Cheap Gas?

['32 skidoo]

Found this on the internet, so it immediately becomes suspect, but do you agree with it? I remember in the early to mid-sixties that to take a girl to a movie and then the local "Mel's Diner" back home for a hamburger and coke, it would cost a total of about $5.00 and I sweated to get that much together.

What about gas prices as a percentage of our income?

In other words, does the gas bite of our paycheck rival the bite of yesteryear? Not even close. Given today's fatter paycheck, we pay less as a percentage of our mean disposable income. A gallon was 27 cents in 1949 – but to put the same pinch on your wallet today, you'd pay $6.68. Gas for 1962's "muscle cars" cost 31 cents a gallon. To feel the same economic impact today, you'd pony up $4.48 a gallon.

[ceh383]

Gas for 1962's "muscle cars" cost 31 cents a gallon. To feel the same economic impact today, you'd pony up $4.48 a gallon.[/B]

Well my last fill up cost me $4.57 a gallon......I guess were past the pinch of '62

[mopar34]

ceh383 wrote:

Well my last fill up cost me $4.57 a gallon......I guess were past the pinch of '62

Damn, you people in California always have to be on the cutting edge of everything.

Maybe I should have said ...."bleeding edge"

[ceh383]

Yeah, you got that right. Last Friday I put some 91 octane in the truck, now that really hurt.....$4.79 a gallon.

[BigTruckDriver]

A lot of folks here in South Cali. are going to Tijuana . Gas is like 2.50 there.....

[ford2custom]

I guess it would depend on your income!!! I don't think by my wife making $9.00 an hour to add to my pension would equate to me by driving my Monte Carlo, or 67 Nova getting from 10 to 14 miles on high octane gas. 10 miles $4.00.... 20 miles $8.00.... 30 miles $12.00 and so on. I couldn't afford to drive them too far.

It didn’t seem hard to find money for gas back in the 60’s. I had some pretty thirsty cars.
They use the comparison with what cars cost back in the 50’s compared to what they cost today. If you are making big money today, you should be ok.

Richard

[bentwings]

Yeah, well you guys ought to be buying diesel fuel. I've been paying $4.55/gal for 6 months now. When I fill up at $100 it take 2 swipes of the card to fill. It costs more to fill the tank than my first house cost for payments. Not to mention my truck itself cost more than my second house.

At least I get 21 mpg. I keep telling my son that I can get better mpg hauling his Suburban on the trailer than he gets driving it. haha

[kitz]

Here you are ..................

http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/

Depending on the method $5 in '62 is the same as $27-$110 today.


Kitz

[Itoldyouso]

I just saw a segment on the news about people going to Tijuana for gas. Lines are very long and one guy spends an hour and a half to get gas there, but it is about a dollar and a half cheaper per gallon.

When we lived in California we took a day trip to Tijuana and gas in California was $ 1 a gallon then (1979). The Mexican gas station had those old style gas pumps with a reset crank on the side, and the prices were in liters and pesos. My Cadillac had a 20 gallon tank and I was on fumes. I told the Attendant to fill it up, and as I watched the meter spinning around like mad I turned to my Wife and said, "Boy are we gonna get ripped off!!"

When he was done filling it up the guy comes to my window and starts to do the conversion math in his head, and finally says to me "Six Dollars, please." I couldn't believe it was so cheap, but when we got up the road a distance and stopped to eat, the car wouldn't shut off. The gas was so low octane it just sat there and dieseled. I had to pull it into gear to stall it!! All that week I drove the car to work trying to get rid of that lousy gas, it would knock and ping on every little grade, and continue to run when the key was off.

But what I would give for a $ 6 fill up about now.

Don

[shawnlee28]

Its the worthless dollar and a standing law that `we must be bled dry of assets and wealth .....just look at the other countries water cars that run on cheap creek water and cost very little to buy ,but are illegal to be imported untill we are bled dry and the new Amero saves us...........

[mooneye777]

What about gas prices as a percentage of our income?

In other words, does the gas bite of our paycheck rival the bite of yesteryear? Not even close. Given today's fatter paycheck, we pay less as a percentage of our mean disposable income. A gallon was 27 cents in 1949 – but to put the same pinch on your wallet today, you'd pay $6.68. Gas for 1962's "muscle cars" cost 31 cents a gallon. To feel the same economic impact today, you'd pony up $4.48 a gallon.[/QUOTE]

I agree to some extent, your paycheck may be fatter then most peoples. But some people make minimum wage, in our state I think that is 6.85 an hour. Also back then a weeks worth of groceries were 25.00 to 35.00 dollars, now about 200.00 with coupons if you are lucky.

Rent or mortgage payment, Back in 1963 my parents bought a 3 bedroom 1300 square foot home for 14,000 bucks, I payed 140,000 bucks for my 1600 square footer. And I am sure it was not 170.00 just to heat it every month back then either.

[Dave Severson]

One thing I've always found on such comparisons is that all they are looking at is the percentage of income on that particular item..... In the 60's and 70's there were a lot fewer things taking a bite out of my income.... Tax rates were lower, sales tax was much less, Social Security and Witholding rates were much lower, self-employment tax was non-existent.

I guess it's like the asinine commercial for cable TV were the idiot sales mgr. makes the profound statement about 90% of statistics can be changed to say what you want 50% of the time......

I had a BUNCH more extra money after the bills were paid in the 70's then I do today---and I don't drive more then about 50 miles A WEEK average now....In the 70's I always drove, cars, trucks, scoots, and constantly...Back and forth to work, cruizin' every night, towing to the races, race gas, you name it.....

Don't EVEN try to tell me that things are the same today!!!!!!

[Tom F]

What ticks me off is the differance in prices from one town to another. In La Crosse WI yesterday regular was $399.9 and 30 miles west in Rushford MN it was $381.00. They used to say it was the shipping costs well La Crosse is on the Mississippi and Rushford is nowhere close to cheaper transporation.
Ya I filled up even though I didn't need to..... it took a little over 3 gallons to fill up my motorcycl e