$1.77 a gallon? Fuel duel elicits exclamations of wonder at pump
Three stations fight to the penny for gas customers
By James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 11, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky
"I'm the leader of this corner," says Jay Tahmourasi, owner of Applewood Gas Express in Lakewood, on the gas wars.
A long time ago at an intersection far, far away . . .
Gas Wars!
OK, so it was as recent as Monday afternoon, and 20th and Youngfield is in Lakewood, but, whether you were a droid, a Wookie, Jabba the Hutt or Dillon Haugum, the tussle between three gas stations that had prices down to $1.77 a gallon for about four days was a wondrous spectacle of near-intergalactic proportions.
"I can't believe it! Not at all. I never thought it'd go this low again," exulted Haugum, 19, who had stopped fueling his 1989 Chevy Suburban at one station and come zooming over to Applewood Gas Express to pony up $5.05 for the final 10 gallons his tank would accept. And - get this - by the time he arrived, the price had jumped to $1.97.
That's because Applewood owner Jay Tahmourasi saw no need to be that generous after his competitors at the the nearby Conoco and 7-Eleven had hiked their prices 20 cents to $1.99 a gallon.
"But I had to be two pennies cheaper than they are," said Tahmourasi, insisting with a swagger. "No way I let them match me. I'm the leader of this corner."
Tahmourasi's need to lead was what precipitated the price free- for-all. Last week, when the Conoco station (whose managers declined to talk to the Rocky) began lowering their gas, he followed suit, always by the two-penny margin. Each time they lowered theirs, he lowered his.
"Sometimes, I dropped my price 10 times in one day," he recalled.
The sub-$1.80 threshold was reached four days ago and stayed there until about 12:30 p.m. Monday, when the Conoco station blinked first and went back to $1.99. So did the 7-Eleven, even though it ran out of regular unleaded soon after and became a nonfactor in the petroleum fray.
Judging by the lines at the remaining duelists, two cents was a big deal, with way more cars jammed at Applewood. Among those willing to wait was Bonnie Bleu, of Evergreen, who was "absolutely thrilled" to shell out $45.41 for 23 gallons of regular unleaded.
"It feels like it's back to the good old days," said Norm Brand, 61, as he poured 17 gallons of gas into his not-so subtle Dodge Ram truck, and only had to pay $33.80.
"It's about time," crowed Dominic Haight, 29, who was down from Breckenridge, heard about the prices and detoured over. And while "I don't think it'll last," Haight hastened to add, "It's tough times now; people are willing to travel for a better deal."
In his case, the deal was way past better considering the 19.75 gallons he put into his 2003 Dodge Dakota cost $39.09 - compared to the $60 it had cost him the other day up in the mountains.
Nearby, Curtis Lozano, 24, was so full of "wow!" he was almost in a hypnotic state as he directed gas into the tank of his Chrysler Sebring LX. But he snapped out of his trance when he realized he was trying to put 7.150 gallons into his baby when 7.1 was all it would take, and gas was dribbling out of his too-topped-off tank.
"Oh well," he said sheepishly as he wiped off the spillage, "it's still amazing. Look - $14.15! I paid $35 to fill it the last time."
But as a caravan of minivans, SUVs, trucks and sedans waited patiently to thread their way to the nearest open pump, Katie Pryor was not feeling festive.
"I think it's a shame that we think $1.97 is cheap, if you want to know the truth," she said, still glum about recently being laid off from her job.
Sure, the $22.04 tab for 11.136 gallons of gas beat the 40 bucks she'd recently paid to fill it up. But "Jesus, this is a Ford Focus!" she said, not sounding like she felt the, uh, Force was with her.
Colorado averages
Regular unleaded gas prices around the state as of Monday:
* Boulder $2.17
* Colorado Springs $2.09
* Denver $2.11
* Durango $2.54
* Fort Collins $2.20
* Glenwood Springs $2.73
* Grand Junction $2.11
* Pueblo $2.17
* Vail $2.67
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November 11, 2008
6:17 a.m.
Suggest removal
HolierThanThou writes:
Successful drug pushers are happy to give you free or deeply discounted junk until you get hooked. That's how they turn an ordinary person into a violent drug addict who would shove an old lady down the stairs to get a few bucks for his next fix.
November 11, 2008
7:07 a.m.
Suggest removal
gatengreen writes:
Since congress let the offshore drilling ban expire last fall the price of crude has dropped dramatically. This story seems to have got lost in the 24/7 reporting on the election.
There is a rumor in the air that Obama is going to reinstiture this by executive order when he becomes the president, if so we will be back to paying $3.00+ for gas by next spring.
If our government is truly intent on giving the economy a stimulus plan, keeping the price of energy affordable is an excellent place to start and doesn't cost the taxpayers. Also, it takes dollars out of the hands of people that don't like us.
If you agree with this, contact your leaders in government and let them know how you feel. Without ever drilling a hole in the ocean, the prospect of it happening keeps the speculators from driving up the price of crude.
November 11, 2008
7:35 a.m.
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Michael writes:
Geez, the "market" is driving down the cost of a barrel of crude (about $60 now!) and do we hear much about it? Do we hear anything about those "evil" speculators and traders who drove it up to $145 a barrel last summer and now are bidding it down because consumption is down all over the globe?
There are big players in the market who impact it greatly - OPEC, US oil companies, etc. But in the end, market forces prevail as they are so powerful. Those profits the oil companies make at the price peaks are what carry them through on their investment in exploration, extraction, and technology when the price bottoms. If we as Americans, the automakers, and the insurance/banking/investment industries were as smart about money management and saving for that rainy day, maybe there would not be the need for so many bailouts?
November 11, 2008
8:13 a.m.
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jbowen43 writes:
Prices have nothing to do with the offshore drilling ban or anwar or any other place where oil is not being produced. Demand is down therefore prices are down.
November 11, 2008
8:16 a.m.
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Father writes:
Lower gasoline prices are great - but, Americans have to figure out what really caused the horrendous spike in gasoline prices (gun against the head pursuasion by BIG oil to sway public opinion to drill, drill, drill anywhere), or off-shore uncontrollable factors that made BIG oil innocent of price gouging in which the GOP was in sync with and who organized blocking any Congressional enforcement legislation that would stand in the way of BIG oil record profits?
Don't be stupid and just happy - determine how and why it happened in the first place... so that the horrendous gasoline prices can't happen again !!!!
November 11, 2008
9:51 a.m.
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joggle writes:
Father: The US isn't an OPEC nation and has more of an effect on the international price of crude oil through our engagements in the Middle East than through our own production. Even the OPEC nations can't completely control the price of crude and they are distressed by the sudden crash of the price of oil, especially countries like Venezuela that rely on oil exports to pay for much of their government expenses.
Demand for oil has fallen off of a cliff since the worldwide financial crisis that is forcing even China to make an enormous financial stimulus plan (a country that has had double-digit growth consistently for years). It's only a matter of time before demand for oil goes back up again and the US simply doesn't have enough oil to assuage higher prices at that point (just listen to T Bone Pickens, an old oil executive that doesn't believe the solution to the US reliance on oil is trying to pump marginally more oil domestically).
November 11, 2008
10:14 a.m.
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ImissColo writes:
Stop! Hating the oil companies because they are the easy target is narrow minded. When you are upset that an oil company records $40B (or any amunt in profit) does not get you to the bottom line of what they are actually making to continue production of our "black gold". All the pension funds, investors, stockholders, and the like are getting their share of return on their investment. How do you think that is bad? What you really need to be looking at is "When the tax man cometh". Next time you get gas, look at the amount of city,state, local and federal taxes you are paying for that tank of gas. While the "bad" oil company is showing its profit, remember those taxes at the tank are FREE to the government. The government and your state are the winners--they are getting free money from the oil company profits and the rest of us who purchase at the gas station. The oil company $40B is less thank the government take which is somewhere in the neighborhood of $150B and that is FREE MONEY from the rest of us. The biggest "CHEATER" of the citizenry are the city, state, local and federal governments!!!!!! They love all the free money we give them. Just wait, the "One" and his buddies in DC are going to influence the prices right back up to the levels they were a few months ago, and well beyond.