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What Was The Price Of Gasoline When You First Started Driving?

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arwalden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:27 AM
Original message
What Was The Price Of Gasoline When You First Started Driving?
I recall paying 57-cents per gallon, and I thought that the world was coming to an end when the price started to approach 90-cents per gallon.
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blueknight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:29 AM
Response to Original message
1. i can remember when they had
"gas wars" i remember 14 cents a gallon:wow:
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China_cat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:38 AM
Response to Reply #1
7. Me, too.
Edited on Thu May-05-05 06:39 AM by China_cat
I remember my sister squeezing the rest of us to make up .30 so she could get 2 gallons...when you could pull in and ask for a dollar's worth, get it pumped for you, your air pressure tested and your windshield washed.


Of course, you were also very lucky if you got 8-10 miles to the gallon.
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madinmaryland Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:42 AM
Response to Reply #1
9. I remember the "gas wars" also,
I think the lowest that I saw was around 18 cents a gallon. I would guess that would have 1970 - 1972. By the time I started in 77 it was around $.50/gallon.
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GOPBasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:29 AM
Response to Original message
2. Under a dollar a gallon, and I stared driving in 1993. n/t
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GOPBasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:29 AM
Response to Original message
3. Oh yeah, and,
I remember as late as 1997, it was still under a dollar a gallon at times.
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NoPasaran Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:30 AM
Response to Original message
4. About 45 cents a gallon
There was no way of squeezing a five dollar bill into the tank of my VW.
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liberal N proud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:31 AM
Response to Original message
5. If I remember correctly, it was around $0.59!
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ET Awful Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:35 AM
Response to Original message
6. Just under $1 a gallon if I recall. Maybe .97 or so. That was in '89
Edited on Thu May-05-05 06:36 AM by ET Awful
or '90.

On Edit: My memory serves me well :) http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/statistics/gasoline_cpi_adjusted.html Average price per gallon in '89 was .97 :).
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SHRED Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:39 AM
Response to Original message
8. Here's a chart
Historical Yearly Average California Gasoline
Prices per Gallon 1970 to 2005
Based on 2005 Dollars, Adjusted for Inflation
(Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price Deflator)

http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/statistics/gasoline_cpi_adjusted.html
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ProfessorGAC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:45 AM
Response to Reply #8
33. Mid to High 30's.
Edited on Thu May-05-05 08:57 AM by ProfessorGAC
Started driving in 1972. Does that line up on your chart?
The Professor
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SmileyBoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:43 AM
Response to Original message
10. Roughly $1.30 to $1.40 in the summer of 2002.
I know, I'm a young'un.
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SmokingJacket Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:44 AM
Response to Original message
11. I remember it first hit a dollar in 1979 or so.
Edited on Thu May-05-05 06:46 AM by SmokingJacket
I wasn't driving yet, but it stayed at a dollar for a really long time.

I started driving in 1989, and honestly don't remember!

On edit: looks like it was still in the vicinity of a dollar...
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tsakshaug Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:44 AM
Response to Original message
12. around 35 cents
it was a big deal to spend $5 on gas
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Lady Effingbroke Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:45 AM
Response to Original message
13. In Houston when I started driving (1986) gas was about 50¢-75¢ per
gallon. I also remember gas being under $1 per gallon (97¢-99¢ per gallon) as late as 2001.

Hmmm...
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ScreamingMeemie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:59 AM
Response to Reply #13
18. Me too...I remember filling up at a station for 98.9 in 2000
:hi:
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TexasProgresive Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:47 AM
Response to Original message
14. $.259 at non premium stations
and $.289 at name brand stations like Gulf, Enco, Texaco and Shell. I can remember during a "gas war" the price dropping to 11.9 cents. Those were the days, my friends. They would do anything to sell you gas. Wash your windows, check your oil and tires, pump the gas, give you premiums and Phillips 66 would actually vacuum your car on a fill up.

It was the depletion allowance- the oil companies got big time tax benefits for every gallon on gas sold. They made profits by selling at a loss.
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youthere Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:52 AM
Response to Original message
15. It was 43 cents per gallon, and when it got over 50 I thought I'd
have a hemorrhage.
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MarianJack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:57 AM
Response to Original message
16. About $.50 a Gallon In 1973.
I was almost 18 before I started driving.

5 bucks filled the tank of my Mom's Ford.
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Demit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 06:58 AM
Response to Original message
17. 29.9 cents in the mid-to-late 60's
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Soopercali Donating Member (257 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:05 AM
Response to Original message
19. Only $.39 a galloon!
And since I drove a VW bug, it went a long way - 35 MPG.
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indepat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:09 AM
Response to Original message
20. $.30.9 per gallon at major oil company station or $.24.9 at a discounter
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curse10 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:10 AM
Response to Original message
21. $0.99 a gallon
not bad.
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CO Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:16 AM
Response to Original message
22. 36.9 in Early 1970 (New Jersey)
I could drive my family's '56 VW Beetle for a week on a couple of bucks' worth.
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greatauntoftriplets Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:27 AM
Response to Original message
23. About 33 cents a gallon.....
:rofl:

This was damn near 40 years ago! I was 16 at the time!
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OneTwentyoNine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:29 AM
Response to Original message
24. .20-.25 per gallon....
This was in 1970-71. Worked at a car wash in HS that sold gas. Sometimes it would even dip lower when gas wars still went on.

Of course with States having much different taxes on fuel these numbers will vary by where DU members live--just like with todays prices.
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swag Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:33 AM
Response to Original message
25. 33 cents/gallon
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mrbill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:33 AM
Response to Original message
26. 16.9-cents in Waco, Texas in 1965.
big time gas war going on. cheap trip to nuevo laredo.

petrol was 18.9 up in north texas. the minimum wage was $1.25. do the math.
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LiberalEsto Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 07:51 AM
Response to Original message
27. 25 cents a gallon, maybe even less
and they gave you a free oil check, windshield wash, and often a nice beverage glass.
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noonwitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:24 AM
Response to Original message
28. $1.20 a gallon in 1980.
Prices went up during the Iran hostage crisis. I was driving a car that still took leaded gas, which was a few cents a gallon cheaper at the time.
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bertha katzenengel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:27 AM
Response to Original message
29. Allen, I was thinking of this very thing on the way to work. it was 79
cents per gallon.
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arwalden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:48 AM
Response to Reply #29
34. Woooo-eeee-oooo!
Scary, huh?
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bertha katzenengel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:59 AM
Response to Reply #34
36. Yah! Also scary: I've been driving for twenty-six years.
I am aging frightfully quickly.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:34 AM
Response to Original message
30. About 35 cents, if I remember correctly.
But that was a long, long time ago.
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Left Is Write Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:36 AM
Response to Original message
31. I don't remember exactly, but the first winter I had my first car
(1987; I was 21), gas was 88-89 cents a gallon.
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Zuni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:40 AM
Response to Original message
32. Heck, in the 1990s, when I first started, less than $1.00
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Dukkha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 08:56 AM
Response to Original message
35. 68¢ back in 1986
I remember when it went to 90¢ and I was thinking Man, what a rip off! I remember when It was 97¢ just Three Years Ago! Now I get happy seeing it at $1.99 thinking it's cheap.
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Huckebein the Raven Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 09:03 AM
Response to Original message
37. Somewhere around $1.10 I think
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leftofthedial Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 09:07 AM
Response to Original message
38. 39 cents
(once in awhile, as low as 27 cents)
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sinkingfeeling Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-05-05 09:54 AM
Response to Original message
39. About 23 cents a gallon in 1962-64.
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