The Price of UK petrol

[Wacky Racer]

I know everyone moans about the price of petrol but:-

When I passed my test way back in 1969 I seem to remember the price of a gallon was around 6s/4d....That is around 32p in "new" money...

Given that there are 4.54609 litres in a gallon, taking a price of a litre at around £1.40 (Average), a simple calculation gives you £1.40 x 4.54609 = £6.36 per gallon.


So, for the same amount (1 gallon)...

1969 price .32p

2013 price £6.36


So, anyone have any idea how much .32p translates to today? (Many online conversion sites seem to vary a bit)

[Evo]

What was the average MPG of a car in 1969?

[sc0tt]

£4.37 back in '69

[AllNines]

My parents did an 1100-mile round trip in the early 70s for which I have the calculations - they averaged 41.5mpg at a total cost of £9.72. I struggle to beat that mpg now in a modern car, though it's likely a tad more comfortable (and the fuel for the same trip would now cost about £185).

[Tom8]

People moan about the price of petrol as they buy a bottle of water for 2 quid. Weird.

[Caulkhead]

The average wage in 1969 was £1607.16 per year and in November 2012 it was £26500.00 so with a years wages in 1969 you could buy about 5022 gallons and in 2013 you could buy about 4167 gallons. On the upside the average 2013 car uses half the fuel its 1969 equivalent did so most people are probably spending less of their income on fuel than people did in 1969.

[Bear Phils]

You fool! Now the government will realise

We will be taxed into the ground

[excel monkey]

AllNines said:

My parents did an 1100-mile round trip in the early 70s for which I have the calculations - they averaged 41.5mpg at a total cost of £9.72. I struggle to beat that mpg now in a modern car, though it's likely a tad more comfortable (and the fuel for the same trip would now cost about £185).

As you noted, that was very good fuel economy for the early 70s. What were they driving - a Mini or Austin 1100 or something like that?

[AllNines]

I assume it was their A40 but as I have no dates for the trip I can't be totally sure.

[Engineer1]

Tom8 said:

People moan about the price of petrol as they buy a bottle of water for 2 quid. Weird.

I'm not required to purchase and consume that £2 bottle of water as my sole source of water, most people have a minimum fuel usage they can't reduce below such as their commutes to work. I can decide not to go out for lesuire drives but not turning up at work to save fuel isn't an option.

[jamei303]

Engineer1 said:

I'm not required to purchase and consume that £2 bottle of water as my sole source of water, most people have a minimum fuel usage they can't reduce below such as their commutes to work. I can decide not to go out for lesuire drives but not turning up at work to save fuel isn't an option.

Getting a job closer to home or a home closer to your certainly is.

[heads1]

Nice share.... Thanks for sharing.....

[kambites]

Wacky Racer said:

So, anyone have any idea how much .32p translates to today? (Many online conversion sites seem to vary a bit)

It's impossible to come up with an accurate figure because there is no one sensible metric to use for the rate of inflation.

[Engineer1]

jamei303 said:

Engineer1 said:

I'm not required to purchase and consume that £2 bottle of water as my sole source of water, most people have a minimum fuel usage they can't reduce below such as their commutes to work. I can decide not to go out for lesuire drives but not turning up at work to save fuel isn't an option.

Getting a job closer to home or a home closer to your certainly is.

True, provided the housing market and job market are actually moving in your area.

[PaulMoor]

AllNines said:

I assume it was their A40 but as I have no dates for the trip I can't be totally sure.

Impressive MPG for an A40. They must have been driving like saints. In a small modern car you must be able to achieve well over that on a long journey. It is certanly interesting to see that over the long term petrol has increased in price above inflation, but not as much as we think.

jamei303 said:

Engineer1 said:

I'm not required to purchase and consume that £2 bottle of water as my sole source of water, most people have a minimum fuel usage they can't reduce below such as their commutes to work. I can decide not to go out for lesuire drives but not turning up at work to save fuel isn't an option.

Getting a job closer to home or a home closer to your certainly is.

For most people that realy is not a possibility. Where they work and live is a function of what they can afford and where they can get a job. I do hate comments like this.

[Huff]

Wacky Racer said:

So, anyone have any idea how much .32p translates to today? (Many online conversion sites seem to vary a bit)

BoE inflation calculator http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/inf...

Put in 3.20 in 1969 = 44.60 (2012) (<-BoE calculator can't deal with sums less than £1!)
So about £4.50 ish to answer your question.

[Triumph Man]

PaulMoor said:

AllNines said:

I assume it was their A40 but as I have no dates for the trip I can't be totally sure.

Impressive MPG for an A40. They must have been driving like saints. In a small modern car you must be able to achieve well over that on a long journey. It is certanly interesting to see that over the long term petrol has increased in price above inflation, but not as much as we think.

jamei303 said:

Engineer1 said:

I'm not required to purchase and consume that £2 bottle of water as my sole source of water, most people have a minimum fuel usage they can't reduce below such as their commutes to work. I can decide not to go out for lesuire drives but not turning up at work to save fuel isn't an option.

Getting a job closer to home or a home closer to your certainly is.

For most people that realy is not a possibility. Where they work and live is a function of what they can afford and where they can get a job. I do hate comments like this.

Does smack of tttery a little... I would love to move within walking distance to work. Can I afford to? No. Could I get a job closer to my current home? No, for one I like where I work, secondly nowhere is hiring.

[kambites]

Huff said:

Wacky Racer said:

So, anyone have any idea how much .32p translates to today? (Many online conversion sites seem to vary a bit)

BoE inflation calculator http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/inf...

Put in 3.20 in 1969 = 44.60 (2012) (<-BoE calculator can't deal with sums less than £1!)
So about £4.50 ish to answer your question.

That certainly feels about right to me - a 40%ish real-terms increase since the 60s (not that I was alive in the 60s to remember, mind).

To put it another way, if real prices hadn't changed at all, we'd be paying about £1 a litre now.

[alistair1234]

Tom8 said:

People moan about the price of petrol as they buy a bottle of water for 2 quid. Weird.

I pay £20 for a bottle of whiskey, but I don't buy 100 litres of it a month.

[JREwing]

Looking at how the cars have come on, I think it's a reasonable tradeoff.