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Hot Fuel brings added cost to Drivers

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by walroose, Aug 31, 2007.

  1. walroose

    walroose New Member

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    Here is an article in today's Arizona Republic:

    http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles...otfuel0831.html

    It is amazing how people complain about their gas costing them an extra 10 cents a gallon* due to thermal expansion, but zoom up to red lights so that they can sit there and wait till the light changes. This difference in cost is like a truck getting 16 mpg as opposed to 17 mpg. If they changed their driving habits, this is more than doable!

    My favorite quote:

    "Fuel experts have known for decades that gas expands when heated..."

    Hasn't the field of Thermodynamics been around a lot longer than decades?

    The writer also mistakes the Prius for a Honda.

    M

    *It is not really an extra 10 cents a gallon, since they are paying for a gallon- the gallon they are buying just has less mass (energy). More correct would be an extra 10 cents for the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas at 60F.
     
    #1 walroose, Aug 31, 2007
  2. Darwood

    Darwood Senior Member

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    The thermal expansion of gas is minimal since all gas stations store their gas underground. Any increase due to heat would be the opposite in colder weather anyways. It's a wash.

    By the same reasoning, the gas stations get ripped off by the delivery trucks if said trucks were filled in warmer weather. And the refineries get screwed by the crude tanker.....

    Your point is correct though. The drivers of Escalades and the like have zero justification to bitch about a single penny of their gas expenses.
    And we Prii drivers generally want higher prices to force idiots to rethink their driving priorities. (and to smugly brag about our smart purchase)
     
    #2 Darwood, Aug 31, 2007
  3. fred s

    fred s New Member

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    "I don't think they'll do it unless there is a law changed," Kay Averkamp said as she pumped $27.86 worth of gas into her Honda Prius at a Phoenix am/pm station. "I don't think they'll do it out of the goodness of their hearts."


    Honda's making Prii these days?
     
    #3 fred s, Aug 31, 2007
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Besides, gas stations charge whatever they want for a gallon of gas, so if you change the way gas is metered, the prices change to reflect the costs (or whatever the market will bear).

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Aug 31, 2007
  5. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Darwood @ Aug 31 2007, 10:26 AM) [snapback]504997[/snapback]</div>
    Some of us do not have the cold weather that you are referring to, so it is not a wash for us.

    In tests conducted by California Division of Measurement Standards, the temperature of gasoline stored underground in one Southern California inland county was well over ninety degrees.

     
    #5 IsrAmeriPrius, Aug 31, 2007
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Aug 31 2007, 08:27 PM) [snapback]505208[/snapback]</div>
    True, but gas prices are regional. Your price structure already reflects the actual amount of gas being delivered. It would only make a difference if some stations worked that way and others didn't.

    Tom
     
    #6 qbee42, Aug 31, 2007
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