I guess I had somewhat noticed this, but didn't think much of it until I saw the article: Premium gas price on the rise
Now it has me realizing that it used to jump in .10 increments from regular, to mid-grade, to premium. I have to say, this might impact my vehicle purchase if I were in the market for something new.
Yes. The struggle is real.
Then again Premium is still usually <$3/gal. so I'm not that mad at it.
I have noticed it and noticed it both ways. Years back when gas was creeeping to $4 I noticed that the octane split was staying the same. Typically this was 10 cents per grade.
$3.75 regular
$3.85 mid grade
$3.95 premium
So, this was about a 20 cent delta from regular to premium. Currently, with gas near $2 I have noticed as much as a 70 cent delta.
I have really come to rely on the smartphone app Gas Buddy when the Q45 (which requires premium) needs filled. The app gives local gas prices and can be set to give the Premium price.
I just opened the app and locally I am seeing deltas of around 50 cents. The lowest I could get now for Premium is $2.45 (Sam's Club)
It seems to depend on the area. Some places it's a 20 - 30 cent difference, in others it's 40 - 50.
Premium is $0.80 higher than regular where I am in the northern burbs of Chicago.
Theyre simply subsidizing a net of nearly nothing on the cheap gas by charging more for mid and high grade. They cant make any money if they dont get you onto their lot, and posting a cheaper per-gallon cost is a good way to get you to pull in. They make more money on 20 oz of soda than they do on a gallon of regular.
Im hoping the recent increase in fuel loyalty programs will help stem the "premium tax", since they can entice you to get their gas by giving discounts on obesity fuel...err...I mean snacks, rather than rely solely on cheap gas.
funny in an sad/ironic way that this is happening. The Feds mandate more MPGs, so car makers turn to higher compression and turbo motors.....now the demand for premium is rising, and prices are going up, slowly negating any savings from higher MPGs. wonder why they can't just let the market decide what it wants?
mrjre42 wrote: Premium is $0.80 higher than regular where I am in the northern burbs of Chicago.
Costco in Oak Brook and Mettawa (Lake Forest/Vermin Hills/Green Oaks) is $0.60 difference, FYI--Oak Brook data about 4 hours old according to my wife; Mettawa about 1-2 weeks (by me). (Where are you located?)
onemanarmy wrote: funny in an sad/ironic way that this is happening. The Feds mandate more MPGs, so car makers turn to higher compression and turbo motors.....now the demand for premium is rising, and prices are going up, slowly negating any savings from higher MPGs. wonder why they can't just let the market decide what it wants?
It's almost as if they are transferring the costs of meeting CAFE requirements back on the consumer 
So, my 17 MPG 4Runner that runs on good ole' 87 is similar in cost to a mid-size car making 21 MPG but running on 93 (or 91 for you Cali folks).
Pff.... premium? More like Creamium....
Just filled up the E92 w/ 91. $2.85/ gal. Had fiddy cents off/ gal. w/ Perks. 87 was $2.55.
Diesel is $2.89-$2.99 depending on station.
SW PA
It was almost always $.10 difference between grades. Now I notice it at $.12-$.17.
Like mentioned, more cars require premium so they jack up premium prices. I'm sure they are just compensating for loss of profits. Yeah, that's it...
Yeah, I noticed it. The price differential has skyrocketed in the past year. Most of my fleet runs on Premium. I think everything except the RN truck when it's not towing something needs premium. Lexus V8's, 3SGTE, etc. I buy it at Sam's Club, which is the cheapest place to get premium here, and it is probably part alcohol. And all I can get is 91 octane. If i could get some real octane, I could up the boost on the RAV4, but as it is, I'm afraid to go over 11PSI.
I have a wrx, I have noticed. I've also taken to filling about 40% 87 then adding 93 because so few stations have 91 anymore.
Yea noticed it mid last year or so. We've got places around here that will charge more than a buck a gallon more for premium. I drove off when I saw that and haven't been back since.
Most places are 40 to 50 cents more. It used to be 10 cents per grade. 20 cents a gallon more isn't going to kill me in an average 13 gallon fill up once a week. As long as it doesn't get to be much more than that it isn't a major issue.
You'll see it stabilize or drop as downsized DI turbocharged motors become more and more of a thing (provided NOx emission issues don't legislate them out of existence.)
Thank FSM my 1.0 fiesta asks for 87. Luckily the top tier fuel station (Exxon) is within pennies of the price of crap gas too.
onemanarmy wrote: funny in an sad/ironic way that this is happening. The Feds mandate more MPGs, so car makers turn to higher compression and turbo motors.....now the demand for premium is rising, and prices are going up, slowly negating any savings from higher MPGs. wonder why they can't just let the market decide what it wants?
Increased fuel economy isn't about saving money, it's about reducing oil consumption.
"The market" has proven time and time again to be short sighted beyond belief.
I can get by on a tank a week and there's a local gas station near me that sells Premium for the price of Regular every Tuesday.
If you have kids, they'll consume a lot more than vehicles and you can use your grocery points to knock about $.60/gal off.
Just glad we live in a corner of the world where we can grouse about <$3/gal gas prices. MURICA!
Forteen cents a liter different here.
Knurled wrote:onemanarmy wrote: funny in an sad/ironic way that this is happening. The Feds mandate more MPGs, so car makers turn to higher compression and turbo motors.....now the demand for premium is rising, and prices are going up, slowly negating any savings from higher MPGs. wonder why they can't just let the market decide what it wants?Increased fuel economy isn't about saving money, it's about reducing oil consumption. "The market" has proven time and time again to be short sighted beyond belief.
Beat me to it!
60-80 cents more per gallon is the norm here. If I were shopping for a new car premium would be a no-no with how much I drive, that extra ten bucks or more a fillup would hurt. Luckily lots of the new DI stuff only takes regular.
Knurled wrote: Increased fuel economy isn't about saving money, it's about reducing oil consumption.
If that's the goal, then CAFE is the wrong way to go about it. Rather than force the carmakers to meet some arbitrary fuel economy number based on easily-gamed tests that nobody can reproduce in the real world, the government should scrap CAFE and tax the hell out of gasoline. Then you'll see people buying more fuel efficient cars. And, I'd wager that those cars would get better real-world fuel economy than the CAFE-tuned ones we have now. But proposing a tax increase is instant political death, so it'll never happen.
mtn wrote: Costco in Oak Brook and Mettawa (Lake Forest/Vermin Hills/Green Oaks) is $0.60 difference, FYI--Oak Brook data about 4 hours old according to my wife; Mettawa about 1-2 weeks (by me). (Where are you located?)
I'm in the Libertyville area. Luckily my dd takes regular so it isn't a huge deal.
I haven't noticed, but I did notice paying $1.85 for regular today. That's as cheap as I've seen it in a while.
It's the leading reason the Forte is now gone. 29mpg and requiring premium sucked. $7-8 per fill up, which was weekly, adds up fast.
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