Posted on Tuesday 13 May 2008
While the United States has some of the lowest fuel prices in the industrialized world, the rapid advance toward $4 per gallon is outstripping the ability of some older hardware to keep up. As many as 17,000 mechanical dial-based fuel pumps are still in use in America, and none can register a price higher than $3.99 per gallon.
The problem is almost exclusively confined to rural areas where older stations have simply kept using their original equipment. The stations’ small sales volume and low profit margins mean upgrading or replacing the pumps with newer models that can handle the higher prices is nearly impossible. New pumps cost between $10,000 and $15,000 each, while upgrades cost as much as $650 per pump.
A temporary solution, called ‘half pricing’, is legal in some states. The process involves posting the price of half a gallon of fuel, and then doubling the total shown on the pump after fill-up.
Up to 8,500 stations, of the 170,000 in the U.S., could be equipped with the old-fashioned fuel pumps. Besides their per-gallon price limitation, most are also incapable of registering a total sale larger than $99.99 - meaning owners of larger vehicles can’t fill their tanks in one go, reports the AP.
For those stations that can afford the upgrade, the wait may be a long one - the sudden demand for the modern pumps bas placed an unusual load on the manufacturers of the equipment, leading to a backlog of several months.
This isn’t the first time the problem has arisen, however. In 2005, the jump past $3 per gallon led many stations to upgrade or replace their pumps with meters capable of $3.999. Unfortunately, the upgrade was rather short-sighted, and now many of those owners are facing the same situation all over again.
Wow, of all the things…
i love that when the price hit 3$ they said “lets make it capable of 4… that should be good… forever”…. good call guys
Here’s a hint, chaps. Upgrade it to 9.99 this time.
How about going over to metric and pay by the litre !!
UK price at the moment $2.10 USD a litre…………
RB: USA has resisted the metric system in so many ways it isnt funny. American scientists use metric, american engineers use metric, the general public buys alcohol in litres, and every food label has grams on them. but still,.. the gallon and mile stay.
Roy: exactly. i mean, technically speaking those other dials carry all 10 digits… soo……….
Chris - we still hang on to the mile in the UK ! - However having been in OZ for two years I find it now easier to predict how far a km is (as its smaller it seems to make more sense!) - It took a trip to the states (driving from Las Vagas to Death Valley ) to actually see/feel how far a mile is! (thats after driving for 20 years in the UK!)
Think I would be happy to stay with KM now! - it would be some good income for sign makers if we switched!
Indeed, the USA has been metric in MANY ways for many years. They resist change, however - unless that change has “Microsoft” in front of it. THEN that change is welcome, and COOL.
We in other countries see the hypocrisy of a nation - which spilled blood to have nothing to do with England, yet they *refuse* to abandon England’s old system of measurement. go figure. they even still measure heat in BTUs (British Thermal Units)!!!!!!!
Here’s a site all the Metric haters in the USA (the ONLY industrialized country NOT using metric) may want to see:
http://www.partycentral.com/metric/