The cash price for a gallon of gas dropped below $3 per gallon in Emporia on Tuesday.
Snacks, 2606 W. Highway 50, posted a price of $2.99 per gallon, though that price was for cash customers only, according to a Snacks employee. The per-gallon cost for credit card users was $3.05, still below most gas station prices.
Casey’s store, 1402 E. Sixth Ave., priced its regular unleaded at $3.03.
The Kwik Shop, 105 W. 12th Ave., showed a price of $3.06 per gallon this morning, with an additional two cents off per-gallon for customers who have Dillons cards.
The Presto Conoco store, 1201 E. 12th Ave., also was priced at $3.06 per gallon
“I never thought I’d be excited over $3 a gallon gas,” an Emporia woman said gleefully.
Today’s prices are substantially lower than those when gas in Emporia peaked this summer at more than $4 per gallon.
Prices in other Kansas towns this week proved to be even lower than Emporia’s.
Three Quick Stop stations in Topeka were selling gas at $2.69 per gallon on Tuesday. Several others had gas priced at $2.71 to $2.79 per gallon.
A Topekan sent out an e-mail Tuesday afternoon to mark the plunge in the price of gas in his home city, and used an old song by Barry McGuire to make his point.
“As the world tanks, at least I can afford to drive my own car into the doom as we sway on the ‘Eve of Destruction,’” he wrote. “I don’t have to wait for the bus.”
Topeka was not the only city to see hefty price cuts, though most were not to the degree of those seen in the capital city.
A price spread of more than 25 cents per gallon surfaced in an informal poll of residents who checked prices in their home cities. All were priced under the lowest found in Emporia this morning.
In Lyndon on Tuesday, costs at three stations were narrowly different at $2.97 to $2.99. Salina was selling for $2.99 a gallon on Tuesday morning, according to a former Emporian.
A Presto station in Dodge City offered gas at $2.95 per gallon, while in Wichita and Great Bend, it was selling at $2.89 and $2.90, respectively.
In the Kansas City metro area, a former Emporian bought gas at $2.70 per gallon on Tuesday.
In the meantime, the per-barrel price of sweet crude oil continued to drop.
The price this morning was reported at $88.84 per barrel, compared to more than $142 per-barrel on June 27.
During the second quarter of the year, which ended June 30, Exxon Mobile broke its own record for the highest-ever quarterly profit by a U.S. company, according to a report from Reuters news service.
Exxon’s net income for that quarter rose 14 percent to $11.68 billion, or $2.22 per share.
The rise, however, was below analysts’ expectations and prices slid 4.7 percent after the company’s announcement.
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Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I went to Walmart last night and the station on 18th was $3.07 but Prairie Port on Industrial a few blocks away was $3.17. Gas seems to run lower on the east side of town than the west side most of the time. I think it's a game that we can't win.
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 2:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's $2.69 in Topeka.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008...
Melissa
Posted by Emporiafan (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks Melissa....that was in the article....
I think that the difference in gas prices across a small town in irritating...it just shows that the gas stations near the busy roads are ripping us off. I will always go across town to get gas cheaper...I know it's dumb but it's the principal of the thing...
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 3:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How much was gas in Emporia the last time oil was $88/barrel Ms. Mylnar? I think that would have been a good addition to your article.
Has anyone else experienced lower fuel mileage since gas prices shot up from under $2/gal to nearly $4/gal? When I first bought my truck in 2005 my truck got 17.4mpg religiously(V8 4x4 truck). The best mileage I had on the interstate was 20mpg. I filled the truck once a week, drove the same routes most of the time(I'm a boring routine type of person)and typically stayed loyal buying all of my fuel at the same business. Every week, my mileage never varied, it didn't matter if I used the a/c, drove with the windows down, drove by myself or had 3 passengers, pulled a trailer or used the four wheel drive in mud or snow. I always got 17.3 or 17.4 mpg.
Once gas prices shot up over $2 gallon, I started noticing a decline in fuel mileage. I have always checked my gas mileage, did it when gas was 68 cents a gallon too. I keep my vehicle serviced, tires aired properly, change air/fuel filters often and keep the motor properly tuned to get the best performance and mileage I can out of it. As the price of fuel has went up, my mileage has declined. I have been forced to do like many other drivers have done to save money, by abandoning product and business loyalty to buy the cheapest gas I can find. I thought perhaps this could be the cause for the lower mileage. Perhaps lowest price meant lower quality? So for the better part of the last 10 months I have been experimenting and tracking the results. I tried buying fuel at several different stations to see which fuel produced the best mileage regardless of what they charged. The difference in mileage between the random stations I bought from was not conclusive enough to declare a superior product. In fact most produced nearly the same mileage. My mileage averaged 15.9 to 16.2 mpg on the gasoline available in Emporia. Since May, I have returned to product loyalty only buying one brand of fuel, but from three different businesses. The highest priced of the three businesses produced an average fuel mileage of 16.7 mpg. The second highest priced 16.02mpg, the cheapest came in at 15.9mpg. End of part one.
Posted by navywife (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 3:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the price of gas in MN is around $3.06...comparable to emporia.
Posted by DJrocksthemic (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 3:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Neighbor, I have noticed the same tendencies, when I was in college my car at times would get 30 miles to the gallon highway and about 25 on the local streets. Since gas rocketed I've seen mileage of about 24 on highway and 21 to 22 on local streets, seems a little fishy to me.
Posted by USNretired (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope the speculators that drove up the price of oil last summer got burned this fall, same with the "flip this house" types. A rip off is a rip off and too much of it is our problem now.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Two weeks ago, for the first time this summer, I took to the interstate to go see Clint Bowyer race at KC. I started with a full tank of Emporia gas on Friday morning to go take in qualifying at the track. I drove directly to the track and back home that day. The next day I drove back to KC stopping at the Lawrence service area to fuel up, having driven 300.8 miles on that tank of fuel. My truck took 18.4 gallons of gas(same brand name). The truck had averaged 16.3 mpg. I drove on to KC for Saturday's race, then directly back home on the same route. Sunday I stayed home watching the race without increasing my already painful sunburn, nor spending a fortune on fuel and tickets to go another day. The following Monday I filled up locally finding that the Lawrence purchased fuel produced 16.67 mpg traveling the same roads, at the same cruise controlled speeds and driving conditions. In 2005 or 2006, the same trip would have taken about 5 fewer gallons of fuel based on the 20 mpg average it always produced then on the interstate.
There is not a mechanical reason from my truck to suddenly experience a 2 mpg decrease in mileage like I have experienced in the last couple of summers. Two years of very consistent fuel mileage, then two years of varying poorer fuel mileage is very suspect to me. I truly believe that were are not only being charged a higher price for fuel, but we are also buying a lower energy grade of fuel as well(we buy more that way). I suspect we may be getting a higher blend of ethanol in our fuel then we are supposed to be getting.
Ethanol and biofuels are an honorable approach to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, but neither produce as much energy as fossil fuels do. In other words, when using the "green" fuels, it takes more gallons to produce the same energy made by fossil fuels. The difference is significant, I do not have the exact percentage to back up my claim, but it's there on Google I'm sure.
No Bobbi, I'm not interested in being included in a follow up article. I don't list my number for a reason and didn't appreciate my family being contacted and asked for it last time.
Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 4:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bittersweet news. I am saving(?) a few cents per gallon on gasoline. At the same time, I have lost $100,000 from my IRA retirement account in the last few weeks---$15,000 in one day this week. Hardly seems like an equitable trade-off.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ouch Bj, I haven't wanted to know what has happened to mine so I havent looked. We have to hope it will recover, I have many years to go before I retire. Good luck.
Posted by goodoleboy (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We are getting to within the threshold of where we were last year at this time, yet 5 years ago it was approx $1.50 a gallon.
http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_...
this site lays it out pretty well with trending
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No crackinsack, other than a few Walmart door dings and shopping cart attacks, my truck with 75k miles on it is in top shape and is mechanically sound. 20-30 yrs ago 100k miles was about worn out. If well maintained, 200-300k is not unheard out of today's vehicles. In January of 07, gas was under $2 here according to gob's link, that wasn't that long ago. You must be getting accustomed to being fleeced at the pump.
Posted by eatasheep69 (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 10:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Have you replaced your oxygen sensor(s) lately?
Posted by hottopics (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 11:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
$2.99 is still to much. But I would rather pay a extra .10 cents per gallon to a store who didnt try to rip people off with the "non posted" "cash only" signs at the pump.
Posted by glarson (Gwen Larson) on October 9, 2008 at 7:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Neighbor,
I asked Bobbi to contact you for the earlier article because I thought you had valuable information for readers. I did not realize it would be a problem because I knew you'd been interviewed by other media on a different story.
In the future, The Gazette will leave you alone.
Gwen Larson
Managing Editor
Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on October 9, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I bought a 2000 Grand Am a year ago June to replace my gas guzzling Blazer. I keep track of my mileage and where I get my gas and keep my car well maintained. I too have noticed a drop in mileage in the last several months. Several people have commented on that to me so it's not an unique experience. When I fill up in Emporia and head out of town I get worse gas mileage than when I fill up out of town and come home. Same route etc. I think we're getting "hosed" by the gas companies. Pun intended. The political ad on tv right now has it spot on.
Gas was $2.94 at the Conoco on east 12th last night. Several pumps were out of gas, I noticed. It's sad we now get excited at gas under $3/gallon.
Posted by Happiness08 (anonymous) on October 9, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I say Hallelewya that gas is going down, but the fact that there are price differences locally from one side of town to the other tells us that local business owner's do have some say about what they charge. I have also noticed a big jump in prices locally on holiday weekends and spring break. Price of a gallon of oil causing this? I think not.
Posted by gogreen (anonymous) on October 9, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Did you know, that gas expands when it is hot out...so you should buy your gas in the mornings, when it is cool...therefore, getting more gas for your money! Yeah!
Posted by paulkersey (anonymous) on October 9, 2008 at 3:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good call gogreen! Here is another great way to get more milage from your vehicle.
GET OFF YOUR BUTT! Walk or ride a bike! Good lord, you can get from one side of town to another in less than 30 minutes on a bicycle (and thats when there is a lot of traffic!), not to mention its actually good for you! I can guarantee with 100% certainty you will save WAY more gas if you ride your bike to work one day a MONTH, than you will save by buying gas in the mornings, or filling it up on the low setting instead of high, or whatever other nonsense I've heard to save gas. Hands down the BEST way to save gas is to use less. Common sense here people!
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 8:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
gogreen,
Read here about your claim; http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/...
Here's my take on it. You buy the fuel as it goes thru a metered pump, expansion and contraction in the storage tank doesn't change the volume nor specific gravity of the gasoline going thru the meter. Also, with underground storage tanks, those tanks are cool to the touch even in 90f heat.
Posted by methusla (anonymous) on October 10, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As far as getting the same exact gas mileage everytime you drive, it is almost an impossibility to get the same exact amount of gas mileage day in and day out because there are way to many variables involved, such as weather, wind conditions, conditions of road, etc. What I am saying is that with all the variables involved getting the same exact gas mileage every time you drive is almost impossible, even ambient air temperature will affect gas mileage.
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