California May See More Than $4/Gallon Average Gasoline in Spring 08
28 December 2007
Los Angeles Times. Analysts are predicting a steady increase in gasoline prices in the spring that could result in an average cost of $3.75/gallon across the US and more than $4.00/gallon in California.
Ongoing higher demand is one factor, along with persistently strong crude oil prices and the absence of the traditional December drop in pump prices.
The Energy Department’s weekly survey of service stations Monday found the average pump price was $2.980 nationally and $3.261 in California, a couple of pennies lower than a week earlier—but much higher than the same period last year, when the number was $2.341 across the US and $2.607 across the state.
“It’s unprecedented having prices this high at the end of the year,” said Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.
According to the DOE’s most recent Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude averaged $72.05 a barrel this year, up from $66.02 last year, and could hit nearly an average $85 in 2008.
...by the middle of next spring [gasoline prices] are projected to rebound to over $3.40 per gallon as the driving season begins.
—11 Dec 2007 STEO
I've been expecting this for two years now. We'll never see gas under $3 a gallon in California again. The last time I saw it under $2 was in January 2005, and then only briefly.
Posted by: Cervus | 28 December 2007 at 10:08 AM
Yes, all these companies purporting to have EVs in the pipeline had better get a move on.
Posted by: marcus | 28 December 2007 at 11:59 AM
No matter how high the cost of a gallon of gas goes at the pump, we can still get a "gallon" from a wall socket for about $1.00. Too bad none of us have a PHEV with an AER of 25 miles. GM hopes to have one available with a 10 mile range in 2009, and another one, the Volt, with an AER over 25 miles by 2011. If gas is over $4.50 by 2011, they should sell like hotcakes.
Posted by: Van | 28 December 2007 at 08:19 PM
I thought the Volt was going to have a 40 mile range ??
coming out in 2009 or 10
Posted by: | 29 December 2007 at 03:22 PM
What about the EV1, what was the range for one of those little gems?
Posted by: Bike Commuter Dude | 30 December 2007 at 09:59 AM
We might see more dual fueled car conversions in California in the near future. ANG tanks and low pressure compressors in the garage would allow cleaner around town driving and commuting. If your fuel is half the price of gasoline, higher octane and cleaner, you might be willing to make the expenditures. As long as people would not run out of fuel after 100 miles, they could feel safer. The car would switch over to gasoline seamlessly.
Posted by: sjc | 30 December 2007 at 12:13 PM
@van...: dude are you kidding? three years from now gas'll likely be more in the 5.5-8.5 dollar-a-gallon range in California- look at the rate at which the prices are rising. And they (the volt and equivalent) won't sell like hotcakes, I don't think, because companies like pheonix motorcars, now purportedly with some help from vw, will have a comparable vehicle available to consumers this year. The volt had better be an ante-upper by the time it's released. For my next car, I think I might go for one of the new 2008 or 2009 tdi jettas that should get 50mpg average. I have a 1998 tdi now and get 40mpg avg. If a pheonix motorcars "SUT" in financially feasible, it may be my next auto purchase...
Posted by: brian | 01 January 2008 at 06:47 PM