CARS.COM — Most people would say that cheap gas is a good thing, and gas is the cheapest it's been at this time of year since 2005 — but travel-services provider AAA warns that price shouldn't be the only consideration for where you decide to fill up. In a study released Thursday, AAA said independent tests showed that so-called Top Tier gasoline brands prevent carbon deposits from forming in engines.
Related: Which 2016 Subcompact SUVs Have the Highest MPG Ratings?
Cleaner engines get better fuel economy and performance, and produce fewer emissions. The study found that non-Top Tier gasoline caused 19 times more carbon deposits over 4,000 miles of simulated driving, and AAA recommended that motorists use Top Tier brands instead.
No matter which brand you use, chances are that the price is cheaper today than it was a month ago. The national average for regular has fallen 26 days in a row and was $2.26 a gallon on Thursday, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. That's down 10 cents from a month ago. Premium gas has dropped by 7 cents over the past month to $2.76, and diesel fuel has ticked upward by 2 cents to $2.37.
South Carolina was the only state in which the average price for regular gas was less than $2 a gallon. AAA said the statewide average in South Carolina was $1.96, and GasBuddy.com listed it at $1.94. Averages in several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee, were within 5 cents of $2 a gallon. (Prices fluctuate throughout the day and could change.)
GasBuddy estimated that more than 20,000 of the nation's 150,000 gas stations, spread among 32 states, were selling regular for less than $2 a gallon this week. Three weeks earlier, hardly any stations were under $2.
Though GasBuddy expects prices to remain low through the summer, senior analyst Patrick DeHaan cautioned that severe weather could change that forecast.
"While prices have come down, we now head to the time of year when hurricane season enters the picture. In the last couple of years we have seen minimal to no disruption as hurricane season largely went by with no major storms that hit land," DeHaan said in a statement. "Should we see a major hurricane enter the Gulf, gas prices may react."
DeHaan also warned that motorists in the Great Lakes area could soon be hit by price increases. Prices have fallen rapidly in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio in recent weeks, in part because of cutthroat competition among retailers. DeHaan said "stations have undercut each other to the point where they begin losing money," and they could start raising prices to reverse that trend.
Over the past three weeks, the statewide averages for regular have fallen 27 cents in Illinois, 37 cents in Michigan, and 44 cents in Indiana and Ohio.
In some Western states, however, prices have climbed by smaller amounts in recent weeks. California had the highest statewide average for regular at $2.90, up 4 cents from three weeks ago. Prices have increased 9 cents to $2.83 in Hawaii and 3 cents in Washington to $2.68 since June 16.
from Cars.com News http://ift.tt/29scpZz
No comments:
Post a Comment