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Titled: Extra Profit for Car and Gas Companies When You Buy Premium Gas! Get the Vehicles category RSS Feed 
Extra Profit for Car and Gas Companies When You Buy Premium Gas!
Article Summary: Auto makers and Gas companies really like it when they are able to convince you to buy premium gasoline. They like it so much they continue to perpetuate half truths about premium gasoline. Half truths such as premium gasoline will provide better fuel economy. Half truths like premium gasoline can increase your engine's performance. Actually these aren't even half truths they are full blown myths.
Auto makers and Gas companies really like it when they are able to convince you to buy premium gasoline. They like it so much they continue to perpetuate half truths about premium gasoline. Half truths such as premium gasoline will provide better fuel economy. Half truths like premium gasoline can increase your engine's performance. Actually these aren't even half truths they are full blown myths.
Gas retailers and oil refiners love high octane fuel because it is so profitable. 20 cents more per gallon is what you pay on average for high octane fuel but the retailer only pays 8 cents more on average. The retailer has 12 cents more profit on every gallon of high octane fuel 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 vehicle manufacturers capitalize on high octane fuel is by designing engines to be specially tuned to take advantage of the anti-knock properties of high octane fuel. By doing that they can create "high octane engines" that actually do get a little more horsepower out of high octane fuel then they do from regular fuel.
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.upublish.info
About the Author:
Scott Siegel
Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page book of industry insider information on saving gas and money 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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