5 to 25 cents per gallon. Do you get 0.5 cents to 2.5 cents for E10? I don't know, but probably not.

Could you detail this $250 chip modification for us?

2005 AWD Escape Hybrid
Best tank trip MPG 39.02 (scangauge II) for 402 miles on I-70, 10.3 gallons used over mostly flat terrain.

Best tank trip MPG 34.6 for E30 for 271 miles along I-80 in Indiana and Ohio.