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[Jim Adney]

On 26 Oct 2023 at 14:07, Gary Forsmo wrote:

> But diesel was *never* as low as gas.  That makes absolutely no sense to me. 

I believe there is actually good reason for diesel fuel to cost more than 
gasoline. It's simply because diesel has more energy content per gallon than 
gas.The Wikipedia entry on Diesel Fuel has really good information on this, 
giving the energy content of Diesel to be 9-14% higher than gasoline. Which 
is somewhat lower than the traditional "premium" that has been charged for 
diesel over gas. But the premium we saw on this latest trip seemed wildly, 
and oddly, higher.

There may have been a time when diesel fuel was a more crude product, 
but, at least in first world countries today, it's just as sophisticated as 
gasoline, at least for #1 and #2 diesel.

Taxes add quite a bit to fuel prices. Federal tax on Diesel is about 30% 
higher than on gas. State taxes vary widely: more than half of the states tax 
Diesel and gas the same, but many tax Diesel more than gas. Texas has one 
of the lowest fuel taxes, while California is one of the highest. (Pennsylvania 
is actually the highest, while Alaska is the lowest.) Again, Wikipedia has 
good info on this.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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