AH…. THE FIFTIES.… THE REACTIONARY’S DREAM…. HistoryFacts posted a tantalizing question, “What Did Gas Cost in the 1950s?”
And, to its credit, the website’s answer of 27¢/gallon isn’t just wowed-over. It’s put in perspective: “That low price might sound practically idyllic, but the average household income at the time was $3,300 per year. Adjusted for inflation, $0.27 in 1950 equates to about $3.52/gallon in today’s dollars. Nowadays, the median household income is $74,580.”
And, of course, these aren’t the only economic—and societal—changes occurring between the Fifties and today.
These graphs show U.S. average gasoline prices from 1929 to 2015. The green line is normalized to 2015 dollars. Image from energy.gov.
HistoryFacts is Spot-on. If you’re filling up today with anything but California’s Phase 3 Reformulated gasolines (of which more anon), the website is spot-on with AAA’s national average of $3.521 for regular. Mid-grade is a tad higher, $3.968; Premium, $4.314.
Indeed, it’s not far off from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator, which equates 1950’s 27¢ with today’s $3.56.
Image from AAA, Gas Prices as of July 15, 2024.
Other HistoryFacts Facts. “The 1950s,” HistoryFacts recounts, “were a transformative decade for transportation in the United States. Factors such as postwar prosperity, suburban living, and a decline in public transit led to a major increase in car ownership. At the start of the decade, approximately half of Americans owned an automobile; by 1960, nearly 75% of Americans owned at least one car, and many owned two. It was the golden age of the automobile.”
And, in a sense, this encouraged automakers into a styling frenzy of exuberance. Cars grew in size (and in fins); their average fuel economy diminished.
Mobilgas YouTubes. Two YouTube videos are exemplary of this growth/diminishment: “For 3rd Straight Year Studebaker Wins Again” describes the 1952 Mobilgas Economy Run. A 6-cylinder Champion posted 27.82 mpg; a Studie Land Cruiser V8 was second at 25.59 mpg.
1952 Mobilgas Economy Run. This YouTube video from Gone Autos.
A Studebaker Hawk’s 22.9899 mpg took first in the 1960 Mobilgas Economy Run, surrounded by other makes that had grown considerably.
1960 Mobilgas. Image from The Studebaker National Museum YouTube.
For more on the Mobilgas event, see the “Mobilgas Economy Run—1954,” here at SimanaitisSays. Continuing on its winning streak, Studebakers posted the best numbers, a Champion Custom recording a top 29.5 mpg. Among other domestics in 1954 were a Ford Mainline 6’s 26.1 mpg; a Chevrolet Two-Ten’s 22.3; a Chrysler New Yorker and Packard Clipper Deluxe tieing at 17.8, least frugal of the bunch.
Clean Air. What’s clean air? It wasn’t until 1972 that unleaded fuel became the U.S. norm; this, because clean-air catalytic convertors are poisoned by TEL, tetraethyl lead. For an extremely interesting (and well-documented, if not completely unbiased) history of TEL’s quelling combustion-chamber preignition (aka knock), see Environmental history’s “Special timeline: Leaded gasoline.”
Cleaner Gasoline. Motor fuels contain complex blends of hydrocarbons, some more detrimental to the environment than others.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency writes, “The RFG [Reformulated Gasoline] program was mandated by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. The first phase of the RFG program began in 1995 and the second (current) phase began in 2000.”
“RFG,” EPA continues, “is required in cities with high smog levels and is optional elsewhere. RFG is currently used in 17 states and the District of Columbia. About 25 percent of gasoline sold in the U.S. is reformulated.” You’ll note the more expensive gasoline prices in the AAA map corresponding to these cities.
As described by the California Air Resources Board, “Governor Davis signed Executive Order D-5-99 (Executive Order) on March 25, 1999, which directs the phase-out of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in California’s gasoline by December 31, 2002. The Executive Order also directs the ARB to adopt gasoline regulations to facilitate the removal of MTBE without reducing the emissions benefits of the existing program. This page presents information regarding the Proposed Phase 3 Reformulated Gasoline Regulations.” Further, it links “The complete California Reformulated Gasoline Regulations as of February 16, 2014.”
The U.S. Energy Information Agency writes, “California gasoline prices are generally higher and more variable than prices in other states because relatively few refineries produce California’s unique blend of gasoline. California’s reformulated gasoline program is more stringent than the federal government’s program. California’s tax on gasoline is also higher than most states’ gasoline tax.”
A Purely Personal Note. Other places around the world (among them Iran and Russia) have cheaper gasoline than in the U.S. And other states (Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida, to cite three of many) have less expensive blends than California’s Reformulated. For a variety of reasons I’m happy to pay more. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024