- 14
- Nov
Back in February 2008 the average gas prices were $3.00 which drastically rose to their record high averages of $4.10 in July. Record high gas prices were recorded during June 2008 ranging from $4.5-$4.7 a gallon. Who could drive anywhere with gas prices like that? We could, but that was because the natural gas fueling our car during that time was $0.63 rising up to $0.87 a gallon equivalent.
We took advantage of the great gas prices we could get while most everyone else was conserving or paying loads of money on their gas. During the summer of 2008 my husband and I took trips to Las Vegas, Nevada, Arches National Park, Utah, Los Angeles, California, Boise, Idaho and many others. Gas prices weren’t an issue because we were paying 3-4 times less for natural gas than regular gas. Plus, almost everywhere we went there were natural gas stations where we could fill up our CNG car. A good example of this is in the summer time we took a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. From Provo, Utah to Las Vegas it is about 380 miles. With gas prices being around $3.75, this trip would have cost us $120.00. Instead of paying that price, we took our natural gas car with the natural gas price being $0.87 gallon equivalent, and the trip cost us $30.00. We could spend money in Vegas and have some fun instead of spending money on gas to get there.
As the fall of 2008 approached, gas prices were still enormously high. Funds were looking slim as my husband and I started our semester of college. With my husband starting his own businesses, and me doing my student teaching and not working, neither one of us would be making much income for the upcoming semester. On top of everything else, gas prices were at their record high, and I would be driving 30 miles to and from my school for student teaching. Our saving grace at this time ” our CNG car. It’s not a Ferrari or Mercedes, but it became our star commuter car. While other classmates carpooled to their schools, having to wait for each other and coordinate schedules, I enjoyed driving myself and going where I wanted, whenever I wanted.
As everyone else griped and groaned about the outrageous gas prices I was celebrating my 79 cent gallon equivalent gas prices. Plus, with 2 easily accessible gas stations on my commute, it was easy to keep a full tank of gas. Instead of paying $200 a month for gas we were paying $40, which came in really nice considering our circumstances.
It’s hard for us to pay for regular gas when it costs so much more than natural gas. I keep questioning ” why don’t more people look for and purchase natural gas vehicles so they can be saving so much money on gas prices? It’s one less expense that we love not having to worry about.
I’ve owned a CNG car for a couple years now, my husband’s family has owned them for much longer. There are many ways to go about purchasing a CNG car. There are used and new cars, you can also get your current car converted (costs around $6K). Also, hitting the fuel efficient car market soon is the American Roadster, it get 70 mpg and runs on CNG. Reserve it soon though.
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