Anybody else experiencing this Gasoline problem?

I'm in AZ. Today I went to four different gas stations before I could gas up my car. Three of the gas stations had posted signs selling unleaded and diesel Only. No mid premium or high premium gas at the pumps. I was able to get mid premium gas at the fourth gas station. Expensive, $2.69. My car should take high premium, per manufacturer Mercedes, but it's almost $3.00 a gallon.

Has anybody else out there run into this problem?

Not long lines, but I never used to have to wait as much as I have been lately.

sympathy. Sorry.

Keep the class war going.

constantly for the rest of my life and not do as much for class warfare as the Paris Hilton tax relief bill will.

Rather than apologizing for telling someone else what kind of car they can have without offending you, you apologized for assuming something about the year of the car. Mind your own business.

talking about a matter of degree. Do you think it's alright to own a Hummer? If people want to brag about their possessions there should be a forum for them to do that in.

after all, the rich as running away with the class war. What, are you just trying to make it worse on yourself? Just shut up and get back to your 3 minimum wage jobs. I don't have time for this, I need to find premium gas for my mercedes!

so what if the poster drives a Mercedes? What's that got to do with long lines?

I've owned my Mercedes for 13 years and it works and looks brand new. Sorry but my Hitler car is well-made and not like these USA made tin boxes that look ugly and not working after three years. The new Mercedes made in the US by Chrysler are being recalled for problems. My car made in Stuttgart, Germany is still beautiful.

Now you have my sympathy. Remember the class warfare thing and post the age of your car when you refer to its make.

:shrug:

the lowest of your brethen drive but little Japanese econo-boxes, this sayeth the Lord, and covet not the high-test pump."

I am sure getting a lot of flack over this. You have to admit that the post was sort of like asking someone the time and getting back "Sure, let me consult my Rolex." I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but it read that way to me.

that Jesus drove a big Cadillac to hold all his friends, plus he lived in it on the road.

:)

German car. Jesus drove Detroit iron.

Fine Corinthian Leather 11:36.

Let's not be picking at each other or showing disdain for others because of what they have or don't have. New or old. Pastel or bright colors. It's just stuff.

There's enough hatred- person for person - over the stupidest shit. Can't we evolve? Why do we find it so easy to dismiss another's troubles because of an inanimate object?

If the OP had said. "All I care about is my car," you might question that or have no empathy. But belongings themselves don't define the person who owns them - for better or for worse.

I realize there was an apology. That instant jab just took me off guard....
:think:

While I'm nagging, I'll nag at antigone382 because she forgot to log off my computer. So it's only fitting she "take the blame if there is flame!"

Anyhoo, the above was my post with apologies for confusion. antigone382 is in the next room goofing off with her friends so maybe she won't notice shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh;)

over stuff-where to get it, how to get more of it and how to keep it once it's had. This is not quite the same as whether you wear a blue shirt or a red one (and by the way, in what third World sweatshop was that shirt made?)

I found the mention of the car being a Mercedes pretentious. It turned out not to be. The poster was a lot less upset about it than other folks were. Now excuse me, my butler just told me that the cook has my filet mignon ready and I have to sit down with my wife (the hot young one with the boob job) and have some dinner and Dom Perignon.

He or she could be driving an old, used Mercedes for all you know.

I get more bent out of shape by 3 mpg SUVs no one can see around that could transport an entire third world village and is used for one teeny tiny 5'2" lady with grown kids.

seem to come from the factory with Bush stickers.

Yeah. I have a friend who has a Mercedes, but it's about the oldest, most broken down car I have EVER seen. How she keeps it running is beyond me. Held together with coat hangers, it seems.

But hey, it gets her from point A to point B. But she's looking for something more fuel-efficient and about two years old or so.

:eyes:

I personally have not noticed the problem indicated. I'm not sure why there should be a shortage of higher octane gasoline. I suspect it is a blip and will be back to normal soon...

when they are able to charge so much for regular? This may not just be a blip but a marketing decision. What do I know, I'm so old I almost said "ethyl."

any f***king thing you want.

I was waiting for this one

:eyes:

Nevermind. We tried that and it didn't work.

Perhaps a fuel efficient vehicle?

I use regular, so I might just not have been looking. Come to think of it, I've seen a few signs around advertising regular+diesel, not the other two.

Weird. Reminiscent of the pipeline burst a couple years ago, but I haven't seen anything on the local news either.

$3 something for premium in San Jose.

It was just after I read how GM had conned us on electrics. :mad:

The wait for my Insight is only a few more months.

Back in the early 1990's GM took an "equity interest" in the "start up" that invented the modern "Ni-MH" battery (the one in electric cars, hybrids, cell phones, lap top computers, digital cameras, etc.). This "start-up" had licensed Toyota and Toshiba for "automotive batteries."

After GM bought into the company, GM sued Toyota and Toshiba. GM argued that "automotive batteries" did not mean "traction batteries" to actually move the car, just "accessory batteries" for the starter, lights, radio, etc.

Rather then fight GM's platoons of lawyers (including Judge Kenneth Starr of "White Water" Fame), Toyota settled and rewrote the Long Beach CA and Fremont CA agreements (Prism/Corolla, Matrix/Vibe) to fold in "hybrid electric vehicles" (including the Prius, the Highlander hybrid, the Lexus RX400h, and even the RAV4 hybrid if they actually make it).

Bottom line: If Toyota makes a hybrid model and sells it in the US - GM has the right to clone it and sell it as their own in the US. GM also have the right to use all Toyota hybrid "intellectual property" (patents, designs, CAD/CAM files, Numerical Machine Control code, etc.).

Have you seen any Priuses with Chevvie bow ties? Neither have I.

Just Chairman Waggoner's and Vice-Chairman Lutz's complaining about how bad hybrids are, and that no one will buy them

I hold onto to my small number of GM shares just to vote against "incumbent management."

hit me up for way more gas money. I don't drive much myself. But to fill my vehicle up these days is costly.

I suspect they are trying to get the old stuff that has been sitting in the underground tanks all winter out of there before it turns to crap? But that is only a guess.

Don

which is why it is both higher octane, and less expensive

If it was cheaper because of the ethanol as you suggest why wouldn't premium be cheaper all year long?

Don

Many convenience stores/gas stations now only have premium and regular gas in the underground storage tanks. The midgrade product is "pump-blended" by combining the desired amount of regular and premium at the pump to make the midgrade, usually about 60% regular and 40% premium. Therefore, if the premium runs out, the midgrade is unavailable also. If several stations had this situation, there was probably a local glitch at the refinery/pipeline/jobber temporarily squelching the premium. Of course, wherever one is is 'local', so it can cause a problem.

I have not used, but have noticed at auto stores, octane booster additives, that might could help you in a pinch if you could only get regular, but caveat emptor. No amount of engine 'knocking'(detonation) is desirable, but a little for a short while is probably not very damaging.

As for the holier than thou objections to high quality cars, or older cars, be assured that the environmental 'cost' of producing and selling a new car, even a cheap car, is a significant number, and that any economic/environmental moral comparisons must be made over the long term and take all relevant factors into account.

Just my beep beep.

:)

http://www.johnsonfdn.org/conferences/precautionary/schet.html

Octane booster is methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, or MMT, in a bottle. Manganese is a neurotoxin in car exhaust.

"Premium" or "mid-grade" gasoline simply has additional polymers added so that it combusts at a lower temperature.

The OP's Mercedes owner's manual may very well call for premium fuel, but premium (read: gasoline with additives) does not increase fuel efficiency. It actually DECREASES fuel efficiency.

Look it up.

For the average car and driver, you are correct, IMHO. But for high compression engines, a high octane fuel is essential for proper combustion, to avoid knocking and even 'dieseling' I believe. The higher octane should result in a more complete combustion on the power cycle, preventing left over fuel from remaining for the exhaust cycle where it could ignite/explode at an inopportune time for the cylinder and its rod.

Older, worn engines could also benefit from high test, for similar reasons.

My dealer said that a middle grade would be ok and that consistency is the main factor. I have been using regular of late and buying the cheapest I can find. No problems so far and I have 112,000 miles on the car.

I have an '89 Toyota Celica GT, bought used, still runs new, and I almost ruined the fuel system by using regular 89 octane fuel. Didn't know it needed 92-93 octane minimum to run properly. It got loud on reg fuel and shook like hell, good thing my uncle is a Toyota mechanic and told me what was wrong, would of cost a LOT of money to fix. Just another note, my car gets close to 40 miles to the gallon on average, that's one reason I'm keeping it as long as possible.

Gas should be expensive, and if possible hard to come by

for feeding the ox-carts that will carry groceries from farm to market! Hay and spoiled vegetables for everyone!

Because we're a regressive species.
Look at history.

I wonder why it is that anyone who looks at history herself and draws from it one conclusion, assumes that someone who draws a different conclusion simply hasn't looked at history?

The part of it that I am most interested in on this issue is that the price of gasoline (consider diesel to be gasoline for this purpose), when it goes up, raises the price of all consumer goods which are transported by truck and rail. The price of fresh food is immediately sensitive to fluctuations in gas prices. In today's world, where most food is produced far from where most food is consumed, nearly everything one eats is carried on a truck and carried by gasoline. High gas prices contributed to the stagflation during the Carter years.

Further, gasoline prices do not rise on their own. Gasoline prices rise in response to a rise in the price of crude. All refined petroleum products will rise as well. This raises the price of heating oil as well, which has a direct impact on the quality of life for people who live in areas where heating is needed.

A rise in crude prices, as it ripples through the price of refined petroleum products and the price of goods, brings up the price of food and heating. The poorest among us who are still housed will be, as always, the hardest hit. Unless it is considered acceptable for the poor to starve and freeze, gas prices need to remain low.

Hi.

I just wanted to add that I certainly agree with your analysis on the "costs" to society of increasing crude/gas costs.

However at the same time - we are heading toward a crisis. This country simply must move to end its dependency not just on foreign oil, but on oil period. The world has reached a time when it is becoming crucial to adapt to cleaner, more abundant sources of energy before it really is too late. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that the need to transition away from fossil fuels is a critical issue today.

Unfortunately this change is never going to happen without a little bit of pain. I wish people would be proactive, but they aren't. It often takes something to force innovation, hence the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention." As long as gas is cheap an in abundant supply to consumers, there will never be any serious change for the better in terms of energy use and the environment. It is only when gas becomes inconvenient, inefficient and impractical that new alternatives will seriously be be explored.

And since I think new alternatives really need to be explored, I'm OK with rising gas prices. I recognize the effect that can have, but I think its necessary.

so, I'm afraid I can't identify, commiserate or sympathize much with your problem.

Sorry.

It is not a Mercedes lawn mower, nor is it a much more environmentally-friendly goat, it is simply a walk-behind push lawn mower. But I digress.

When I arrived at the gas station, there were signs on all the pumps: Regular Unleaded and Deisel Only.

Though I had only come for regular unleaded and never purchase any of the fancy-pants Premium or Ultra-Awesome-Super 107 Octane gasoline and thus have absolutely no use for the information the sign conveyed to me, I promptly filed this information in the "Worthless Shit That I Will Remember, Even As I Forget Important Shit Like Returning My Fiance's House Key So She Isn't Locked Out Of Her House All Night" file in my brain. I digress again.

These signs were at the local corner gas station just south of Louisville, Kentucky.

your fiance just have a key made for you? Oh hell, I am no good at this interpersonal relationship stuff, I just piss everyone off.

She is somewhat familiar with my Absent Minded Professor Routine by now. She had not given me a copy of the key based on the principle that somewhere in her house she knew she already had a spare. She just could not find it. I took the liberty (with her knowledge, of course) of making a copy myself, so now we are squared away.

couple. All the best to you.

BTW Mercedes are fucking sweet. I don't care what anyone says, I would have one in a heartbeat.