Extra Profit for Car and Gas Companies When You Buy Premium Gas!

Gas companies and auto makers love it when you buy premium gas. They like it so much that they try to perpetuate myths about premium gas. Myths like premium gas will lead to better fuel economy. Myths like premium gas will make your car perform better. Why do the gas companies and auto makers like premium so much?

Gasoline retailers and refiners love premium gasoline because it is so much more profitable than regular gasoline. You end up paying about 20 cents more per gallon for premium gas and the retailer only ends up paying about 8 cents more. The retailer makes 12 cents more on every gallon of high octane gas he sells.

The oil refineries make a few cents per gallon more on premium gasoline over what they make on regular when selling it to distributors. The small extra profit per gallon is multiplied by the tens of thousand of gallons of gas that refineries sell, and ends up adding thousands and thousands of dollars to their profit.

The gas refineries and retailers are not the only ones that make more money from premium gas. Auto makers use premium gas to add to their profits too. One way they do that is by creating a higher perceived value for their cars.

If a car has to have premium gas it must have a more expensive engine therefore the car must cost more. Using that logic the car companies can get higher prices on some models by recommending only premium gas can be used in those models. This adds credibility to their contention that the car is worth more money.

Another way that car manufacturers capitalize on premium gas is by using to their advantage the anti-knock properties of premium gasoline. They do this by designing engines to be specially tuned for premium gas. By doing that they can create "premium engines" that actually do get a little more horsepower out of premium gasoline then they do from regular gasoline.

Because these engines do have some horsepower advantage it enables the car manufacturers to advertise more horsepower for their "high octane engines". Higher horsepower equates to higher cost autos which equates to higher cost for you and more profit for the vehicle manufacturers.

High octane engines do output a small horsepower advantage when running on high octane fuel. It is so small though that most engineers and vehicle experts agree that you can use low octane fuel in a high octane engine and you probably can't tell the difference.

Regular gasoline can be used in a "premium engine" without any noticeable difference. Premium gasoline does not enhance fuel economy. In the end it all comes down to this: By making you believe you need to use premium gasoline, the oil companies and auto makers are able to put more money in their pockets by taking more out of yours.

Article Source: http://www.rightarticle.com

Scott Siegel has written a 143 page book of industry insider secrets on saving gas and dollars at the pump. Visit us to discover how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
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