Bum's Bluff

Minimum Markup Mayhem

Broken Record Blogger here -- bringing yet another tidbit of mis-information on the Minimum Markup Law skirmish.

The latest has the petroleum whosesaler/retailers giving out two new arguments:

Doyle's move is a campaign stunt. If so, then someone should alert Mark Green since he already announced his support of the move. Why isn't he being taken to task for his statements as well?

Now we also find out that this will mean us stupid car owners are going to try putting E85 into our tanks and ruin our engines in an effort to pay less at the pumps. First off there are only 35 E85 pumps in the state. Second off, while many of us are stupid, we aren't dumb!

Anyone else old enough to remember the dreaded switch from leaded to unleaded gasoline and all the fears of people putting the wrong gas in their tanks? The fear went away when the industry simply made the unleaded tanks require thinner gas nozzles. Why wouldn't Ford and GM (and any other auto maker producing E85 engines) do the same? Or perhaps a sign reading, "Hey Dummy - don't put this gas in your car unless you have an E85 ready engine!"

Maybe it's time the petroleum wholesaler/retailers began sharing their real fears. Are they concerned about a new product (E85) that stations will be competing for? Or is just change itself that scares them?

posted by Walton @ 10:41 AM