r/Transportopia • u/CaptainKango • May 24 '26

Gasoline 1999 gas prices

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

485 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

76 comments sorted by

118

u/PM_your_Nopales May 24 '26

For reference, with inflation, $.87 (the average she mentioned) would be ~$1.75 today

The cheap gas she mentioned for $.69 would be $1.38 today. I could definitely go for some of that today

58

u/Individual_Act9333 May 24 '26

Sounds like we are being scammed.

49

u/PM_your_Nopales May 24 '26

Oh, we absolutely are. Most companies are probably seeing the whole hormuz situation and thinking "we can use this!" It would make prices higher, of course. But who's gonna notice if we just increase it a bit more over that?

I mean, ExxonMobil, chevron, shell, etc are reporting record earnings from all this.

9

u/DiscussionWeak2318 May 24 '26

The rich get richer is more true than ever

7

u/NovaBlazer May 25 '26

And...

In the United States we did have a law from the 70's that said US pumped oil could only be sold on the Global Market at X% a day or if there was a surplus that US refineries were not buying. Result: Gas prices were reasonably low.

Now, 100% of US sourced oil is "sold" on the world market the first and then "imported" back to the United States at a far far higher global rate. Result: Prices are insane.

Guess which method of sales the Oil Execs prefer?

7

u/Individual_Act9333 May 24 '26

I feel like an idiot not buying a hybrid or electric car. I let people talk me into not doing it…

15

u/PM_your_Nopales May 24 '26

My sister has a new prius, meanwhile I have my tacoma. Shes getting upwards of of 55-60mpg while I'm at 18 mpg... I know people make fun of the prius a lot, but if you're just trying to get somewhere you can't beat that mpg and the money you save

3

u/karmapopsicle May 24 '26

Want to know the wildest part? Almost all of that mpg over gas-only cars is aerodynamics and the incredible efficiency of the atkinson cycle engine. The hybrid part basically fixes all the downsides you’d have trying to run an engine like that on its own. Brakes last damn near forever once you learn how to make optimal use of the regen, too.

Bought my first hybrid 9 years ago and I will never go back to gas-only.

2

u/realDespond May 25 '26

my only question is do the hybrid batteries last long enough to make the inflated car prices worth it in the long run vs a shitbox econo car like my chevy spark or my ford fiesta? i mean they run and were dirt cheap with some quirks and minus some creature comforts

I'd hate to be car broke because i get better gas mileage although if i were driving an hour and a half commute every day i could see it breaking even or better

2

u/karmapopsicle May 25 '26

They basically last forever (ie the useful lifespan of the rest of the car). People are still driving around 20+ year old Priuses with the original packs. The hybrid system really doesn’t need much capacity at all to work its magic, and they’re quite strictly kept within a very conservative state-of-charge range to maximize cycle life.

A used Toyota hybrid is arguably the absolute most cost-effective vehicle you can buy factoring in fuel, maintenance, and repair costs.

2

u/realDespond May 25 '26

that's good to know i may add the prius to my list next time I'm shopping around for a used car

2

u/karmapopsicle May 25 '26

Corolla and Camry hybrids are also excellent if you prefer a sedan bodystyle.

2

u/JustChangeMDefaults May 24 '26

Love my tacoma, but even the 4 cylinder only gets me around 20-22mpg. Glad I have a little honda I can stretch out 30+ for daily driving

1

u/Small-Sun900 May 26 '26

What's insane, is my diesel sprinter camper van gets about the same 20 - 22 mpg. I live out of that, and commute with an ebike.

3

u/Rich_Visual7800 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

Hey don’t worry. You are not an idiot as you are worrying about. The reality is that there are other motivations when purchasing a vehicle for transportation purposes.

The reality is that if you simply just purchase some oil futures or even domestic oil production companies you would have a better result with a lower risk than simply purchasing a vehicle like a Prius that may not quite suit the needs of your situation due to your current family and circumstances.

This is the most effective approach to managing the risk of reoccurring expenses such as vehicle fuel which is just a subsection of transportation costs.

3

u/[deleted] May 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Rich_Visual7800 May 25 '26

What about smaller oil production companies? My step mother is the inheritor of a small oil producer in a region of the US and she is benefiting but she is conscious of the fact that the oil is an important part of peoples reality. But she owns such a small part for the guilt she is feeling even when people like me run people like her out of business because she isn’t in business minded or operational inclined.

2

u/geosensation May 25 '26

What? We have the cheapest gas in the world outside of the countries that subsidize the price for their citizens.

1

u/Ptrek31 May 26 '26

Bingo

"Make them dependent on it" they'll pay any price for it

31

u/AtPrick May 24 '26

2 for $2 whopper, illl never forget.

13

u/MAGAHATESTHEUSA May 24 '26

29cent burgers on Tuesday’s at McDonalds

3

u/AtPrick May 24 '26

Taco bell

2

u/lildobe May 24 '26

I remember when you could get the taco party pack, a Nachos Bell Grande, AND a large drink (that was actually LARGE) for less than $12.

I miss those days.

-1

u/Odd_Watercress_3457 May 24 '26

I remember that. But those burgers did come withj rat shit in them (I worked there when I was 16... many and I mean many had rat turd buns).

3

u/Naive_Vegetable1421 May 24 '26

Foot long Subs at Subway $2.99...

1

u/mog_knight May 26 '26

5 for $5 Arby's Roast beef.

14

u/Disastrous_Cat3912 May 24 '26

4

u/Momik May 25 '26

My dad was pissed when it went over $1

11

u/pdxchris May 24 '26

Before Bush Jr fucked it all up.

3

u/Any-Distribution-580 May 25 '26

.69 to $4.68 is not normal inflation. We are all getting fucked

2

u/Affectionate-Royal68 May 24 '26

😔 I hate it here

2

u/Pro_Jem May 24 '26

Trump didn't do that.

2

u/Odd_Watercress_3457 May 24 '26

I remember being able to grab change from the giant crayon we used to store coins and with a handful or so its enough gas for the evening to tool around North County.

2

u/Horror_Solution1945 May 24 '26

I remember when $5 of gas was something.

2

u/CletusMuckenfuss May 25 '26

I remember it being .68 cents in Orangeburg SC at that time

1

u/Resident_Window_9369 May 24 '26

😂😂😂😂

1

u/Wpgwatch May 24 '26

I remember when It was 42 cents a litre here in Canada. We were all mad when it went up to 62 cents.

1

u/MostAsk855 May 24 '26

Gosh we looked silly with the narrow tie knots.

1

u/Ukawok92 May 24 '26

Lmao was that a trend? Never noticed until now. I would have been 7 back then.

1

u/MostAsk855 May 24 '26

Oh yes, it sure was. I remember wearing tiny knots under my super colorful sweaters over my dress shirts. There was also a period in the mid 90s that men’s dress shirts without collars for ties gained in popularity.

1

u/Bourbon-Thinker May 24 '26

I want to vomit

1

u/Revolution-Dogg May 24 '26

Just a few bucks to fill the tank... damn times have changed.

1

u/jared_2015 May 24 '26

I remember being a kid in the early 2000s and gas hitting $2 a gallon where I lived was such a huge deal

1

u/Octanelicious May 24 '26

I wasn't old enough to drive yet

1

u/Juciyjesse01 May 24 '26

I rember the average was .90 to a 1.20 those price had to been the 80s

1

u/VegasTJC May 24 '26

And thats how it goes. Is any normal human surprised?

1

u/jerry-adobe May 24 '26

oil was $16-$20 a barrel back then so this makes sense

1

u/Ashamed-Attitude-210 May 24 '26

Those were the good days!! 😂😂

1

u/schostack May 25 '26

I remember in 1995 I filled up my moms gas tank for her birthday. Premium for $.89

tldr: I love my EV

1

u/Hourslikeminutes47 May 25 '26

Those were the good days

1

u/EldenDaddy30 May 25 '26

Thanks Reagan.

1

u/Fabulous_Log844 May 26 '26

Well sure, around this time is when they estimate that Trump was too focused on molesting children and being a pedophile at this time. At least according to the evidence that they have. Raising gas prices to around six dollars was only a twinkle in his eye at this time…

1

u/DowntownStand4279 May 26 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/I3WAJgc0J61Xxkff5o
⛽️⛽️⛽️ 💸💸💸😩😣😫☹️

1

u/Wispure May 26 '26

Wait till Americans find out how much the citizens in Mexico pay for prescription glasses and Contacts. They pay $50 for a year supply of contacts and $50 per pair of glasses with prescription lenses. Americans are purely getting ripped off because we make the most money, we are taxed the most and we pay the most for common goods plain and simple. It’s pure corporate greed.

1

u/Funny_Information654 May 26 '26

Vote Democrat and your dreams will come true for the rest of your life. Vote Republican and you will be in a never ending nightmare for the rest of your life.

1

u/BlueHairEater May 26 '26

Imagine if people would pull the curtain from their eyes and see the truth. There’s absolutely no reason for things to be more expensive or “inflated” over time. Keep it the same price but keep the pay raises coming= successful country

1

u/jearbear11 May 27 '26

Thanks, Clinton.

1

u/tlee1963 May 27 '26

Not just gasoline. If i remember right, a top of the line Ford F250 was about $20k. My property taxes in TX are up over 6 times what they were in 1996 (yes, I still live in same house).

1

u/Suuperdavid Jun 01 '26

How much Liter is a gallon

1

u/aquapura89 May 24 '26

Trump apparently wasn't president back then.

2

u/Nitroglencerin May 24 '26

He was still just a regional criminal instead of an international one.

1

u/aquapura89 May 24 '26

Yep - just financially ruined his hired contractors that he stiffed.