There go gas prices again

By ALLAN DRURY
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: April 13, 2006)


It could be a long, hot summer for drivers.

The Memorial Day start to the vacation season is still some six weeks away and gasoline prices are already rising like Google's stock price last year.

The average price of a gallon of unleaded in Westchester County jumped from $2.70 in March to $2.897, the county's consumer protection department reported yesterday.

The survey, posted on the department's Web site (www.westchestergov.com/consumer), found prices ranged from $2.719 at a Getty station in Mount Vernon to $3.099 at a pair of stations in Scarsdale.

And the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that the cost of carrying petroleum and refined products across the ocean in tankers could push gasoline prices up this summer. The department said that though tanker rates may not get as much publicity as the lack of petroleum production and refinery capacity, they are "another factor" that could hit drivers' wallets.

The EIA published its own gasoline survey showing the average retail price for a gallon of regular increased 9.5 cents nationally in a week, rising to $2.683. That's 40.3 cents higher than a year ago, the agency said. East coast prices rose 10.8 cents to $2.69 — not great news but better than in California, where the average price was $2.81.

The higher prices may be starting to have an effect on the decisions some consumers are making.

Bill Reilly, the general manager at Rushneck Honda Subaru in Tarrytown, said he has noticed some drivers, particularly those with long commutes to work, showing more interest in smaller cars. Many mention their concern that gas prices are heading north of a $3 a gallon average, a level they hit for the first time last summer after Hurricane Katrina knocked out much of the oil infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region.

"Let's say a guy drives 50 miles for work every day. He comes down on the Taconic. He's looking for a smaller car," he said.

Many customers ask questions about the high-mileage hybrid models, he said.

"They come in and everybody's asking about the hybrid," he said. "But the big problem with the hybrid is it costs $4,000 to $5,000 more than other cars. They don't know whether to spend that extra money or not."

But he said he does not believe there has been a big shift yet in the number of customers buying cars instead of sport utility vehicles. That could come later if prices keep rising, he said.

Some consumers are already thinking about placing more emphasis on fuel efficiency when they buy their next vehicle.

Katlyn Irwin of Coxsackie, N.Y., who pumped $20 worth of gas into her Honda CRV at a Citgo off the Palisades Parkway in Orangetown — where unleaded was going for $3.299 a gallon — said good gas mileage "absolutely" will figure into her next car-buying decision.

"The situation doesn't seem to be getting any better at the moment," she said.

Rockland County does not conduct a gas survey. The high prices have prompted some drivers to cross the state line into New Jersey.

Ron Robinson of Stony Point also stopped at the Citgo on his way to his job in Manhattan. But the only fuel he bought was the caffeinated type, a cup of coffee.

"I don't even buy gas in New York. I buy gas in Jersey," he said.

He said he has lived in the area four years and passes the station twice a day but has never bought gas there.

But Robinson, who drives a Range Rover, said gas mileage probably will not be a big consideration for him when he buys his next vehicle.

"All the cars I've ever bought — that's never really been a big thing," he said. He said he gravitates toward vehicles that he thinks look good.

For others the high prices mean less time behind the wheel.

Dr. Jeffrey Schoengold, a White Plains dentist, said he is lucky because his practice is at his home. Not having to drive to work saves him from more of the kind of pain he experienced yesterday when he spent $44 to fill his Honda mini-van at a Citgo station off Westchester Avenue in Port Chester. He paid $2.999 for regular.

"You don't have to squeeze (the handle on the pump) very hard to make it get up there," he joked as he pumped his gas and watched the dollars add up.

He said that just before pulling into the station he and his family discussed the reasons behind the high prices. Many blame Big Oil or the government, but Schoengold said he believes it's simple supply and demand.

"I think their problem is there's just such demand that they can charge anything they want for it and at some point they will," he said.

The mini-van gets better mileage than his other vehicle, which is an SUV, he said. He said he rarely drives the SUV.

Matt Sewell, a Bronx resident who filled up at a Shell station off Central Avenue in White Plains yesterday, said it's no accident that he lives within a mile of the Botanical Gardens where he works as a scientist.

"I remember when I was moving that I wanted to be close enough to walk to work," he said, as he filled up with regular unleaded at $2.939 a gallon.

He said he did not walk to work during the winter months but that he will start soon, since the weather has warmed.