SHELL stations of the future.

[earlyre]

a-ha!
there isn't a sonic within an hour or so of me, so i'd never have known...

 

[y_p_w]

Yeah, there's no 93 here. 87, 89, 91 octane. Name your poison.

It's possible to find 100/101 octane unleaded racing fuel. I remember a VP station in San Leandro although that's gone. And the best known in the Bay Area is Sunol Super Stop, which blends it into all sorts of octane ratings including 94. And there were a few stations that were known to have 100 octane racing gas at the pump with a blue color.

 

[y_p_w]

What’s the price difference between cash versus credit card in the Bay Area?

I’ve found most people here at WKRP in Cincinnati “tap and pay” versus walking inside to:

Use the restroom, or
Get a couple of Slim Jim’s, or
Buy a lottery ticket

Otherwise, they seem to be happy with that 87 octane at $3.29/9 at my local Shell station that still lacks any EV chargers.

Depends on the station. Typically 10 cents, but there's one near me that's a 6 cent per gallon difference. If there's some credit card rewards it might even make sense for credit at over $5 a gallon.

 

[Snagglefoot]

The Shell article insinuates that the power for charging comes from the solar panels. Fake news. The panels might be there but they cannot be relied upon. Even cloud cover attenuates panels and output is dismal during rainy British days. Nope, these chargers are connected to the grid.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I had a friend who ran an Esso gas station with a convenience food store. He said the money was in selling the products in the store, and not the gasoline sales. Same with the charging business model.

 

[JHZR2]

Thing is, if it’s just say a 5kW charger, which is a non trivial amount of power, it’s virtually useless to actually increase range over the duration of a sonic visit.

 

[JHZR2]

The Shell article insinuates that the power for charging comes from the solar panels. Fake news. The panels might be there but they cannot be relied upon. Even cloud cover attenuates panels and output is dismal during rainy British days. Nope, these chargers are connected to the grid.

I was going to say, where is the generator farm behind the “luxury” station?

 

[Vil_Riker]

I had a friend who ran an Esso gas station with a convenience food store. He said the money was in selling the products in the store, and not the gasoline sales. Same with the charging business model.

That's why we will probably not have the battery swap system here. The vendors will want the charging to take a while so that the people can drop by the store and buy things. With the swap system, the people remain in the car.

 

[PF52]

Most gas stations around here have cash prices.

Wow! I thought that went away with the 1970s.

 

[y_p_w]

Thing is, if it’s just say a 5kW charger, which is a non trivial amount of power, it’s virtually useless to actually increase range over the duration of a sonic visit.

I don’t believe they charge extra for it though. I’ve seen a few charging parking spots that were free. Parked at one once and over 40 minutes it might have added about 12 miles of range. But it was free, so why not?

 

[4WD]

I had a friend who ran an Esso gas station with a convenience food store. He said the money was in selling the products in the store, and not the gasoline sales. Same with the charging business model.

Same - he told me fountain drinks were far more profitable …

 

[Hermann]

I thought no one carried cash any more?

$8 in my wallet.

 

[y_p_w]

Same - he told me fountain drinks were far more profitable …

I suppose cash prices also tend to bring customers into the stores. Around here, Arco used to be cash/debit only, but where there was a flat rate debit fee. I do remember one that accepted credit cards, but only inside. That went away though, at least until all stations now accept credit.

But the weird time was when they had bill acceptors outside. It was enter the pump number and then the money. Not sure how secure they were against theft. Customers had to go inside for refunds on overpayment, but I would have thought overall the system would have brought in fewer customers to buy assorted stuff.

 

[vtec260]

$8 in my wallet.

$8 more than me. But then I don't even carry a wallet anymore.
I just bring my cellphone, one credit card and driver's license attached to the phone for last 4 years whenever going out.

 

[4WD]

I suppose cash prices also tend to bring customers into the stores. Around here, Arco used to be cash/debit only, but where there was a flat rate debit fee. I do remember one that accepted credit cards, but only inside. That went away though, at least until all stations now accept credit.

But the weird time was when they had bill acceptors outside. It was enter the pump number and then the money. Not sure how secure they were against theft. Customers had to go inside for refunds on overpayment, but I would have thought overall the system would have brought in fewer customers to buy assorted stuff.

Yeah - drinks like tea can be pretty crazy in the hot south - what a quick stop sells a bottle for is almost half of a Walmart 6 pack …

 

[y_p_w]

Yeah - drinks like tea can be pretty crazy in the hot south - what a quick stop sells a bottle for is almost half of a Walmart 6 pack …

Fountain drinks typically have some special price.

The 100 oz refillable mug sounds scary. I saw one image of the refill being $2.

 

[CKN]

Depends on the station. Typically 10 cents, but there's one near me that's a 6 cent per gallon difference. If there's some credit card rewards it might even make sense for credit at over $5 a gallon.

Just making an assumption here. I bet that more gas is STILL sold using credit, debit even with a 10/cent a gallon discount for cash. And things I have noticed-back in the Southern part of the U.S. people carrying cash and paying with cash seems to be more prevalent. I am thinking that financial guy on the radio that is headquartered in Tennessee and has a rather large following is somewhat responsible-but only a guess.

 

[andrew_j]

Most gas stations around here have cash prices.

My 17 yo has wads of cash (her $7-15hr/tips) from working a food service job .

She pays for gas using cash and many times station attendants say she is first in month to do so. She also gets questioned on it too by certain stores…

 

[Shel_B]

I thought no one carried cash any more?

There's a big difference between using cash and carrying cash. I can't think of a single one of my friends who doesn't carry cash even if they rarely use it. Cash is very handy to have in some situations and in emergencies, especially when traveling outside of one's home area.

 

[PF52]

There's a big difference between using cash and carrying cash. I can't think of a single one of my friends who doesn't carry cash even if they rarely use it. Cash is very handy to have in some situations and in emergencies, especially when traveling outside of one's home area.

I know, I know. I was being sarcastic. These kinds of threads usually get bogged down by people posting how they don't carry cash any more.