Odd that noone has posted this yet...

[SilverGlow]

Originally Posted by BailOut

Hi H3LlIoN,

No one has posted that because the cheapest gas is almost never the best bang for your buck. To make a long and scientific story short, the gasoline brands are usually separated by no more than the mandated additives they use. The top tier oil companies spent billions of dollars in research and development to figure out how to make those additives combustible, meaning that they do not rob the underlying gasoline of power per volume, and also burn cleaner in your engine. The cheaper providers do no such thing, so not only does their gasoline not burn as cleanly (which can leave some nasty gunk behind) but it has less caloric content per gallon, meaning you don't go as far on a tank.

All of this means that while you may find a cheaper price at a pump you will most likely end up at another pump sooner, so you actually spend more money on cheaper fuel rather than save anything.

As to why the price of gasoline is going up right now, it is mostly due to the increasing demand in the U.S. (likely from children being back in school, and their parents insisting on shuttling them in their gargantuan SUVs).

Lots of untruths here.

First off, in nearly all instances, gasoline is now a commodity, and the only difference between brand X and brand Y is additive package. The base gasoline on most instances is the same. In other words, most of the Chevron, Shell, Arco, and mom-pop gasoline comes from the exact same refineries, same pipes, same everything...again the only difference is the additive packages....some use Techron, others use chemical XYZ, but all brands have to add additives that meet the mininal requirements of the state and federal government.

Now having said all that, I buy mostly Chevron, for their flavor of additive, knowing full well the underlying base gas is the exact same as the Arcon across the street, or the Mom & Pop down the way.

When you buy gas, go for the best additive packages...really that is the only thing that differs between one brand and another.

Also, no gas company has spent "billions" on gasoline R&D....never happened...gas is not rocket science and has been around for over 100 years.

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by SilverGlow

Lots of untruths here.

First off, in nearly all instances, gasoline is now a commodity, and the only difference between brand X and brand Y is additive package. The base gasoline on most instances is the same. In other words, most of the Chevron, Shell, Arco, and mom-pop gasoline comes from the exact same refineries, same pipes, same everything...again the only difference is the additive packages....some use Techron, others use chemical XYZ, but all brands have to add additives that meet the mininal requirements of the state and federal government.

Now having said all that, I buy mostly Chevron, for their flavor of additive, knowing full well the underlying base gas is the exact same as the Arcon across the street, or the Mom & Pop down the way.

When you buy gas, go for the best additive packages...really that is the only thing that differs between one brand and another.

Also, no gas company has spent "billions" on gasoline R&D....never happened...gas is not rocket science and has been around for over 100 years.

SilverGlow,

That's quite a confusing post. Though you seem to disagree with me your entire first, second and third paragraphs confirm exactly what I said, and your statement about there not being billions spent on additive R&D is laughable.

I'm not sure where you get your information from, but as a hobbyist investor I read many company balance sheets each year. I can tell you that from the 1970's through today that each of the top tier companies has indeed spent billions of dollars in additive R&D as they show this as a justified expenditure against their market capitalization, as well as providing their prospectus with a future-positive bullet or two. Every time a fuel regulation changes there is another spate of spending.

I can also tell you that the non-top tier fuel providers simply buy their additives from a tertiary company that offers their stuff dirt cheap, and that stuff is dirt cheap because it only does just enough to meet the mandates in the cheapest way possible.

Please research this topic more before posting again.