Mongo Was Right

Did you see or notice this?

The price of gasoline jumped 20 cents overnight.

Crazy.

I saw this at the QT convenience store at 72nd Wornall.

Insane.

It isn't often you see a seller jump their prices more than 14% literally overnight. And I can't imagine what world or local event made them do this. I'm sure it was just a corporate meeting and they decided "Hey, let's just jump those prices 20 cents more per gallon. Done."

Mongo was right.

And we're Mongo.

Be safe out there, y'all. Be well. And stay home.

All Hail Price Chopper and Quik Trip

Check this out.

The above price per gallon is what I paid yesterday, in Kansas City, in Waldo at the Quik Trip on Wornall.

I was stunned.

What made this possible is Price Chopper's Rewards Card.  Mind you, I don't buy much groceries, either, being a single guy. That said, I really rack up points nicely. Then, with their rewards card, you go to Quik trip, scan the card, then scan your credit or debit card and voila! With your points, you can save 37 cents, presently, on each gallon of gasoline, up to 20 gallons at a purchase.

I will never buy groceries or gasoline anywhere else again.

Whither the Price of Oil

Think oil is cheap now?

It's at $1.52 per gallon now across many parts of Northwest Missouri.

Iran sanctions lifted: Brace for oil shakeup 

Brace yourself. Sanctions just came off Iran and heaven knows they need and want money.

I think gasoline under $1 per gallon is entirely possible.

Link:  Sanctions Lifted: Iran About to Unleash Tidal Wave of Oil Into Depressed Markets; How Big the Wave?

Gasoline: It Happened

I remember when gasoline crossed over the $2 per gallon price. I also remember thinking, at the time, that it would never go back, under that marker again.

But here we are.

This was yesterday, last evening, in Springfield, Missouri, anyway. It's likely lower in Oklahoma.

Least Expensive Gas in Missouri?

The lowest price for gasoline--this weekend, anyway, yesterday--in Western Missouri, hands down.

The Flying J Travel Plaza in Peculiar, off State Highway 49.

Cheapest gas in Missouri?

This, yesterday, in Southwest Missouri, along I-44.

And this is a failed presidency

Right.

And in case anyone out there isn't aware or convinced of more of the successes of this administration:

Updated! A List of 276 Accomplishments by PresidentObama with Citations!

It's back to dropping again. Some more

God love 'em

Eat your heart out, Northwest Missouri

Maybe even "Eat your heart out, America"

Cheapest gas in the State?

I shot this today at exit 29 on I-44, just outside Joplin.

Very likely the cheapest gasoline in the nation now

And you've got it, Joplin, Missouri. Shot yesterday:

An electric car and the differences it can make for you

A friend of mine on Facebook wrote a bit yesterday about his Chevrolet Volt electric car.  What he says was rather eye opening to me and I think it may well be to lots of Americans who may not be familiar with what's possible here:

When I first got my Chevy Volt at the end of 2013, Keith Reynolds asked if I could give a one month update. With how obviously it behaved differently in the cold than warmer temperatures, I decided to wait until I had more info on different conditions to give a review. I'd say after a 75 degree day I'm now due.

The first thing I should say is it is an absolute joy to drive. It's like a silent hovercraft with instant acceleration and good (not killer) cornering. And the low drive setting engine brakes really hard so I rarely touch the brake, and just absorb whatever speed I was doing back into battery storage as I slow into braking traffic or lights, or down hills. I can come to a stop just taking my foot off the accelerator even on a downhill upwards of 10%.

I've driven it a bit over 5500 miles in four months, just over half of it electric and the rest on long trips out to NY state (230 miles each way). In the depth of winter I was getting only about 32 miles on a 10+ kWh charge (which costs me around $1.20), and low 30s mpg on gas. Its biggest weakness is heating the inside without the engine running, so it was using gas partly for heat, partly for locomotion. Today I got over 49 miles on the same 10+ kWh charge. Around 40 mpg with the gas engine charging the battery, which drives the wheels. I've used almost 76 gallons of gas in almost 2600 miles on gas, and about 2960 on electricity from my outdoor outlet and free public parking charges, probably about $80-90 in electricity.

So under 7 cents a mile to drive, and way more fun than any car I've ever had or driven, stick shifts or not. I swore I would never drive an automatic, but this car has totally changed my thinking. I would never buy anything but an electric car again. It's effectively getting well over 120 mpg on days I drive under 50 miles locally, I can go wherever I want, and I look forward to zipping around in it every morning. Among the hadfull of best purchases I've ever made.

So think about it.

You save money.

You buy less gas.  A LOT less.

You pollute less.

Those are two HUGE wins.

Wins for you. Wins for all of us.

Let's et this party started.

Link:  Three Years Later, Most Consumers Don't Understand

Get ready for gasoline prices to spike, Mr. and Mrs. America

Breaking:

Four nations urge U.S. gas exports amid Ukraine crisis

Gas across Western Missouri

From Springfield to Kansas City, Friday to Saturday this weekend:

Springfield:  $3.28/gal

Higginsville (least expensive anywhere I saw):  $3.10/gal

Independence:  $3.12/gal

Raytown (not far from Indep):  $3.22/gal

Roeland Park, KS:  $3.35/gal


Interesting.  (To  me, anyway).  Quite a spread in price.

Gas prices headed nowhere good

 

We've seen it, in the last few days, those pesky gas prices, having gone down and somewhat, maybe, spoiling us for a bit, are once again on the rise.  This from the Star today:

Gas prices rise overnight

And the thing is, if they're rising now, in the middle of winter, we all pretty well know where they'll be headed this Summer, right? It seems as though, between that annual Summer rise in prices and a possible economic recovery, if one, in fact, hopefully takes place, it seems clear we'll be at--and likely above--$4.00 a gallon for gasoline this year.

Yahoo.

June 15: Apparently the official start of the big "Gas Price Increase for Independence Day"

Did you notice that?

It was exactly, I believe, June 15 when gas prices jumped at least 10 cents per gallon.

Just in time for the Independence Day holiday.

I swear it happens annually.

The lowest price I was aware of was $3.19 per gallon (in Lee's Summit, with ethanol) and now it's $3.39/gallon.

It's disgusting.

There oughta' be a law.

(Said only half seriously).

But still, part serious, too.

What The Star--and Kansas City--did for gasoline consumers nationwide

The Star ran an article Saturday, telling still more of the outcome of their original story a few years ago about companies that sold gasoline without taking into consideration the "hot fuel problem."

If you remember--and you should because it's money out of your pocket, potentially--because gasoline expands and contracts, you and I get "shortchanged because gasoline and diesel fuel lose energy value as their temperature goes up."

Well, as it turns out, lawsuits were filed in our name in US District Court right here in Kansas City, Kansas and they drug companies like Costco and Wal-mart and others into court so the problem would hopefully get fixed.

The latest revelation, from that Saturday article, is that Costco has stepped up to the plate, so to speak, and they've proposed a settlement that looks as though it's going to go through.

The point in my writing today is to say first, kudos to The Star for the original article, foremost. Then, second, thanks and kudos to them for following up on the issues. It's all in our name and we, hopefully, all benefit.

Third, I have to say again, this is a great example of why we need viable, profit-making newspapers and their reporters. If we don't, we don't know what corporations, the wealthy and governments are doing either to us or in our name.

Finally, it's to say, sorry, bloggers (yes, me included), you are no replacement, to date, for good "gumshoe" reporters, their work--their dogged work--and the newspapers they work for.

Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/27/3580933/deal-calls-for-pumps-that-fix.html

Gasoline hike over dinner

In case you don't know or were unaware, gasoline prices at the pump, at Quik Trip stations, anyway, just went up this evening. Before 7 pm, they were $3.57 per gallon. By 9 pm, they became $3.69/gallon. If you can go to another, less well-managed station between now and dawn and get it less expensive and you need gas, it might be a good idea to do so. Just saying.

Gas price jump this week

From Wednesday to Thursday this week, at least up North here in the Kansas City area, gas jumped from 3.049/gallon to $3.199. That's quite a jump by my way of thinking. It always seems so arbitrary.

Gasoline in the area

Gas is, right now, $3.09 per gallon in Smithville. I assume it's like that also on the East side of the city but haven't confirmed yet. Anyway, there's news out today that oil is also going further down, on current news. With this, it seems like only a (short?) matter of time until we're under $3.00 a gallon again. To tell you the truth, at the rate it's falling locally, I wouldn't be surprised if by this weekend--or early next week at latest--we hit that mark and get $2.99 or less. Stay tuned. Link: http://www.omaha.com/article/20111004/AP05/301039969