I have two weeks until my baby (a fully loaded 2006 Jetta) comes into town and something has gone terribly wrong. I went with the TDI model because I commute into Edmonton, and diesel is better for mileage and cheaper than gas. The way gas prices were in the summer I thought I was really smart. I was going to be on easy street with a car that took fuel which was 20 less than gas. I lived in that happy bubble until I saw the price of diesel at the pump the other day. It was a 103.9!
I was under the impression that diesel prices were always cheaper than gas. All of you in your fancy gas vehicles may not be concerned but I did some research and came up with a few interesting reasons for this. A majority of the articles were from American sources but I imagine the same reasons still affect Canada.
? Historically, diesel prices rise in the fall/winter as refiners shift to making more heating oil and less diesel. This continues even as gasoline prices come down.
? Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused a number of oil refineries to close, which caused the price of regular gasoline to skyrocket. Those refineries are coming back on line and are concentrating on gasoline production, which is dropping the price of gas but raising the price of diesel.
? Diesel vehicles are much more popular in Europe and Asia than in the U.S., which means there’s greater competition for diesel fuel.
? The demand for diesel is traditionally higher at this time of the year as trains and trucks bring more of the fall harvest to market.
? Separately, the weekly price for diesel fuel fell 9.6 cents to $2.60 a gallon, the lowest level in 11 weeks but still up 47 cents from a year ago, the agency said.
one, two, three
So I have a favor to ask. If you are ever going on HWY2, give me a call and maybe I can arrange for you to tow my Jetta behind your vehicle because I won’t be able to afford the cost.
Although if you are going further south (say’to America) maybe I can come along because of this:
The price advantage gets even better in 2006, when diesel buyers will qualify for a tax deduction of as much as $3,400. cnn
Don’t worry, while I’m in America I will be productive. I will write George a letter and ask him to make friends (invade) with a country that has a large diesel supply so prices will drop and maybe do some gambling. Why not, right? I have $3,400 to spend so might as well buy a smart part of Detroit or Philly or something.
In other news, get over to Threadless.com and order some new shirts for your wardrobe because they are having a $10 sale right now and that is a steal of a deal.
