"Traditional" Gas Prices

I was filling up the tank today ... @ $4.639 / gallon for Premium + $10 for the bottle of octane boost / lead substitute, I was sure longing for "the good ole days" ... and was reminded of a "50’s reenactment" photo my father shot back in the 70’s:



The photo was taken at a station on Main St. in Pleasanton, California (it's still there today). That's Hemi32 on the left, Billy Burnham's mustard '29 hi-boy in the center, and Clark Kibler's silver '29 Hi-boy on the right. The "hoodlum's" are Kibler (l), Gary Meadors (c), & Billy B (r).

 

Did you have to fight off hundreds of motorists who spotted the sign and swung in??

 

That's a slick pic !

 

I was working in a gas station/Chev dealer from 1965 to 1968. I made $1.25/hr as the lot boy/pump jockey/tire changer and gas was .349/gal for regular. At today's prices, one needs to be making $16.61/hr to be at the same relative place I was with my first job. I'm doing better today, but lots of folks aren't.

 

Cool picture.

That's crazy that it's 2008 now and the gas stations still stick that little 9/10th of a cent sticker at the end of the price to screw us for one more cent on the price. I always thought I should go to a gas station and buy one gallon of gas for my lawn mower and then demand that they give me my 1/10th of a cent in change.

Now I'm paying $4.59 (and 9/10th cents) a gallon. Can't they just say $4.60 and be honest about it. Cheap bastards! Pretty soon it'll be cheaper to run your car on rum and tequila.

 

In '67, I was 16, made $1.40/hr at a Shell station in SoCal. Gas was 29.9 for regular, 29.9 for Super Shell.
Although wages have gone up. they have not kept up with gas or home prices.
Not even close...

 

I never can understand $0.259. Why the need for the 9/10? I never got $1/10 back in change!

 

No shit! We should get a class-action lawsuit for the oil companys to refund us all the millions of a tenth of a penny for the last 40 years. Any Lyers (Lawyers) out there?

 

GREAT picture. I remember paying that when I 1st started driving (1971). I'd get almost a 1/4 tank of gas and a pack of smokes for a buck. That buck got me through the whole weekend. One day I ran out of gas in my 57 Chevy on the way to picking up my cousin and friend for school. The 3 of us pushed the car to the nearest gas station (plenty of them back then), and $3.70 overflowed the gas tank from dead empty

 

From an online source:

"So the gas companies take an extra 9/10 of a cent for every gallon of gas we buy--what is that actually worth?

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), "prime suppliers" of "motor gasoline" reported sales of 372,833.5 thousand barrels sold in February 2007. Each barrel represents 42 gallons, and to determine the value of 9/10 of a cent for each gallon, we did the following calculation:

372,834 x 1000 x 42 x .009 = $140,931,063

That means that in February 2007, gas companies collected an extra $141 million USD because of their unique pricing practices. Assuming Februrary is a rough average for the year, that's $1.7 billion USD in additional revenue! "

 

So if I did my math right, the equivalent of that situation today would be someone making $20.00/hr and paying $4/gal for gas.

 

Ah the good old days.We'll never see that again

 

Right, but when you consider home prices, everything goes to hell real quick.

 

Yeah but they're coming down now!!!!! Hahahahahaha, oh the current state of the economy. What a fucking joke. Yeah, everything is going to hell these days. I buy a house a couple years ago and the values start to plummet. I bought a Silverado and gas prices sky-rocket within 6 months. Luckily my head is above water and I am doing alright. I can't imagine if I stretched my paycheck out to get by. My heart goes out to people struggling these days with kids.

 

the pricks up here got gas at 608 a gallon and diesel at 635 a gallon.

 

Boy, would Bill Burnam fit in on this forum or what? For you young fellas, Burnam was a scribe who wrote a monthly column in Street Rodder and he was the guy who pretty much questioned everything about this hobby.

A true legend who seldom gets the props he deserves.

 

...While I was workin at the local Shell station thru high school, (63-66) I made $1.00 per hour,and gas was 29 cents a gallon. Altho I only worked 15-20 hours a week after school and weekends, I always had gas money and spendin money,...my how times have changed!
The US is goin to hell fast.

 

great picture ! hell clark lives down the road from me .
3.899/10ths in austin texas today

 

I remember a day back in the 60's(?) when Mom and I were "hurtling" down the highway in her 56 4dr Chevy.
Off to our left and up about 2500' was the Goodyear blimp.
Mom throttled up to what seemed like 100 while the blimp still seemed to pull ahead of us.I was standing on the front seat,hands on the dash and pressing my nose against the windshield.
We pulled up to the multi-grade Sunoco pump and filled up with .26 (and 9/10)cents per gallon gas....

That was a good day.

 

In 1961 I could get 3 gallons of gas, and a pack of Lucky's (cigarettes for you younger guys), for a buck!

 

True that, and it is VERY sad to say it. I've been of opinion that the U.S. is the best country in the world. I may be in a position to disagree with myself in the very near future. Wherever we end up with all this inflation, and outsourcing, I fear we will NEVER recover

 

I agree. I spoke to Bill a week before he died and one of my prized possessions is a memorial sticker that Goodguys had made. What a great guy he was and I loved to talk on the phone with him, me in Florida and he in Ca. I was just starting Hotrodsonline and was traveling with the Old Farts car club and he would give me articles for the newsletter under an anonymous name and they were hilarious. In Bill's Eye, rest in peace.

 

Today the three gallons costs me about $12.45 and the cigs $7.50 a pack, for a total of $19.95. Good thing I don't smoke.

 

Before you get too misty-eyed, check out the inflation-adjusted price of gas back in the old days. It was near as bad as now! There weren't many 30 mpg cars around then, I bet it hurt.

http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/images/charts/Oil/Gasoline_inflation_chart.htm

 

In 1975 I pumped gas at the local station. Don't remember what the price per gallon was and I didn't care back then. I drove a 1964 chevelle SS-327 dual quad car juiced up fairly good that I paid a $125.00$ for without a engine. I had a 40.00$ to 60.00$ a month gas bill and I thought I was going to die. Shit I miss those days. I learned a lot from that time and I'm glad I grew up in that period>>>>.