I was just reading that oil prices are near a 13 year high and obviously the price of gas has been going up for the past serveral months. My question is what does this mean for the price of diesel this summer. I'm paying about $1.70/gallon or so in Maryland. I do get close to 650 miles per tank with my e300d so I don't fill up as regularly as I did with my old VW GTI.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=4596598

Gas around here (So. Cal) is $2.25 per gallon; diesel has gone up from its formerly stable (through last summer's price hikes) $1.79 per gallon to $1.99 per gallon now.

Gas is predicted to hit $3.00 per gallon here in the summer, and I imagine diesel will continue to make its way up, but hopefully not nearly as high. On the other hand, biodiesel is a steady $3.00 per gallon, and if petro diesel gets too close to it I won't have that "too expensive" excuse anymore ;-).

What I really want to know is how come I wake up every morning and look out at the ocean and have to stare at oil rigs all up and down the coast, and yet I'm constantly paying at least 30 cents per gallon more for fuel here than people on the East Coast. Grrrrr...

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'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

Taxes?

Do you think all those pollution laws Cal. has come for free? A good discussion of this is going on over on a biodiesel forum right now.

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?q=Y&a=tpc&s=447609751&f=159605551&m=238609317&p=4

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Keep everything as simple as possible-but no simpler--Albert Einstein

That seriously sucks that they'll milk you that much for fuel. Ive read that freight truckers are stopping shipments because they cant break even due to fuel prices. Whats next? Higher prices for everything and fuel nearing $2 a gallon everywhere.

Rant 1:

I guess thats what you californians get for wanting these suueeky clean fuels, and doing it without using biofuels at least as a 20% additive.

Rant 2:

I cant say what the prices will be, but I do forsee that the "lets show off how big and expensive an SUV we drive" people will experience a "lets see how much money we can loose because people are selling SUVs for pennies on the dollar because they guzzle too much $3 a gallon fuel". Sucks for them, but thats what they get for showing off anyway. You need to carry people and cargo, get a minivan, not a suburban or expedition. Want to be a forest ranger? Then get an SUV. Guess what, you dont need it to get to the mall and supermarket.

JMH

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)

There's a 7.5 cent difference in taxes between California and Maryland (at least according to this: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/accountability/GasTaxComparisonReport_jun03.pdf+california+fuel+taxes&hl=en&ie=UTF-8).

Read Tony O's post in the aforementioned biodiesel forum thread... Those california gas prices, one of the reasons they are so high is market manipulation by the oil refineries in the state.

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'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

You're right, MDs taxes are only $0.09 less than CA.

Here's a page on the AAA website with updated gas price averages by state.

http://198.6.95.31/sbsavg.asp

From the DOE
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/plugs/plprimer.html

Finally, gasoline prices may also differ from one locale to another, for a variety of reasons. Differences in State and local tax rates, discussed above, are one reason. Another is proximity of supply: how far an area is from refineries. Prices tend to rise with distance from the Gulf Coast, which is the source of nearly one-half the gasoline produced in the United States. The extent of local market competition can make a difference as well, with prices likely to be lower when many competing suppliers are concentrated in an area.

Environmental requirements can also cause regional variations in gas prices. Certain State and Federal laws designed to reduce air pollution require that gasoline sold in some areas of the country be chemically modified to reduce motor vehicle emissions that contribute to carbon monoxide, smog, or toxic air pollutants. These special requirements typically raise the cost of making the gasoline. The pump price of the "reformulated" gasoline required in some cities runs about 3 cents per gallon higher than that of conventional gas, and about 5 cents per gallon higher in California. The price difference is greater in California because its standards are stricter than the Federal standards that apply elsewhere. Gas prices in California also tend to be more volatile than in other States because in-State refineries are hard pressed to meet demand and there are few refineries outside the State geared to provide California's unique blend of gas. Demand surges or supply shortfalls therefore usually tighten supplies and drive up prices.

After hearing about some of the property values in California, I have to wonder if fuel is more expensive because everything is more expensive there. Even the biodiesel you quoted above at $3.00 a gallon compared to $2.40 a gallon here.

There are certain places in Florida where fuel prices are noticeably higher than others, and the station owners explain it by saying that certain places are more expensive to run a business. Land value, property taxes, municipal taxes, and labor cost are all significant factors.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Recent laws in California ban MTBE in gasoline, so they have to replace it with ethanol (less % than MTBE% => more gasoline per volume => higher prices). California has always been the pioneer in environment-related laws for automobiles in the US.

Property values in highly populated areas of California, such as Silicon Valley or Los Angeles have risen dramatically compared to 5+ years ago. Many people bought their house for $100K or $150K in 1995 and are now selling them for $500K+ (their living square footage ~ 1100-1400 only!)

I'm buried under mortgage debt!

Eric

Rick, you have a good point. A dilapidated, two-bedroom, one-bath fixer-upper costs half a million bucks around here (god knows how I'm going to stay here after college!). Supply and demand, I guess... But while there's high demand for and limited supply of housing around here, I can't imagine the supply of oil/gas/diesel in this state is less than anywhere else (particularly non-oil-producing states). Chuck's link seems to disagree, but to quote form Tony O's LA Times article:

During the blackouts, electricity barons like Ken Lay blamed the crisis on overuse and market restraints, but state investigations later found the real problem was that unregulated electricity plants were strategically shut down to reduce supply and make prices skyrocket.

Similarly, California's special gasoline formulation — as required by the federal government under Clean Air rules — has been made to appear rare by the small number of refiners that make the special mix and have gradually closed refining plants.

$2.40 sounds really cheap for biodiesel; I've only heard of it being in the $2.49-$2.99 range. The biodiesel at my local station is made from fresh soy (I think) oil; not used/recycled restaurant oil, which is the reason for the higher price (or so they tell say).

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'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

People don't seem to grasp that almost EVERY product they buy is moved at some point by a diesel engine vehicle. Diesel was always much cheaper than gasoline.
Everything we buy has it's price increased because of fuel price gouging. CA and HI lead the pack.
Perhaps if we could boil the culprits in oil?


"Man is the only animal that can be skinned more than once."

B20 in DE, last time I got it was only $1.749, the same as diesel.

JMH

__________________
Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)

diesel fuel.... $1.39 here at Kentucky - probably the lowest price in the nation.

$1.68 here in N.C. And it's killing me.
I don't understand how the trucking industry lives with it.
If it breaks $2.25 a gallon I'm going to just park the 300D and go back to VW for awhile. 12 gallons every 500 miles or more is a lot easier to swallow..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K