OT / subversive

[Leon]

But is their gas worth more frequent maintenance requirements because the gasoline is probably not as good as the stuff that is 3% more expensive?

[Lew Hodgett]

Herein SoCal, Kroger owns Ralphs which issues a Ralphs card, but it makes no difference.

Those cards are all tied to your phone number.

Mine are all tied to a business phone number.

If you are paranoid, make up a phone number.

Threw the cards away a long time ago.

Works for me.

Lew

[Lew Hodgett]

Hasn't "two buck chuck" found it's way to your part of the world yet?

Not a consumer of the grape, but the 99 cent stores are selling wine which I'm told is acceptable.

The Merlot makes a pretty good marinade.

Lew

[Lew Hodgett]

Check it out, bottled under the Charles Shaw label.

The guy who bottles it is a total shit disturber, which is why he sells it for $2 retail.

Loves to rattle the cage of the rest of the California vineyards.

Lew

[Swingman]

I always use mine, and have for years with no apparent detrimental effect to either me, my privacy, or finances ... unless I'm really missing something?

A frequent "deal" for 'cardholders' at a close by Randall's is a "six pack" of my favorite $10/bottle (same price at all stores) wine for $6/bottle ... enough "savings" on the transaction to buy a couple of steaks to go along with same.

It's even better when they, in their corporate stupidity, mistakenly and _repeatedly_ include a $17/bottle wine in the display for the same "$6/bottle cardholder special"!

I think SWMBO single-handedly caused a dip in Safeway (owner of Randall's) stock prices the last time they did that ... can you say "rainchecks"?

--

Last update: 2/20/07

[Doug Miller]

Yep.

[Doug Miller]

Pah. That stuff's overpriced.

[Swingman]

Heard about it, but haven't seen/tried it.

Acceptable to who? ... no registered coonass is that declasse' as to partake of 99 cent wine, cher!!

Me, I like Pinot Noir to chase a steak and mushrooms marinated in Merlot. ;)

[Scott Lurndal]

What leads you to believe that the gasoline is inferior to the $0.03USD more expensive gas? (Not 3%, note, but 3 cents more).

All the discount chains get their fuel from one of the major refineries.

It's all the same stuff, passes through the same pipelines to get to the terminals, then gets offloaded onto trucks for retail delivery.

scott

[Leon]

BUT CAN YOU DIP YOUR POPSICLE in it?????

[Leon]

First off my referal to gasoline that is 3% more expensice refers to Name Brand gasoline.

Actually the better name brandstuff runs about 3% or 8 to 10 centh more than the no name brand. What leads me to believe that the cheap stuff is inferior? 20 years in the automotive business. While the gasoline for the most part starts out from the same hole in the ground many automobile manufacutrers are strongly suggesting that owners use a upper tier gasoline. IIRC Shell, Exxon and Chevron sell upper tier fuel. Many places sell gasoline and better ones sell gasoline with additives and better detergents that help to keep the injectors and carburetors clean.

For those that have worked in the service departments of a car dealership, this is not news.

The trip is a little more complex. It's not "all" the same stuff.

Take a look here to learn a bit about the Top Tier gasolines.

back in the early 80's the local Texaco refinery was putting an additive in the gasoline that actually ate the galvanized plating off of the insides of the tanks. The plating flaked off and clogged tank socks, fuel filters, needle and seats in carburetors, injector nozzles and created a huge head ache for their customers buying Texaco gasoline. Our dealership alone probably cleaned out and billed hundreds of owners and they were promptly reimbursed for the repairs by Texaco. Texaco issued letters to the customers and dealerships regarding this matter. Only Texaco gas stations had that brief problem in the Houston area.

[WoodButcher]

I have quite a few of these cards and they save me some bucks. I signed up for them using a bogus name, address, etc. Different name every time. Track away. I don't care.

Art

[Scott Lurndal]

In california the price of gasoline is dependent upon neighborhood, not vendor.

Clearly not true in California.

I'm sorry, but anecdotal information is not sufficient. How about some citations from peer-reviewed publications that confirm your thesis?

[snip]

Of course not. Most car manufacturers have co-marketing agreements with the oil companies such that they'll favor one brand over another. There's nothing there but marketing.

Cite please? Note that the gasoline from the refinery is pumped via pipelines to the distribution terminals. Both name-brand and off-brand retailers are served from the same tank farm using product transported by the same pipeline.

POL vendors isn't my idea of unbiased information.

Nothing odd about it. Everyone makes mistakes. I'm not sure how this story has anything to do with the assertion that non-name-brand gasoline (which _is_ produced at the same refineries as the name-brand gasoline) is worse than name-brand.

scott

[Leon]

I bet Lew had not even considered that. :~)

[Leon]

Same in Houston TX however within the neighborhood the different brand stations from top end to bottom end will still show about a 3% price difference. In some neighborhoods the local grocery store gas is more expensive than Chevron is in my neighborhood. It's all relative.

I really have no need to prove anything to you, check the link I posted and gather that information for your self. Infact, I dare you to look up information all by your self so that you will not claim Bias.

It's all a conspiracy right. I'm sorry but you have clearly demonstrated that you do not know enough to know that you don't know.

Ok, I give up. I provided proof, My Word and experience. You can go on believing what you want.

I thought I could simply lead you to the water. Texaco was the only one having that gasoline problem, If all the gasoline is the same as you say, all stations would have been having problems.

Nevermind, go on about your business.

[Lew Hodgett]

Hate to burst anybodies bubble but as long as the gasoline of a designated grade meets the (R+M)/2 spec, it's the same stuff.

Were are dealing with a price sensitive commodity here.

BTW, try to find a test stand that can run the (R+M)/2 test.

The one I used was on it's last legs, and that was almost 50 years ago.

Lew

[Lew Hodgett]

If it comes from the grape, it's rot gut, IMHO.

Now if you want to talk about single malt or good beer, that's another matter.

Lew

[Swingman]

Excellent point ... to not be able to do so would be a show stopper!

[Swingman]

To believe that all gas is equal in quality (not "grade") at the time of introduction to your tank is to be naive ...and the longer you use the inferior quality (not "grade"), the fewer "cites" are needed to prove that point.

Gas that is sold at the ex Texaco station, with the old Texaco sign covered with a tarp, for 25 cents a gallon less than the price at the Shell station across the street, is more not the same gas, guaranteed ... if anyone really believes that, I 've got some swap land for sale they may be interested in.

It's what happens down market that determines the difference. Many different additives, as well as fuel preservatives, and in differing proportions, are added by various parties at various points on the way to the gas pump. Couple that with the fact that gas deteroriates with storage and the longer the storage, generally the more fuel preservatives must be added to keep it useful as engine fuel, and the higher the incident of cross or water contamination.

Lower priced gas on the market at independent, no name stations may well have been stored much longer, is much more likely to have fewer detergents and deposit control additives, making for inferior quality, may even be close to the end of useful life, cross contaminated with other gases and/or water and the preservative content may be reaching a point to make it unmarketable, even though it may at one point was "served from the same tank farm".

AAMOF, after the hurricanes a couple of years ago, the government looked the other way while much of the above was done, on purpose, to keep the prices down.

There is good gas, inferior gas, and bad gas ... one tank of the latter is all you ever need to prove that without the need for "peer reviewed publications" and "cites".

[Bruce Barnett]

They like to know how to target ads to users. You might get flyers in the mail that fit a profile of shoppers like you.