just saw that Mobil on E. Racine across from Dairy Queen has no ethanol in its gas.

kt:
I managed to dig up the site I was talking about. Here is the link:
http://mygallons.com/index.html
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It's a pretty sharp concept. A much more clever idea to save $$$ then a lot of nonsense you hear of.

kt:
I'll have to find the company that was offering it. I would guess that you lock in the rates for a set amount of time. That is how stock and commodity options work anyway. Your "strike price" is the price you lock in your stock or commodity at, and then you lock in that price for a given length of time. The length of time, is known as the "decay rate". Those two things combined are what determine the premiums you would pay for the option contracts. The longer the decay rate the more your premiums will cost. When you buy an option contract, you never actually own the stock or commodity. It simply gives you the right to buy it at the price you lock in at. Once you exercise the option, you can then use use your contracts to buy and own the stock or commodity at the price you locked in at. If the market price goes below the price you locked in at, and never goes above, all your contracts will be worthless, and your out whatever you paid for the premiums of those contracts.
So there's you basic option trading lesson of the day, haha
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I'm sure the pre-paid gas is structured in a similar manner. I highly doubt that you can sit on the price you locked in at indefinitely. Otherwise you could lock in a price, and if gas did go down, you'd simply buy elsewhere, and you could sit on your pre-paid gas for how ever long it took to break past that point you locked in at, even if it took years.
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I'll do some digging around for the company when I have some spare time. I saw it on Fox News a couple months ago, and they did not really go into great detail on how it worked.

if you locked in gas and rates went down, would you really loose money on it? how long do they last? I.e., even if rates went down next year, they'd be sure to go up again the year after that, so could you just not draw on any of your "locked in" gas until rates did go up? That would be nice, but I'm sure there's some restriction preventing you from doing that.

Thanks shagcarpet!
That is priceless information. I'll definitely fill up there, every time I am in Beloit.
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An interesting thing I saw on the news a few weeks ago was a company that was allowing you to prepay your gas at todays market price. So you could lock in todays price for however many gallons you wanted. So if say you locked in today at say $3.80 and gas was up to $5.00 next year, you could still be locked in at the $3.80 price if you bought enough (prepaid).
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The company was probably started up by an options trader; as trading options is basically the same sort of thing. In fact many transportation companies hedge their fuel costs by locking in a price with options. Southwest Air is one of those companies, and is why they are holding their own, while all the other airlines have been hammered the past few months with the sky rocketing fuel costs.
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The obvious drawback is that if the price goes down, your options are worthless. The same thing with this prepay gas concept. If gas goes down below the price you locked in at, your stuck on a lot of fuel at below market value, and loose $$$ on it.

Its a little out of the way, but I'll check it out and fill up if the price is the same. Thanks for the tip shagcarpet.

There is a gas station in Beloit that sells 100% gas. It's on corner of Cranston and Prairie. It states it on their sign.

Thanks for the clarification about the tax subsidy on E85; that was why I was assuming ethanol was cheaper per gallon.

Per gallon ethanol actually costs about the same, if not more, then gasoline. While ethanol is around 10-30% less efficient then is gasoline (all depending on what sort of car you drive). The reason you see E85 "cheaper" is because of the $0.51 tax subsidy that was all part of the ethanol bill mentioned in my post below. That subsidy will cost the tax payers around $4 billion a year. If gasoline would continue to rise in price (as many analysts predict) one may then think ethanol may be a cheaper alternative at some point in the future. However; this is also not true, as to produce ethanol it requires lots of petroleum based fuel in its production. So consequently as the price of crude oil rises, so will the cost of producing ethanol.
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Here's a one of many good articles which have been written about all this:
http://www.freedomworks.org/informed/iss...

For what its worth, its true that ethanol gets less miles per gallon and I agree with the stupidity of mandating its use, but it is also cheaper per gallon at the pump so if someone does sell 100% gas they usually charge more for it such that the mileage savings are a wash.

I know I have seen some stations that sell 100% gas for premium octane. If that trend continues then it may benefit people who drive smart cars which recommend premium. Those looking for a new commuter car can consider the smart cars to save money; mileage is slightly less than hybrids but a whole lot less expensive. As long as you only plan to seat 1.

hannah:
As far as I know, all stations in this area contain 10% ethanol in their gasoline. If anyone knows of a station which still has the untainted/pure gasoline, please speak up, and let us all know. The station is REQUIRED (by law) to tell you if ethanol is in it. Look right on the pump, and it will say the dreaded words "contains up to 10% ethanol". It's NOT the stations fault, or the gas companies that this crap is added. It's all due to the federal mandates.
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Those mandates were passed in 2005, and require us to use 8 BILLION gallons of ethanol by the year 2012. This was another sell out to special interests (ADM, and the many big time farm lobbyists in Washington) all debated and passed into law by our outstanding (sarcasm) representatives in congress, and signed onto by the President. Not only do these mandates cost us tax payers over $4 billion a year, but they will do NOTHING to reduce dependence on foreign oil. As it actually requires more petroleum based energy to produce ethanol then the energy you save by supplementing it in gas. Not to mention it takes a prime staple out of you food supply, and consequently drives up the price of corn, and ultimately food costs.
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Living in the Midwest we get screwed the worse by this debacle of a policy; because as these mandates kick in the very 1st place ethanol goes into the gas supply chain is near the corn producers. Where the vast majority of all corn producers lie here in the Midwestern states, of course. See anther big set back with ethanol is that you can not pipe it; like you can with oil, so it's very difficult to ship ethanol long distances, with any cost effectiveness. So who winds up getting stuck 1st with these mandates kicking in? Of course your Midwestern states which are close to the ethanol sources, and don't require it to be transported very far.

A good way to increase fuel millage was to go to a a gas station which actually sold 100% gasoline, and not ones which dilute it with that ethanol garbage. Which is, of course, a much less efficient fuel, and cuts down on your miles per gallon. Unfortunately there are no longer any stations around here that are not corrupted by that crap. The Mobile station on Milton Ave, by the old taco bell, use to have it. They even had a big sign out front that said NO ethanol, 100% gasoline. That was the absolute best advertising I have seen in my life. That was the only place I would go to fill up. Now they to have went to the 10% ethanol crap. I talked to the middle eastern guy who runs the station, and he said they could no longer get it from any of their suppliers. This is due to the federal mandates which are requiring more and more of this junk to be used every year.
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So if you know any place that sells pure gas, that's my fuel saving tip for the day. My car now gets about 2 miles per gallon less now that I am forced to use corrupted fuel, compliments of uncle same.

I think it’s time we bring the jobs here so people don’t have to commute. There is no reason that Janesville couldn’t become a place to live and work for everyone. The city has good schools, good housing, and good recreational activities. Moreover, Janesville has an excellent location and isn’t land locked. Unfortunately, but also favoring us, we also have lots of people who are looking for work and would relish a new opportunity. We need leadership that will work to give Janesville a theme that will sell itself well to employers looking for a good location. A new website specifically touting our business parks, railway system, and easy highway access. We need a marketing team that can put together a knock out presentation that could be used at various corporate headquarters across the country. In addition, we need optimistic sales men and women on a team that can travel to growing corporations and represent us well. However, in order to accomplish this goal, we need to put aside short term gains and invest in our future. This may mean cutting cost or redirecting money. As a result, our long term prosperity will allow us to get back to improving our parks, bike trails, and other recreational activities once we’ve accomplished our goals. In the end we could be an even stronger city than before, but this can never happen if we continue waiting for opportunity to knock on our door. We need to knock on opportunities door and bring it here to Janesville and all of Rock County. I know it’s not an easy task, but with a bit of optimism, the right people, and a bit of luck it could happen.

Janesville has been above the national unemployment rate since 05 not just recently. You must also consider what profession people work in. Not everyone works in manufacturing.

http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.wi_janesville...

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost

jade, that spike in unemployment is very recent, too much to really affect commuting numbers. Until recently we had unusually low unemployment.
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Most of the commuters have actually been people looking for lower-priced housing or quality of life versus living in a bigger city like Madison. (Or conversely better pay, like ilovehockey.)
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Ultimately so much of the US has been built around "car culture" with strip malls, parking lots the size of whole villages, strict residential zoning with no stores in walking distance, and too little density for mass transit. We are overbuilt with mile upon mile of suburban development even as our central cities have emptied. The solution is going to be years in the undoing, but we will have to rebuild around trains and busses as options, or face enormous transportation bills as a society.
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The website Walkscore.com will give you a rating based on where you live for how many services are in walking distance. Downtown Janesville does rate reasonably well (high 80s). The score for the Cotton Mill Apartments, for example, is 88 out of 100.
http://tinyurl.com/5vymo7

In response to what to do if you have to pickup your sick child, the state vanpool program allows you to take a free cab home for emergencies, which I would hope include a sick child. Although I doubt anyone commuting to Madison from Janesville has had to excercise that option, because you can always hop on a Van Galder bus back home and be within a 5 minute walk of where your car is parked.

My friend and I commute together to work nearly every day (about 40 minutes a day). We have a regular but flexible schedule of who drives when. There are times when one must wait for the other. There are times when we drive each other absolutely crazy. It takes a strong commitment on both of our parts in order to do so but the money we save and the wear and tear on our cars has been worth it.

I have been commuting between Janesville and Madison for almost 18 years now. There is no way I would make the same pay in Janesville, but I certainly can't afford to live in Madison. The housing is so much cheaper, and I like the schools better.

However, when you have kids, ridesharing is not always the best option. What do you do when the school calls because your child is sick, or just fell and hurt themselves? For this reason, I drive my own car. But most the time, I like the drive, it's a good downtime. I can organize all the things I want to do that day on the way in, and forget about work on the way home.

I prefer the interstate. The problem with 14 is only the 2 lanes. My luck, I get stuck behind the tractor or the school bus. Although on the interstate, I get the "out of state" drivers!

I am one of those people too who commute almost an hour to work (two hours both ways) five days a week. I used to live in Janesville and work in Elkhorn, but I have since moved to the Milwaukee suburbs and still work in Elkhorn. Gas is a challenge sometimes (gas just jumped 20 cents over where I live for no reason) but I make do. Must like the last person said and the article posted a few days ago, I work outside of Rock County because there were no jobs in the Janesville area for me when I was looking for a decent paying job. I cringe every time I fill up my tank, but my job pays me more than I could find elsewhere, so until I get the education I need to take me further, I'll just continue to find ways to make ends meet.

I don't think Gina read the article about Janesville being one of the areas hardest hit with unemployment. That article explains why people commute - there are no jobs in the area.

The Janesville to Madison options have different plusses and minuses.
The interstate will most likely be fastest, unless it is on a Friday afternoon and you have all the vacation traffic.
But is fastest best?
You would most likely save on Gas by setting your cruse on Hy 14 to 55 rather than going 65+ on the interstate. Give yourself more time and save the gas.
Now on the other hand I do what I can to avoid Hy14 during peek times because of all the folks who don’t give themselves the extra time. The stretch of road between Evansville and Oregon is a very dangerous section of Highway. It is not uncommon for someone to try and pass 3 cars in a no passing zone out there
So for me, take the interstate at peak times except Fridays, Take 14 with my Lights on all other times with cruse control on to same Gas, also plenty of cops between Janesville and Evansville.

As for quickest from Janesville to Madison, it depends on where you go to/from. From the corner of Hwy 26 and Hwy 14 in Janesville, to downtown/campus Madison, it's definetely faster to take the interstate, by 10 minutes or more. You don't have to take the beltline all the way to Park either, but get off on John Nolan and take Olin (or several other streets) left to meet up with Park St. later on. Only if there's a major accident or lane closures on I-90 would it be faster to take Hwy 14 from these start/stop locations.

kio, I'm one that commutes an hour each way (2 hours a day). As for how I can stand it, it's because I ride a van so I can read (or sleep). If I had to drive the whole way I would consider it wasted time, but as it is I actually like having the free time to catch up on reading. My actual driving time to get to the van is only 15-20 minutes. So riding the van makes it tolerable, but if you want to know why I chose to commute at all, it's because I could not afford to live in Madison, or any area between Madison and Janesville, or even Janesville itself (I'm in the country south of Afton). If I could I would much rather live in the country somewhere between Madison and Janesville, but I just can't afford it. And yes, I am factoring in commuting costs, and it is still FAR cheaper for me to live where I am.

Gina:
Just don't be late for volleyball! haha
I don't know how anyone can stand commuting more then 20 minutes. I know a lot of friends in big cities, and it takes them 2 hours or better just to get to work. That would be totally insane. I personally am about a mile from where I work, and many times I do walk, or ride my bike. When I was in college, I commuted between Madison (for school), Janesville (for home) and Delavan (for work). That added up the miles fast, but it was an easy drive most of the time, and fuel was below $2.00 a gallon. I don't know how people can stand driving in bumper to bumper traffic, without going crazy! Think of all the time wasted in your life if you did that everyday.
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Its clear that people are starting to cut back on gasoline. Crude oil peaked at around $141 on the NYME, and has since been in retreat. Today it closed at around $123 a barrel. The prime reason for this is because people are starting to cut back now, all around the world. In theory the prices should begin to come down (there is normally a week or so lag time between the price on the NYME and what you will pay at the pump), but your still looking at $3.00-$3.50, and I don't believe you will ever see gasoline below $3.00 ever again, especially the way it's being consumed in developing nations now. Problems in the middle east, and namely Iran, could spike oil prices in an instant if there is any sort of major turmoil.