I think you mean "meat" snack.

Felt pretty good seeing $1.94 at the pump this morning.

Here's the interesting part... Yeah, we were already in a downward spiral of the economy, and our current situation was inevitable...

But, with the high prices close to $5 per gallon this summer, that was like a huge international funnel, siphoning the remaining money from our economy, to the middle East.. Now we're broke, they have all our money, and gas prices return to where they were before.... Interesting timing, if you ask me...

I think Mastercard got the cause and effect mixed up. The gas prices are lower because of the lower demand.

Paying $1.83 in parts of NE ohio

Now if only airlines would lower their prices or eliminate that $15-25 a bag charge. I've been checking out airfares for January on and off for a few weeks and they keep going up even though gas has gone down. Blah I'm just going to have to suck it up and fork over a fist full of cash to go on my trip. :-(

I feel sorry for those who paid top dollar for the Toyota Prius. Good intentions but bad timing--at least at this point and time.

with prices under $2.00 in texas, i maybe able to finally fill up without swiping the credit card twice :)

@Bertmanintx:

Good point, didn't even think about that aspect!

@B: With a constant supply and falling demand, prices will fall. It's the same reason prices went up to begin with. But let's not forget to tax the outsize profits of all of the oil companies.

So when can we expect prices for consumer goods to go down? During the peak of gas prices, we were seeing companies jack up their product's prices (From groceries, furniture, even restaurants, etc.) due to increases in transportation costs. Hopefully, now that we're seeing demand go down for everything with our economic crisis, we'll see prices finally decrease soon.

I wonder if the MasterCard data is skewed by people using more cash and less credit?

The swipe issue isn't what you think. A number of gas stations were losing money on gas sales due to high credit card transaction fees. So the gas stations would offer a discount for cash transactions. Here in Jersey it'd typically be $0.10 cheaper if you paid by cash instead of by credit card.

So while I imagine their was lower demand, a big part of it was high credit card transaction fees and incentives for consumers to use cash.

@danno50: Eh that depends: if they were getting out of a Yukon or other such monstrosity then it's very much A Good Thing(tm).

However, as the Mrs-to-be remarked this morning, there seem to be a lot more SUVs with temporary tags on the roads now, meaning people are buying them up at low low prices. Some people apparently never learn.

The last time I saw a sign that said "meat snack center" it was hanging over the men's bathroom at a truck stop.

There was a line out the door.

HA!! I'll drive to Peru, with lots of sudden starts and stops!! Dump the milk, Edna - the cat drinks unleaded from now on!

I saw $1.85 today. I need to fill up my Neon today too. Might be able to do that for less than a yuppy food stamp.

@howie_in_az: It depends. A family of five can't fit into a Prius comfortably, and forget taking that same family on a trip with bags or a pet. Some SUV buyers took the sales as an opportunity to get a new vehicle that got better gas mileage, or to trade down in size once they found out they didn't need as much room. I dropped my SUV like a hot potato and used sales and incentives to get a crossover. I'm planning for the future. Right now it's just me and the husband (and our pet), but in a few years we might have kids, and I don't want to buy a Versa and realize in three years that I still have a Versa, but I have a kid, all the stuff that comes with taking care of a kid (diapers, food, extra six changes of clothes), and frustration cause I can't fit everything into my car.

1.95 in Plymouth MN

uuggghhhh still more than $2.5 in "upstate" new york.

but this goes to show why we should not freak out over "economic speculation." over the summer when I was playing $4.5+/gal, all the news outlets around me were saying 'GAS IS GOING TO BE OVER $5 BY THE END OF THE SUMMER' granted, places closer to NYC and places in cali did get over 5 a gallon, it didn't happen at the scale those speculators were projecting.

things fluctuate. it happens. but thankfully, it dropped a lot really fast.

Oil peaked on July 14, and has been dropping like a rock ever since (minus was one big spike the first day the market tanked, which fell off again almost immediately). It's now well over 50% down from the price that day.

Homework for the reader: what happened on July 14 that popped the price bubble?

@B: well also government stopped taxing the crap out of gas companies so much, and with more talk of drilling other places, people were like 'shoot maybe we should lower the prices so they don't get from elsewhere.'

it's a little more than just supply and demand.

@danno50: I'm not sure buying a fuel efficent vehicle is a bad thing. Its better for the enviroment, and still cheaper for gas. Toyotas are decent cars (in my life at least) and if you needed a new car, its not a horriable choice.

I think it's kind of funny how in the spring it was "I need to fill up today because I'll have to pay more tomorrow". Now it's "I need to try to not fill up today because it will be less tomorrow". There aren't too many times when one can say that!

Enjoy it while it lasts. It will flip around soon enough.

@thesuperpet: that's true...for the most part the Prius is a win/win situation. It's extremely good fuel efficiency and it's better for the environment. The only area where I think it might lose is the cost to repair. I didn't even consider the Prius because I didn't know about the cost of repair, and was not confident that just any Toyota dealership anywhere in the U.S. would be able to fix a broken-down Prius. And I wanted to be able to take my car to any shop, not specifically Toyota. And I need 4 wheel drive for the winter. Otherwise, I wouldn't have minded driving a jelly bean on wheels.

@Dooley: Is it not related to the "Winter formulation/Summer Formulation" thing?

@danno50: Well when the economy recovers gas will go back up to its old levels. Then the prius owners will be getting back their premium again. And For everyone's sake I hope that happens soon.

I paid $1.64 a gallon today. Granted, that was thanks to a Price Chopper/Sunoco discount I got with my parents' PC card (since they don't go to Sunoco as the closest one to them is 25 miles and there's one right near my work.)

Felt good to fill up from an empty tank for less than $20. :)

Just about 2.40 here, which is so nice after seeing it nearly hit $4 two month ago. It's dropped about fifty cents in the past three weeks. And they're saying it's supposed to drop more after the 15th, when we finally switch to the winter blend, so here's hoping...

@Dooley: Scrap your hummer, man. (sarcasm)

Ok, seriously, in Europe, gas prices have been much, much higher for ages... Same thing in Canada. This is more production vs demand thing. Oh yeah! That's capitalism at work.

dont worry, opec will cut production again and prices will go back up.

@no.no.notorious: Taxing? Why stop?

@danno50: If you need a new car ( 'cause your old one is dead), it's worth it.

The gas prices here in sunny Stevens Point, WI are down to @2.199 /gal to $2.229 /gal, which is the lowest level I can remember since January 07, when the prices in my area were right around $1.999 / gal. Much, much needed relief, and the extra savings can go towards the big Plasma TV I want to buy.

@humphrmi: w00t! Bloom County rules!

@DeltaTee: Everybody knows that companies don't pay taxes -- they just pass them on to the end user.

Which means, tax them more, and YOU pay more for gas.

Oh I feel great now, I can fill up my F-150 for only $50. I use about 20 gallons a week.

But even when it approached $4.00/gallon, you know, it really wasn't that bad. Since I own it outright and have no car payments, I just paid it and moved on.

Would I buy another fullsize pickup when this one is old (which will be awhile, it's a 2004)? Probably, unless gas hits about $8.00.

@AD8BC: Everyone knows that people don't pay taxes - they're simply factored into wage demands extracted from businesses, who pass them off to their suppliers.

Which means - magic - no one has to pay taxes and societies flourish!

@Trai_Dep: Although "/b"? Heavily taxed. To extinction.

@Meltdown:

My point is that the markets (more speculation than actual demand, as we see how much demand has dropped) raised the price of oil, which means more money going to the oil producers in the middle east.

So now, our economy is drained (Not putting all the blame on this, but it was the "straw that broke the camel's back," pun intended)

I hope Congress holds committee hearings over this rapid change in the gasoline price. Its time to drag the fat cat oil barons in front of Congress and rake them over the coals for this.

@undefined: @IHaveAFreezeRay: Actually the Prius site says that the seating capacity is 5. If a family includes children [which USED to be smaller than adults], I don't see why one can't fit a family of 5.
Not to mention what in the world did families DO before SUVs? It seems like every family in the 60s had 5 kids, they all rolled in station wagons. Seemed to work then, an SUV is not a necessity just because you have 2 kids.

$2.28 here in Charlotte, NC

@no.no.notorious: I just transplanted from Upstate NY (born in Syracuse, lived in Albany the past few years).

I moved down to North Carolina, and expected a nice drop in gas prices, but they are really just about the same as up there. Pumps around here are at $2.40 or so.

Yeah! I paid $1.63/gallon today.

Our local grocery store in PA, Acme, gives coupons you can apply toward gas purchases at Exxon. You can combine coupons and save up to $0.70/gallon and fill up to 15 gallons. (OK. So, I paid $2.23/gallon minus a discount of $0.60. It was still exciting.) I have a few coupons left that won't expire until at least 2 more fill-ups. By the time I need gas again, I'm sure I'll get closer to $1.30/gallon.

@danno50: @danno50: @danno50: @Meltdown:

I agree that it is worth it. Many Prius owners I know (including my wife) bought it not just to save money on gas, but because they wanted a car that runs cleaner for the environment. And Toyota is a dependable brand-- I had a 1989 pickup that just wouldn't die, haha! The Prius might not fit a full family of five inside, but a family of four? Sure! We're gone around with two large dogs in the backseat, for what it's worth, and it's always been comfortable. :)

@ChanningDesomma:

I meant to say a fully-grown family of five (meaning not just babies) and that WE'VE gone around. So much for my editing job. ;)

@pixiegirl1: Where ya headed? I am going to Madrid in Jan.

@GiannaKaploodle: No chance!