Priming the pump out of our pocketbook

www.tennessean.com Thursday, 02/20/03    |    Middle Tennessee News & Information

It's the new game in Every Town, USA, and every automobile driver seems to be playing it these days. It's called find the cheapest gasoline station.

''There's one with $1.53 cents a gallon,'' my wife said over the weekend as we were driving down the highway in our SUV.

That beat the price at the station we had just passed selling regular unleaded gasoline for $1.57 cents a gallon.

''We're paying the highest gas prices ever recorded for the month of February,'' Mantill Williams, director of public affairs for the American Automobile Association, told me over the telephone recently from his Washington office.

And, Williams added, ''It doesn't look like we're going to have any relief any time soon. Over the past two weeks, we've seen a 10-cent jump in gasoline prices.''

Makes you want to shout, doesn't it?

Nationally, AAA reported yesterday that the current average cost for regular unleaded gasoline was $1.66. For mid-level grade it was $1.76, and for premium the cost was $1.82.

A month ago, the average cost nationwide for regular unleaded was $1.46. For mid-grade it was $1.55 and premium ran $1.61. A year ago, we were much better off, paying an average of $1.12 nationwide for regular unleaded, $1.19 for mid-level and $1.23 for premium.

''There are a number of things people can do to control how much they spend on gasoline,'' the AAA representative told me. ''One is that they can shop aggressively. Two, they should properly maintain their vehicle. If tires on an automobile are properly inflated, that can reduce fuel consumption by 25%.''

The third thing, Williams said, is to cut down on the driving: Look for ways to combine errands and trips, look for good mass-transit opportunities and car pool whenever possible. He said it's also OK to use regular unleaded gasoline in automobiles that will take that type because ''there's no difference in the performance level of regular and mid-grade gasoline.''

''If a person has two automobiles, they should use the car that gets better fuel efficiency,'' he said. ''I think people are noticing where they can get better deals, but many people are having to pay those high prices because they don't have any other alternative for transportation.''

Williams said it is AAA's hope that gasoline retailers and wholesalers will take some constraint when pricing their product.

''We haven't seen any evidence of gouging,'' he said. ''We think it's more market speculation and fear of possibly going to war with Iraq. We say that because the price of crude oil over the last four to six weeks doesn't accurately reflect the retail gas prices we're paying right now.

''We think the market is anticipating war. Sure, we've had some bad weather recently, and there's the strikes in Venezuela that have reduced oil imports a little, but those two things don't justify the high gas prices we're paying.''

These high prices are also getting the attention of some service station operators.

''I haven't seen them this high before,'' said Mike Brasher, the owner and operator of Mike Brasher's 100 Oaks AMOCO here in Nashville. ''But I haven't seen any evidence of people slowing down either, just complaining about the high prices. I guess that's the American way of life.''

As he stood in his station about an hour before closing a couple of nights ago, Brasher said the high number of young people who drive automobiles in America also contributes to the high price of gasoline.

''When you go overseas, you don't see as many youngsters driving as you do in America,'' he said.

''All the kids have cars over here, and they're better than the automobiles their parents are driving. Just go look in some high school parking lot. We're just a little bit indulged and spoiled.''

He added: ''When people gas up, they're the only one in the car. You don't see a lot of car pooling, at least not in the 100 Oaks area here.''

At Brasher's AMOCO station Tuesday night, the price for regular unleaded gas was $1.69 a gallon. For mid-level it was $1.79 and $1.89 for premium.

And, as we continued talking, Brasher pointed to a small cartoon pasted up on a wall in the station.

''Regular is an arm and premium is the leg,'' the cartoon read. There was also a Reader's Digest piece that talked about the tax dollars that come out of a gallon of gasoline.

''I think we all share some responsibility for the high cost of gasoline,'' Brasher said, adding that he was making more money when regular unleaded gasoline cost as low as 49 cents a gallon.

''We need to do more to develop our own supply of oil. We also need to develop better transportation systems, and we need to do more car pooling.

''But I think gas prices are going to have to get up to $2 a gallon before it causes a mental shock to people.''

Believe it or not, drivers in San Francisco are already paying $2 a gallon for regular unleaded gas.

I don't think putting $5 worth in my SUV there would make a dent in my fuel tank. That's why it's time that we seriously look at ways to cut back on gasoline consumption. If not, there is no telling what type of games we'll be playing next when it comes to the price of gasoline.

Dwight Lewis is a columnist, regional editor and member of the editorial board for The Tennessean. E-mail: dlewis@tennessean.com.