German Gas Prices

To put this into some American prospective, German Super (the better of the unleaded versions) is now around 1.65 to 1.68 Euro to a liter.  That'd be close to $8.50 a gallon (figure .26 of a gallon equals 1 liter).  Diesel is running 15 Euro cents cheaper at present.

So to fill up your lousy 14 gallon tank on the medium-sized German car you might drive.....you need over $100.  You can do the math.....but you basically need to squeeze thirty miles a gallon out of this vehicle.....one way or another.

Over the past decade....there are trainers that have come out....teaching people how to properly drive at a 'soft-rate' and get an extra twenty miles out of every tank of gas.  This usually involves planning trips down to the final detail, not using acceleration that much, keeping the car at 100 kph (or even less), and just using horse-power when absolutely necessary.  People will actually pay money for a Saturday seminar where these simple twenty odd tips are laid out in detail.  And Germans care about this type of knowledge.

The flip side of the gas pricing?  Well....taxes make up over fifty percent of this $8.50 a gallon.  Germans know this because every single gas chain has a sticker at the pump to let them know the precise amount of taxation.  The gas chains would like Germans to get furious and make the political figures realize the impact of these prices.  The effect?  Zero.  At some point when gas hits around 2 Euro a liter....I suspect there will be some nervous feelings and maybe a discount on taxes might occur.  But for the present, everybody is still singing praise on paying $8.50 a gallon.