A significant number of performance and luxury vehicles require premium gas, and with pump prices on the rise, it might be time for a reality check for car shoppers on a tight budget.
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The dramatically styled Alfa Romeo Giulia falls into this category. The Giulia come with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder Used Engine or a 505-horsepower, turbo V-6 in the Quadrifoglio trim; both require premium.
- Filling the 15.3-gallon tank from empty would cost $45.75 based on the national average of $2.99 for premium gas as listed by the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report on Thursday.
- In San Francisco, though, where pump prices are among the highest in the country, the average price of premium is $3.48, so filling a Giulia would cost $53.24. In California, premium generally costs about 25 cents more per gallon than regular, but premium is 53 cents higher nationally, so the extra cost adds up over time.
- Over a year, for example, a vehicle that consumes 500 gallons of gas would cost an additional $2.65 if it required premium, based on AAA's current national averages.
Premium gas rose 2 cents the past week, and regular gas rose 3 cents to a national average of $2.46, according to AAA. Diesel fuel rose a penny to $2.84. That broke a streak of five straight weeks of steady prices.
Pump prices fell in several states west of the Rocky Mountains, with regular plunging 9 cents in Alaska to $3.11, but widespread increases in the Great Lakes area pushed the national average higher. Regular rose by 6 cents in Wisconsin, 7 cents in Illinois, 10 cents in Ohio and a whopping 15 cents in Michigan to a statewide average of $2.64.
Prices were mixed in the Southeast, and Alabama had the lowest average price for regular on Thursday, $2.19, according to AAA. Regular averaged $2.21 in Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri. Hawaii had the highest average price for regular, $3.30, followed by Alaska at $3.11 and California at $3.09.
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