You Can't Fight Physics....

...Or CAN you?

That's what some people are trying to do, actually. And it concerns something near and dear to every one of our wallets and pocketbooks...namely GASOLINE.

Seems gasoline is a HOTTER COMMODITY that we realize (and in a lot more ways).

In the warmer areas of our nation, consumer watchdog groups (glad to know someones looking out for us these days) warn that rising temperatures (not to be confused with those rising PRICES...lol) could end up costing YOU between 3 cents to 9 cents PER GALLON at the pumps. Add that up, all you SUV and pickup drivers...that's a nice chunk o' change! But the really BIG DEAL is that the effect of warmer temperatures on gasoline could cost U.S. drivers more than $1.5 BILLION in the summertime! So who do YOU think is making out on THIS gig, huh?

If you said BIG OIL...give yourself a gold star!

(Guess they thought we'd never get WISE to them on this one)

When gauging the standards for distribution almost 100 years ago, gasoline was originally measured out (as a gallon) at 231 cubic inches at SIXTY DEGREES Fahrenheit (got that? 60 degrees F). And this has lawyers going Pavlovian over this. Of course the fuel retailers don't want to see the pumps "adjusted" for temperature, because it would be COSTLY. Well, geezus, isn't it COSTLY ENOUGH to US...the consumer already?

In essence..you're being fleeced at the pumps every time the weather gets hot. I wonder if that's got anything to do with the "switch to a summer blend" we hear tell about every year? Now you're asking: "But Bob...what's WITH the gas anyway?" Well, it's all about PHYSICS, and goes something like this....when you tank up in warm weather...gasoline EXPANDS....basically loosing some of it's energy-producing capacity in the process. Think of it like ETHANOL...it takes MORE fuel to get AS MUCH power at hotter temps than when it's cooler out. There's where that 60 degree thing comes in.

Now in CANADA, they've already adjusted the pumps to allow for the gasoline's expansion, so people STILL get a "real" gallon of gas (or Imperial gallon, liter...whatever they sell it in these days), no matter how hot the temperature might get outside.

Here in the USA, retailers still sell gas (to you) AS IF it were 60 degrees ALL year long,no matter what part of the country you live in, and well...that's just WRONG, right? As a result, gas here is about 5 degrees warmer (on average) than even the federal standard set almost a CENTURY AGO.

But don't take MY word for it...check out the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Finally, politicians are even getting involved.

And they're even DEMOCRATS....amazing, eh?

Interestingly enough, during the oil crisis of the 70s, Hawaii adopted an EIGHTY DEGREE standard to offset any expansion deviations, which means consumers THERE get about 234 cubic inches of fuel as opposed to the 231 cubic inches we get here. It's more bang for their buck there. And whoever said that THREE MORE INCHES didn't matter probably has never had a date...LOL!
Retailers (here) are worried that changing up to the correct amounts dispensed at the pumps year-round will force some independent dealers out of business, due to costs incurred during the adjustable pump installation (whenever it takes place).

Meanwhile, the REST of us should be concerned whenever we fill up...because we're not getting what we pay for. But hope does loom on the horizon. Just be patient.

The best advice in the interim, would be to fill up early in the morning or later in the evening, and NEVER fill it to "the brim", because when that fuel expands (as it will whenever the car is outside in the sun on a sunny August day), it will just run OUT of the overflow in the tank onto the street (anyone remember seeing a car pull away from a stoplight with liquid spilling from the rear of it...it wasn't water, people...that's why they moved almost ALL the filler caps to the SIDE of the car...so you wouldn't notice as much).

So play it smart..., or you might as well toss a few "Jacksons" out the window while you're driving.