The rumor mill is cranked up to overdrive while I recall my rusty skills from the 70's. No jackrabbit starts, minimize braking, coast as much as possible and keep it smooth.
I drove to Seymour from Sevierville this afternoon to pick up my daughters from school. Gas on Byd's creek was $2.49 this AM. As I went by this afternoon, they were up to $2.89. I talked to my brother who was in Seveirville and he said most stations were at $2.99. This was around 4PM. Then I tapped into the rumor mill to find out what was going on, i.e. I called my sister. According to her sources (she should be part of the CIA so she could show them how it's done), Gas is already being rationed at the wholesale level, and Pilot Oil has gone from 4 distributers supplying gasoline to one. Also according to her source, the word from Channel 8 news is that gas will be $3.50 plus by morning, and that distribution and refinery shortfalls will have many if not most pumps in East Tennessee dry by Saturday.
Now for my contribution to the rumor mill. I talked to the owner of the Exxon station near my house ($2.79) He said they were going to sell out the gas they had at that price before raising it, which made me a customer for life. I said I'd heard rumors of $3.50, and he didn't agree or disagree, but I got the impression that I was in the right ball park. While there, another guy spoke up who'd just come from Straw Plains. According to him, only one station still had regular gas; the rest were out. Another guy had just come from Sevierville and said there were stations at $3.20 While I was at the station, all 10 pumps were going full speed and had been for several hours.
Update 7:40PM I just got back from Boyd's Creek rd and the station that had gas at $2.89 is now at $3.09. And the Exxon that was $2.79 is now $3.29.
Posted by Rich at August 31, 2005 6:09 PM | TrackBack