Dazed and Confused

Happy Easter. So on Easter we think about those who have passed on before us. So I was thinking about my dad.

I've been discussing buying a CNG vehicle with a friend out in California. It is the case now that CNG "per gallon" is inexpensive to run relative to the >$2.60 unleaded regualar gas.

Back in 1979 after the second oil price shock (Iran), a lot of my dad's friends had diesel Mercedes Benz, including my uncle Chuck. It was also the case that diesel fuel could be purchased far more cheaply than regular unleaded gas. So my dad had a "brilliant" idea. He would save lots of money by buying a diesel Cadillac, since GM's new diesel engine had just come out. The discount was like 30 cents per gallon.

So in the meantime, my dad had some heart attacks and he wanted a different car by 1984. The Cadillac had to have (under warranty) two different new engines put in. The car was a lemon and a nightmare.

So, since I needed a different car at the time and since my beautiful 1970 Olds Cutlass had just been totalled, he gave me the lemon. By 1984, diesel fuel, besides being hard to find (this is a rapid transit city, we don't live near truck stops). the price had increased to a $.40 cent premium...i.e., it then cost MORE to buy diesel than regular gas!

So, if I get a CNG it will be to reduce money to teeorists and for the environment. But the people marketing CNG should know better than to try to sell it based upon a price discount....as supplies and refinery issues could change the spread price, and substantially.