More And More Cars Using Higher Priced Premium Gas

I always eye the regular fuel when putting premium in my car. It makes me sick every time.

— 0to60 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 3:29:48 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 7   

Yeah, but almost every desirable car on the planet requires it, so I've forced myself to get used to it, as depressing as it may be.

— Chip (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 3:42:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6   

Yep. The price I pay for the engine's technology. I believe most engines will run fine on regular -- you'll just have decreased performance and in some cases lower fuel mileage. In my car, I tend to run the good stuff, but when funds get low, I do go for the cheap stuff too (at a name-brand station).

— gooch (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 3:46:12 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

It used to not be this way. Diesel was CHEAPER than regular before the mid 1990's

— Agent009 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 4:25:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Ah, Xero, falling into a fallacy there. As I had pointed out in a comment about 6 months ago:

Diesel versions of cars generally yield on average 40% better fuel economy (take the Jetta for example). Diesel prices are only 9 - 12% more expensive.

So even with higher price diesel, it is still cheaper in the long run. If you want the math I can crunch out some numbers for you.

— jeffy210 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 5:33:51 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

GAs was around 35 cents per gallon in the mid-sixties and everything else is 10 to 20 times more expensive now also. Gas is still relatively inexpensive. the problem is that the economy sucks and people are hurting so it hurts to pay for gas.

— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 8:02:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

EnnNorak......It's not just the economy. You can thank speculators for a good portion of the price increase.

— Bmw8ter (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 10:00:20 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

nah, I'd go for a diesel hybrid if it were available. That would seriously outperform a gasoline hybrid.

— holmstar (View Profile)

Posted on 4/15/2008 8:16:27 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

LOL - little jeffy got pwned!

— raikkonen (View Profile)

Posted on 4/15/2008 10:07:42 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I said this in a previous thread,
Running premium is more cost effective than it used to be. The difference in price between non-ethanol regular and premium seems to remain ~$.10 per gallon, as it has always been. Now that gas is well over $3 per gallon, $.10 is a much lower precentage of the cost of a gallon of gas, compared to $.10 on $1.00 per gallon gas.

I only use premium in my vehicles that require premium. Performance is lost when you switch to the lower grade fuel. I paid a "premium" for that performance. It takes a few hundred miles of running premium again to re-gain the "lost" performance. Not worth $1.50 savings to me.

— Shredmo (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 3:57:57 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

I think the reason for the requirement from auto manufactueres is because of the marketing sell for a car's engine. They promote the HP/torque of a vehicle and to get those numbers, it's usually with high octane fuel.

— djrickp (View Profile)

Posted on 4/14/2008 5:32:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I hate to read about two things now days. Real estate market and gas prices. God damn it no God damn politician is listening to our voices!

— Designer1 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/15/2008 7:31:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I own an FX45, and really appreciate putting 92-octane in the tank every time. Yes, the price hurts, but knowing that I'll be avoiding the potential of costly repairs in the future is a bit reassuring.

My wife used to drive more than I did and put regular/plus in it all the time. The performance & fuel economy suffered.

When I started driving it, I only put premium (or better) in the tank. Now performance & fuel economy has noticeably improved where the wife could go maybe 7 days between fill-ups. I can go 9 or 10 days between fill-ups and I drive much faster than she does.

— dumpsty (View Profile)

Posted on 4/15/2008 9:21:18 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I'll stick with my 05 Matrix filling up with 87 getting just fine mileage in the mid to high 20's and being able to pull into a station, pump about $37 from dead empty with the light on, look at the guy next to me dumping passed the $60 mark who pulled in before me. I smile, get in my car, and head off. Driving for me has become such a pleasure.

— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 4/15/2008 11:10:00 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0