Chevron vs. Maverick

Last night, my cousin Alex babysat Mckenna at my grandparents house while Megan was at the dance. After the dance, Megan, Brian, and I went to go pick her up.

On the way to Sandy,we starting talking about gas. Megan said that you shouldn't ever buy gas from the Maverick station because their gas is poor quality. I said that the idea that different gas stations have different quality gas is ludicrous. There are government standards, the gas usually comes from the same place, and it's just a dumb to say that Chevron is better than Conoco.

Megan said that her dad, who works in the gas industry, told her to never buy Maverick because it's bad gas. I replied by saying he's wrong. In typical fashion, Megan rolled her eyes and told me that she's going to believe someone who works in the industry rather than me. Granted, its the assumption she should have taken.

But she, and anyone else who goes to certain gas stations because of "better quality" gas, is wrong.

Gas is gas. It usually comes from the same refinery in your area. The EPA requires minimums in quality. The only difference is the amount of detergents each company puts into their gas. "Chevron with Techron"? Yeah, just a detergent with a fancy name so people will think it's better. It's a really great marketing strategy, but it doesn't make it better gas.

And for those of you who do not believe me, here are some sources:

ABC News: What's the Difference Between Regular and Discount Gas?
CBS News: Fuel Wars
EPA Standards for U.S. Gasoline