I’ve Told You a Million Times Not to Exaggerate
Professor Bainbridge links gloatingly to a WSJ article (paid subscribers only) that implies it can cost nearly $100 to fill up a Chevy Tahoe or Suburban in Texas. As a proud owner of a Tahoe, who resides in a state where gasoline is a far more expensive than it is in Texas, and as one who is still fuming over the fact that the last fill-up barely cleared $50.00, I’m curious as to what the WSJ is smoking. Has Eric Slater landed a new job already?
UPDATE: Apparently, the WSJ and I both made the same mistake of assuming the Chevy Tahoe and the Chevy Suburban were more similar than they really are. The Tahoe, which I drive when I don’t ride, has a 26-gallon fuel tank, but the Suburban’s tank holds either 31 or 37, depending on the specific model. Yesterday’s fill-up set me back exactly $53.50. If my 26-gallon Tahoe had been a 37-gallon Suburban with an equally-empty tank, I would have paid 37/26ths of that amount, or $76.13. Still not what I’d call “almost $100″ (if I’m in L.A., is Chicago “almost” New York?) but a bit more than I’m used to paying nevertheless. Then again, it’s probably not an apples-to-apples comparison. My 26 gallons get me roughly 400 miles; I’m guessing 37 gallons take a Suburban a wee bit further than that.
Of course, other people may spend more on gasoline. After all, I paid what I paid because I bought regular at USA Gas, which is one of those El Cheapo chains. If you want to spend more to pump high-octane gas into a vehicle designed to run on regular (hint: all vehicles that can be legally sold as street vehicles in the U.S.), that’s your prerogative. Ditto if you want to spend more on regular gasoline from better known, more pretentious chains. Do that if you like, but just remember this: whatever the final bill may say, you only spent $53.50 (or $76.13) of it on gasoline. The rest you spent on vanity.
UPDATE x2: Some commenters take issue with the breadth of the above statement that any street-legal vehicle in the U.S. will run adequately on (87 octane) gasoline. One points to this article which notes that most cars sold in the U.S. will run fine on regular, but that some high-performance cars – not trucks or SUVs – require higher octane fuel. It also provides a link to a chart of the average gasoline prices in several Texas cities. Based on that information, if you are driving a special variety of the Chevy Suburban that holds 37 gallons and runs on only on 93 octane gasoline, and managed to drain your tank completely before pulling it into an average-priced gasoline station, then your 37-gallon fill-up might well run you as much as $87.28. If you’re anywhere else in Texas driving anything else, it will be a lot less than that.
May 2nd, 2005 at 10:00 pm
Not sure what your tank capacity is, Xlrq. $100 might be a bit much, but $75 isn’t out of the question for some SUVs. I had a Navigator with a 30 gallon tank, and I’m sure the Suburban has one to rival that. The Navigator only took premium gas, which is running near $2.80 in Reno (it was higher just a couple of weeks ago). Figure 25 gallons for a fill-up, and you’re looking at $70.
Fuel tank for a 3/4 ton Suburban is 37 gallons, so a full tank at $2.70/gallon would run about $100. But I doubt the Tahoe has the same fuel capacity, so the WSJ is off base.
This exercise in mental gymnastics is meaningless, though. You buy your own gas, nobody buys it for you. People don’t own SUVs because they like paying a lot for gas; rather, they find value in the vehicles that exceeds the cost of fuel. I don’t see what the big deal is.
May 2nd, 2005 at 10:06 pm
It costs me $50 just to fill up my Lexus here in SoCal.
Those Tahoes must have small tanks.
May 2nd, 2005 at 10:13 pm
Steverino: A Tahoe is a couple feet shorter than a Suburban, but otherwise the dimensions are the same. In fact, if you pay the GiMmiCk tax, their respective identical twins are both called Yukons. Are you sure 37 gallons is right? [UPDATE: Yup, he's right.] That’s a helluva lot more than I can put in my Tahoe, assuming it doesn’t have a 10 gallon reserve that pretends not to be there when the warning light comes on saying I’m running out. How far does a Suburban go on that much gas before you have to refuel? A tad further than Prof. Bainbridge’s car, I presume?
Flap: that sounds like a lot for a Lexus. Sure it’s not a Lexus SUV?
May 2nd, 2005 at 10:43 pm
My 1985 Suburban I drove in High School had a 40 gallon tank, so $100 in today’s gas prices is about right, especially if you are headed to altitude and need higher octane gas to avoid vapor lock.
May 3rd, 2005 at 2:47 pm
“If you want to spend more to pump high-octane gas into a vehicle designed to run on regular (hint: all vehicles that can be legally sold as street vehicles in the U.S.)…”
Huh? Regular is 87 octane (less in high-altitude). My owner’s manual specifically states it needs 89. My previous car needed 91.
May 3rd, 2005 at 3:06 pm
All street-legal cars are designed to run on regular?
Try telling that to Mercedes, BMW, et. al. (American carmakers assuredly make some models that need 93 octane, but they seem to be reticent to mention the required fuel grade on their websites.)
High-octane fuel (ie, “premium”) is required to prevent detonation in high-compression (high performance) gasoline engines.
Lots of street-legal cars won’t run very well (in an engine-damaging and soemtimes warranty-voiding kind of way) if you put 87 octane fuel in them. (Evidently some engines even have a high-octane and low-octane mode settable with a switch, which is Nifty.)
Bottom line: Many high-performance engines are both street-legal and NOT designed for standard 87 octane fuel.
(See also this.)
May 3rd, 2005 at 5:43 pm
Funny how the Mercedes E350 requires 91 octane if you buy in the U.S. but not if you buy it Australia. The BMW site is unclear as to whether premium is a requirement or a mere recommendation. Do you know anyone who’s had a warranty voided for using 87 octane gas? I’m not even sure that’s legal.
Assume I’m wrong, and that there are at least some street-legal, high performance cars that will not run properly on regular. How many of those models have tanks that hold 37 gallons or more?
May 4th, 2005 at 8:46 am
A to Z Linkfest #4
A Peck of Gold explains The Zen of Ten and has the perfect t-shirt for it.
At Blogoram
May 4th, 2005 at 7:39 pm
Well, it depends on what you mean by “almost”. One could say that $51 rounds up to $100, so it’s “almost $100″. Then again, that means my car’s fill-ups are “almost free”.