Home NEWS Local Scene “Fill ‘Er Up, Buddy, Willya? Oh… MAMA!”

“Fill ‘Er Up, Buddy, Willya? Oh… MAMA!”

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If you’re out and about in one of those dino-powered gas guzzlers you have our sympathy if the sticker shock is proving to be too much these days.

If you have money to burn you may not have batted an eye, but Nighthawk Craig Cannon noted the price tag for petrol at a Chevron in unincorporated Martinez this evening – and couldn’t help but also notice that the Martinez Refining Co. and the old Shell Refinery were tantalizingly close by.

As Craig says: “It hurts to drive these days!”

Are you feeling any pain at the pump or are you good to go? And go…

19 COMMENTS

  1. Yes! Just bought a hybrid plug in. Had it for 7 weeks before I had to put gas in it. Normally it was once a week in my old car at $80+ each time. Ugh.

  2. By the end of this last year, America was fully energy independent. Changes have been made by certain people that now has us begging Middle East oil producers for more oil. Prices are going to go up even more! Yes, I guess we could all go buy electric cars, but considering the consistency of power delivery this drawbacks there. My sister just bought a Tesla and was unable to go to work last
    week because of the power outages would not let it charge her car. ‘Just saying.

      • I assume you are joking. Cars are wary wary expensive. Unless, of course, one has a van and is sleeping in it down by the river.

        • Not joking. I have a newer electric car, a beater of a gas powered vehicle (just in case of the situation described by Greg T – putting all your eggs in one basket is unwise) and a beater of a pick up truck for those times I need to haul something. Having multiple vehicles need not be costly unless you want a second vehicle to be expensive. I don’t.

  3. Only in 2021 America could the simple question of whether or not you’re paying too much for your gas devolve into a bitter fight over where Richmond is located. For the record I’m driving less, biking more, and happy that I’m giving less to Big Oil. So there……

    • Randy, I have a brand new pair of roller skates, you have a brand new key! Let me know how many groceries you can lug home on your skate board, buddy boy?
      Oh, electric vehicles are just as polluting as fossil fuel vehicles, fact!

    • The tone was set in the belligerent, uninformed first post: “Since when is…”, but you’re right, a better man than I would have let that go. Who the f* cares where the refinery is and that someone got it wrong? But, these are not ordinary times. Tempers are short. Anxiety is high. Ignorance is roundly celebrated. Bizarre fantasies are celebrated. We are at a watershed moment, and I care about the outcome whether or not I will be around to see it through.

      Read the posts. This isn’t just a story about the current price of fossil fuels. It’s about profound change and fear of change…unless, of course, it’s just a local story about the price of gasoline to you.

    • “Unprecedented inflation looming”? What are you talking about? Where were you in 1973?

      German hyperinflation after WWI?

      What does the word “unprecedented” mean?

        • My google reports 29,500% rate of inflation, and yes wheelbarrows. I regret that I was uninterested in history in high school. The teachers couldn’t make it relevant or exciting for some reason. So, we repeat without context or comprehension. Still, what a piece of work is man. How noble in reason.

    • We’re setting modern-day records, some believe it’s temporary. We’ve seen a spike on wholesale prices, which are yet to be passed on to the consumer.

      PBS: WASHINGTON (AP) — “Inflation at the wholesale level rose 8.6 percent in September compared to a year ago, the largest advance since the 12-month change was first calculated in 2010.”

      The previous month was also a record. One chart gave the following numbers:

      August 2020 to August 2021

      Energy – up 42.7%
      Gas – up 25%
      Fuel oil – up 33.2%
      Used cars & trucks – up 31.9%
      Food – up 3.7%
      Clothing – up 4.2%
      Transportation services – up 4.6%

      If I recall correctly, energy and food are not part of our official inflation numbers as DC politicians decided to shield themselves decades ago.

      Some also allege the big players – Amazon, HomeDepot, Costco, etc. – started setting up some supply chains (ports) outside of California due to our very onerous CARB trucking requirements. Those added costs will be passed on, just like the added costs (delays) and increased fuel prices for truckers and cargo ships.

      Inflation rates

      1978 – 7.59%
      1979 – 11.35%
      1980 – 13.5%
      1981 – 10.32%
      1982 – 6.16%
      1983 – 3.12%

      2019 – 1.81%
      2020 – 1.25%
      2021 – 5.4 – 6% (estimates)

      (Inflation numbers from Statista.)

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