Gas prices have fallen — how long will it last?© Berthoud Weekly Surveyor January 29, 2015

Page B2 January 29, 2015 Berthoud Weekly Surveyor

Gas price limboBy Rudy HemmannThe Surveyor

How low will it go? How long will it stay at (or near) the bottom once it gets there?

Everyone is aware that prices at the pump are tied to the per-barrel cost of crude oil, which has been falling like a stone of late. According to an Associated Press (AP) article pub-lished Jan. 22, the cost of a barrel of oil has fallen nearly 60 percent since June of last year, while “global supplies have soared, thanks mostly to a boom in U.S. oil production, at a time when growth in global demand for crude has slowed,” the report stated.

However, oil prices over the last two weeks have remained stable to up less than 2 percent. According to Gasbuddy.com, “(Crude) oil prices have inched forward this morning on com-ments made by OPEC’s Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri, who said ‘Now the prices are around $45-$55 and I think maybe they reached the bottom and will see some rebound very soon.’”

The AP article stated, “Oil also rose (a fraction of a per-cent) on the news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdul-lah last Thursday, but the king’s death is not expected to change the course of oil prices over the next several months.”

So does this mean the price of gas will start to go up soon? That answer may already be in.

Gasbuddy.com reported that “Motorists in 40 states saw gasoline prices continue to edge down, while unlucky mo-torists in 10 states — Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Wiscon-sin — saw prices edge higher. It may only be a matter of days before the national average stalls, and with gasoline prices rising today in Ohio, the situation is not helped.”

If pump prices have indeed bottomed, the next question is; how long will they stay at or near the low price before going up again? That answer hinges on too

many factors to begin to calculate. (Among which are: Will the mid-east remain relatively stable? Will the economies of China and India remain soft? Will the decline in oil prices cause American oil exploration to become prohibitively expen-sive? Will the Keystone pipeline be built?)

Meanwhile, on the diesel front, prices have continued to slide: the national av-erage for a gallon of diesel has dropped $0.06 a gallon in the last week to $2.83 per gallon as of Jan. 26. Heavy users of diesel fuel (trucking businesses, farmers, etc.)

will continue to see diesel prices fall to under $2.80 in the next few days, and by Valentine’s Day may drop to $2.65 per gallon.

Even at that, diesel prices have remained high, at some-where around a dollar a gallon more than regular gas in some parts of the country. There are three main reasons for this disparity, states analyst Patrick Dehaan. High demand coupled with refinery problems in the Midwest led to low inventories of diesel, refineries are optimized to produce gasoline — not diesel — since gasoline is what most consumers use, and the little-known fact that 30 percent of the diesel produced here is exported. Foreign demand for diesel is high as well. Dehaan states that so far in 2015 diesel prices have been falling faster than gas.

Here are some quick gasoline price statistics on the morn-ing of Monday, Jan. 26, compliments of Gasbuddy.com:

• Missouri has the lowest state average in the country; at $1.79 today, it is one of 27 states averaging under $2 per gal-lon.

• Hawaii is the only state averaging above $3 per gallon at $3.27 on Jan. 26.

• In the lower 48 states, California has the highest average at $2.45 per gallon, followed by New York at $2.42.

• Every state has a lower average today than the same day last year. Ohio, at $1.89 today, has seen the biggest drop from the same day last year, down $1.40 from its Jan. 26, 2014 aver-age.

• Hawaii is the only state that has an average less than $1 lower than last year at $0.76 lower per gallon average.

• There are only three states that don’t have a single station reporting a price under $2 per gallon: Vermont (lowest station reporting at $2.05); Alaska (lowest station reporting at $2.29) and Hawaii (lowest station reporting at $2.73.

Berthoud Weekly Surveyor January 29, 2015 Page B3

By Bob McDonnellThe Surveyor

Auto accessories and amenities evolve as tech-nology and lifestyles change. My first car— a 1951 Chevy four-door fastback — featured a cigarette lighter and ashtray; the front windows consisted of roll-down glass and two wing vents.

I don’t miss the items related to smoking, but at times I miss the vent window. For those who weren’t around then let me explain these small but functional windows. Each front win-dow included a glass triangle with a metal latch. Opening the latch, the user then swiveled the window inward. On luxury models, a crank opened the window. Remember, this era happened long before electric windows became commonplace.

Although called a “wing vent” in some parts of the country, others called it a “breeze window,” “no-draft window,” “butterfly window” or “wind window.” It was also known as poor man’s air conditioning.

Since many cars lacked air condi-tioning, the wing vent allowed a flow of fresh air into the car’s interior. Even if the air con-sisted of hot, humid air, at least it moved around. Since my car, along with my parent’s station wagon, lacked air conditioning, I relate to this.

For those who smoked, the opening allowed the

stream of smoke to escape easily. If the ashtray overflowed, a cigarette butt easily dropped out of the vent window.

Many reasons exist for the demise of the vent window, according to www.newgrandmas.com. In

no particular order, the site says the windows dis-appeared because it was the easiest way to break into a car, and also, automakers balked at the expense compared to a one-piece square window. As fuel economy became important, grandmas.com

points out the vent window decreased gas mileage, dropping its popularity.

The wing vent proved to be the weakest link when it came to the car’s windows and overall security. If someone locked their keys in the car,

entry through the vent window became first choice with no super strength needed to pop the glass, reach in and tug the interior door latch.

According to Car Craft magazine’s carcraft.com, wind-noise reduction led General Motors cars to drop the wing vents after 1968. The 1968 Camaro and Firebird models had no window vents, according to irememberjfk.com. Some automakers hung on to the concept lon-ger. For example, wing vents appeared on the 1967 Mustang, 1969 Chrysler Newport, 1971 Ford pickup, 1973 Lin-coln, 1974 AMC Matador wagon, 1984 Volvo 740, 1985 Toyota pickup and the 1987 Dodge 150 pickup. Additionally, the 1993 Dodge pickup and Ram Char-ger and the 1996 and 1997 Ford pickup owners aired out their vehicles with the triangular glass convenience. Oddly, the 1988 Jeep Cherokee’s wing vents did not open, says the carcraft website.

I like to remember the “good old days, but sometimes technology trumps nostalgia. I relish getting into my car and rolling down the windows electronically. Then I turn on my wonder-ful air-conditioning and enjoy my drive.

Venting about car windows — technology trumps nostalgia

File photoThe ‘65 Ford Mustang was one of the vehicles that came with side window vents.