THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
About 20 years ago, the oil companies ``dreamed up'' the ``oil shortage'' and filled every tank and tanker ship in the world with crude oil until they were able to triple the price and then ``allow'' us to wait on ourselves at the pumps.
The oil companies have been illegally fixing the price of gasoline for years, while vote-hungry politicians look the other way.
I think the time is at hand to beat the big oil companies at their own game, as follows:
All gasoline is refined the same by only a few companies - to serve name-brand stations and to sell surplus of the same gasoline to convenience stores, etc.
The more of the same gasoline we buy from other than brand-name stations, at a lower price, the more surplus we the consumer create.
The more surplus we create, the more the price goes down.
In addition, the vast majority of cars are designed for regular (87 octane) gasoline. If we stop using higher octane gasoline, we will create an additional surplus.
By buying the same gasoline at a lower price, we consumers can bring the price down to any price we desire.
D. K. HOBDAY
Portsmouth, April 30, 1996 by CNB