Costco Gasoline (Austin: home, purchases, prices)

[LoveATX]

ON my way home from work I stopped to get gas and noticed a sign that read, "contains 10% ethanol" Needless to say I went elsewhere to get gas this morning. Not only does the ethanol have a negative impact on food prices but its not good for the fuel economy of your car. Has anyone else noticed these signs? What do yall think?

[dguild]

I don't know Austin's regulations, but many places REQUIRE gasoline to be at least 10% ethanol. This isn't specific to Costco

[AustinSpartan]

You obviously hold a Costco membership, which means that you support the machine that drives bulk food purchases and you're complaining about 10% ethanol in the fuel? Feel free to explain further...

[LoveATX]

When Costco and Sams opened they didnt drive up the cost of food all over the world.

[LoveATX]

Texas is not one of those states that require ethanol.

[brently54]

I use 10% ethanol in a car of mine and still get 40mpg.

[Mckellyb]

10% ethanol in gasoline, A.K.A. gasahol, has been around for at least 25 years.

It does return a slightly lower MPG, but was introduced to, in theory, reduce emission-based smog.

It's cheaper, too, of course.

Now, oxygenated gasoline, which happens in the winter, is where the EPA mandates air be put in the fuel, making it less dense, is a bona-fide ripoff, 'cause the pumps read the same volume of fuel going through 'em and your vehicle's MPG will drop enough to notice. This, believe it or not, was originally done to keep emissions under control on old, beater carbureted cars. The last carburetor-equipped car was made back in 1991...the Subaru Justy. The Jeep Grand Wagoneer might have been made in '92, however, and it was never fuel-injected.

This oxygenated fuel scam should bother people much, much more than not requiring temperature-compensating pumps. Um, ground temperature is pretty constant year-round if you go down 5 feet.

IOW, temperature is really a non-issue. I have seen, personally, on every car we've had since this was instituted, a 15-20% drop in MPG. It's from October to March, or something like that.

[tourbound129]

If that 10% ethanol supposedly reduces MPG, I certainly don't see it in my Camry. I get 30 or so MPG no matter what gas I use.

As far as food prices go, ethanol production very well may put pressure on costs, but not near as much as the fact that commodities are traded on the open market. Corn, just like oil, is used as a hedge against a slumping dollar.

Here is a chart for corn: http://customer1.barchart.com/cgi-bi...CZ8&showcc=yes

And a chart for oil: http://customer1.barchart.com/cgi-bi...LV8&showcc=yes

And a chart for the dollar: http://customer1.barchart.com/cgi-bi...XZ8&showcc=yes

As you will see, corn started to come off its high slightly before oil but both really came down as the dollar started to rise.

Here is a breakdown from the Dept. of Agriculture on how the corn we produce is used: http://www.unitedfutures.com/grains-corn.htm
If you notice, only 11% is used for ethanol production.