Is Hpermiling Driving Working – Gas Prices Are Dropping!

I wanted to share with you something interesting that happened to me on Saturday, (July 26th). My daughter and I were doing our errands, and one of them was to stop by the bank. On the way to the bank we passed a WAWA gas station. The price on the marquee read $3.96 a gallon; my daughter and I always check out the price of gas when we pass a gas station so that we know where the lowest prices are. We spent maybe 15 minutes at the bank and on the way back we had to pass the same WAWA gas station. I looked at the marquee again and low and behold the price read $3.92 per gallon. As we were on a divided 4 lane highway, I quickly looked at the other marquee on the opposite side of the road, thinking that they were advertising two different gas prices. The sign on the other side of the gas station read the same price $3.92 per gallon.

My 20 year old daughter, who is quite the bargain hunter, commented that she had never seen anything like that, and I had to agree with her. The moral to the story? Gas prices are dropping, but don’t get too excited.

Gas prices have dropped about $.20 a gallon in California in 30 days. On Friday, July 25th, 2008 they actually dropped $.03 a gallon. Ready to run out and fill up your tank? Maybe you should, but experts agree that prices should not rise anytime soon unless there is a major supply disruption. (Don’t rule this out because we are in the middle of hurricane season.)

Experts also agree that there should be no rise in gas prices until Labor Day weekend. Why? The old supply and demand rule. People are finding ways to cut down on gas consumption from Hypermiling to trading in their cars on more fuel efficient models to walking and taking public transportation to save money. The result? The demand for fuel has decreased dramatically, and if the demand for an item is low, then it dosen’t cost as much.

Many people travel on Labor Day Weekend, as it is the last official weekend of the summer, this will increase the demand for gasoline and raise the prices once again. I think that the lesson learned here is to keep doing what you are doing; if your taking public transporation, Hypermiling, car pooling, walking more, or driving less, then don’t stop just because gas prices are dropping. If the demand for gasoline rises, then so will the prices.

I don’t know about you, but I am an avid Hypermiler, and lower gas prices at the pump means that I can buy more gas for the same amount of money, and go even farther using Hypermiling techniques that I have learned over the past few months.

Until we find long-term solutions for our country’s energy needs, gas prices will continue to cause a hole in our wallet. Hypermiling is a solution to the problem that does not cost you anything but time to learn a few technqiues.