Remember When......

[Robmeister]

....this accident happened? 

It was something like 7 or 8 years ago.  This Southwest Airlines flight from Vegas overshot the runway at  Burbank Airport.

The plane smashed past the airport fence, careened across the 
street and ended up with a collapsed landing gear, right next to a 
gas station.

But that's not the amazing part!!! 


 

[PBurke]

and we thought that was high then. go figure.

[Jer]

Yeah, I remember a family trip when I was 12 that we took to Quebec City.  The gas then was $0.53 / liter.  I remember my parents saying how expensive that was.  Now we're at $1.34 / liter ($5.11 / gallon) and they're saying by the end of the summer we'll be up to $2.00 / liter, which is about $7.57 / gallon.  That's insane!

[Razor X]

I hate to admit this but I can remember when gas hit $1 a gallon and everybody thought THAT was terrible.   

I also remember when you could only buy gas on "odd" or "even" days.  I can remember my parents taking us to the shore for the day and it wasn't an "even" day, so we couldn't buy any gas.  My dad had to siphon some gas out of the lawnmower to make sure we had a full tank in the car to get there and back.

[Jer]

Well, at 26 I can't say I remember that Razor, but I do remember growing up where the gas station had the same hours as the bank, and it was always closed Sundays.  It's kind of like where I am now, open mon-fri 8am to 8pm and sat 10am to 6pm.  I found that out the hard way too when I moved here to this small farming community 2 years ago.

[wpruitt]

I remember when, in HS, I could fill up my VW Bug - and drive for a week - on what I pay for one gallon today.

[BaldRob]

I'm with Bill (not quite that far back though)... I remember the lowest gas prices once I started driving were about 65 cents a gallon and then everyone freaked out when they hit $1... OOOOOoooooo what I wouldn't give for $1 gas now!!

[Razor X]

I remember the lowest gas prices once I started driving were about 65 cents a gallon and then everyone freaked out when they hit $1... OOOOOoooooo what I wouldn't give for $1 gas now!!

That can't be right, unless gas prices were signifcantly lower in the midwest than they were here in the east.  Gas prices hit $1 here back in the 70s and you weren't old enough to be driving then.  I can't remember how much it was when I started driving, but it was over $1.

[BaldRob]

I paid less than a $1 for about the first year I was driving...  and then again when I lived in California of all places, most stations were about $1.25 except for one that opened and they charged $.76 a gallon for about the first 3 months they were open...

[JDog]

Sure gas prices in the USA are obscenly high. But keep in mind your cousins across the pond in the UK and Europe who pay around 1.20 UK per Litre. As a pound sterling is currently around 1.50 USD, the British are paying around 6 US dollars per gallon(a litre is roughly 1 quart or 1/4 of a gallon).

Here in Australia the gas price is hovering at nearly $AU 1.70 per litre. The Australian dollars buys about .95 US cents making it around $1.70USD per litre which equates to nearly $6.80 Per Gallon!!

My best advice, buy a Vespa,bicycle or a nice expensive pair of Nike Shox running shoes.

[Jer]

And here I am thinking of selling my little V6 Ranger and getting a decommissioned Vic P71 with the chip still in of course...   

[wpruitt]

Friend of mine was recently bemoaning the fact that he provides his son with enough gas to drive to and from school each day, plus enough to run home to change for practice after school (2 round trips a day).  He is spending between $80 - $90 a week in gas for 1 kid.  We could cruise all week on $5 - $7 (and made about $2.50 an hour at P/T jobs).  Now you have to work all week at a P/T job to buy one tank.  Talk about inflation!

I'm with Bill (not quite that far back though)... I remember the lowest gas prices once I started driving were about 65 cents a gallon and then everyone freaked out when they hit $1... OOOOOoooooo what I wouldn't give for $1 gas now!!

[Mikekoz13]

The first time i filled up my very first car.....gas was 65 cents per gallon. Man I'm old.........

[schro]

Sure gas prices in the USA are obscenly high. But keep in mind your cousins across the pond in the UK and Europe who pay around 1.20 UK per Litre. As a pound sterling is currently around 1.50 USD, the British are paying around 6 US dollars per gallon(a litre is roughly 1 quart or 1/4 of a gallon).

Here in Australia the gas price is hovering at nearly $AU 1.70 per litre. The Australian dollars buys about .95 US cents making it around $1.70USD per litre which equates to nearly $6.80 Per Gallon!!

That's because in many of the European countries, governments choose to tack on significant taxes to the cost of gas. Currently in the UK, 76% of the cost of gas is attributable to taxes  . France: 74%, Germany: 73%, Italy: 69%. Here in the US, taxes make up 29% (on average) of the cost of a gallon of gas. On a cost per liter, the difference between the UK and the United States is only $0.04!!! I wonder how the various Eurpoean governments are spending all that extra coin. Maybe our European SBGs can shed some light on this.

The cost of gas and the US economy are going to be major election issues this fall.

[schro]

I paid less than a $1 for about the first year I was driving...  and then again when I lived in California of all places, most stations were about $1.25 except for one that opened and they charged $.76 a gallon for about the first 3 months they were open...

I vaguely remember filling up at under a buck a gallon when I first started driving back in the early 80s.