Following the 1973 Yom Kippor War, several OPEC nations embargoed oil exports to the US because we supported Israel. The retail price of gas virtually doubled, from about 30 cents per gallon to about 55 cents per gallon. Using the inflation calculator available on this page, 30 cents in 1973 is equal to $1.30 today, and 55 cents in 1974 is equal to $2.14 today. Interestingly enough, the local price (Colorado Springs) for regular unleaded is about $2.10, so the price today is roughly equal to what it was in 1974 when adjusted for inflation.

The second major hit in the 1970s happend when the Shah of Iran was overthrown and our embassy was siezed. Up until then, Iran had been a major supplier of US oil. Once again, gas prices roughly doubled to over $1 a gallon. According to the inflation calculator, $1 a gallon in 1979 is equal to $2.64 a gallon today. Other than places like San Diego*, most places aren't paying nearly that much today.

It's true that gas prices are higher than we're used to paying, but they're no where near "record highs" when you factor in inflation (and that's the only legitimate way to compare prices across time). Using data from US City average price data, gas cost about $1.47 a gallon at the beginning of 1982. When adjusted for inflation, that's $2.92 today. Based on that, gas is about 30% cheaper today than it was in 1982. It sure doesn't feel that way when you're filling up your tank, but odds are your income is quite a bit higher than it was then, too.

Now, if we could only get the price of aviation gas to go down. I paid $3.05 a gallon for 100LL a couple weeks ago and that's well below what it costs in a lot of places, such as $4.21 a gallon here.

*Driving around San Diego last weekend, it appeared the average price of regular unleaded was around $2.45 a gallon.