You’ve probably heard the old trick: Pull up to a gas pump right after a fancy luxury car leaves, and you’ll get a little bit of the premium gas they left in the pump’s hose added to the 87-octane swill you’re buying. Suddenly, magically, you’ve got a little extra octane in your tank for free. … Read more
Screenshot: Last Week Tonight Corn is a problem. Or rather, America’s growing reliance on government corn subsidies to power our everyday lives. Beef is artificially inexpensive because farmers feed corn to cows, even though their digestive systems aren’t designed to process it. Sweet foods are artificially inexpensive because high fructose corn syrup is replacing cane … Read more
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station on September 19, 2023 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaPhoto: Mario Tama (Getty Images) Have you ever looked at gas prices and wondered, “why is there a fraction on my gas price?” It’s a standard practice across the country, but it’s rarely explained. It turns out it stems from … Read more
If you’re like most of us here at Jalopnik, you’ve probably wondered why gas stations offer mid-grade gasoline when almost every automaker recommends either regular or premium fuel. As it turns out, very few cars are designed to use mid-grade gas, so it exists mostly to coax unknowing consumers into spending more on gas, and … Read more
Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images) The Environmental Protection Agency is lifting the summertime ban on E15 ethanol sales across several Midwestern states. The Associated Press reports that drivers in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin will able to fill up on ethanol all year round forever starting in 2025. However, legislators … Read more
Image: Kirby Lee (AP) When drivers fill up with bad fuel from gas stations, they often end up with costly engine problems. But what happens when a company knowingly puts bad fuel in a gas station? SFGate reports that a California-based petroleum transportation company has allegedly been giving bad fuel to stations all over the … Read more
The price of gas is falling across America. Now that the new year is underway, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was at $3.09 this week, according to AAA. But that average takes into account the high prices that folks in California, Hawaii and Washington are paying. Meanwhile, most people in … Read more
