> I am surprised that California is more than NY though.
California imposes a lot more taxes than most any other state, plus we have stricter emission standards and the refineries have to meet those standards. I remember just 10 years ago, when driving down my hill and looking across to the east hills of San Jose - it was a rare day that you could see those hills. The air was that bad. Now, it's only a day or two a year that the smog in the valley reaches those levels. So, I'm grateful for those controls. Plus, if you've ever travelled to many of the countries in Asia (and I'm sure elsewhere), and you see exhaust spewing out the tailpipes, you're happy for emission controls. Heck, I remember in Bangkok, it being smoggy just looking across the street!
Sorry, went off topic there. But as long as we're talking memories, when I got my driver's license, I think gas was about 69 cents a gallon. I remember the outrage when (late '70s) the price jumped to 79 cents a gallon!
Diane