What a difference $2.70 makes

Well, it wasn't that difficult to add another column to the California SUV Fill Up Index to demonstrate why you see a few less frowns on peoples' faces when they are buying gasoline these days.

Since we normally pay cash, doing some quick math to calculate a dollar amount that will come close to a fill up without having to walk back inside to get change, it has been quite a different experience to most times only require a single $20 bill to do the job.

• $20 / $1.70 per gallon = 11.8 gallons

This would be close enough with about a quarter tank left yet, given what's happened to energy prices over the last few years, it seems odd to have to pay so little.

Anyway, what you see below explains why you see more Hummers on the road and more SUV owners with a bounce in their step when they pull into the gas station.