Pendejos at Pemex
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Loading ...I just saw what is perhaps the stupidest thing I’ve read in a long time. Apparently, many people from SoCal are driving to Tijuana to fill up their vehicles because of the cheaper, Mexican-government-subsidized Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos) gasoline. Since the government controls the gasoline, Mexicans do not feel the week-to-week spikes driven by speculators and doomsayers (that also conveniently coincide with things like Memorial Day weekend) and enjoy a more stable price that’s based on longer-term, “reality-based” data.
The problem is that although it’s cheaper, Pemex gas sucks. It’s dirty and is, in my experience, at least a third less efficient than American gasoline (measured by mileage on what a fillup gets me on either side). It deposits more gunk in the engine, requiring more oil changes (which comes from, you know, OIL) and filter swaps (plastic = OIL) to make things run comparably. Additives like STP gas treatment to help boost fuel efficiency by raising the volatility of the gasoline in the combustion chamber (organic liquid = OIL) are often added by locals at fill-up at additional cost, negating savings. Since it’s less refined, the combustion of Pemex gas is also horrible for the environment, as any traveler who’s experienced the pollution in Mexico’s large cities can attest.
Away from the pump, you’re going to spend upwards of $2-3 each way crossing the border in tolls, and then you’ll have the random-ass inspection coming in on the Mexican side, combined with the all-too-familiar US Customs agent with a hard-on for being the one to catch an al-Qaeda operative coming in as a roofer (who, by the way, is in my trunk as we speak). I guess these people’s time isn’t worth anything.
I think the only way this could POSSIBLY make a difference is if one was filling up a very large tank or several portable tanks to make the crossing/time factor worthwhile, even with the 33% lowering in efficiency if one is saving at least 33% on the cost of the gas. Perhaps for some, like those that drive around town all day looking for that one filling station that has the gas at $3.87 instead of everyone else’s $3.89, it’s all about the satisfaction of proving …. something.
As pump attendants [in Mexico, you don't pump your own gas by law] struggled to keep up with dozens of vehicles lining up for fuel, U.S. and Mexican drivers traded insults. A few even brawled as they waited for hours in searing heat this week in the rough border city of Tijuana.
“I am not budging until I get to the pump. I don’t care what anyone says, I’ve been waiting for two hours,” said Jaime Rosales from Southern California, at a gas station where buses, trucks and cars all vied to get to the pumps.
Talk about asking for an ass-kicking. The article talks about border town violence like it’s everywhere–it’s not. But don’t think for one second you just might be pissing off the wrong person. In Mexico, the American is the foreigner, and too many cross over and think just because the USA is a few miles away that “someone has their back.” Um, no. I hope the gas was worth it for them, because the time it took for the average vehicle owner to go, wait, brawl, wait, fill up, wait and come back, I actually got something done without wasting any gas.
In the News, Living in Mexico | enrico | 
June 20, 2008 1:14 am
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By Peggikaye, June 20, 2008 @ 12:45 pm
It has never made sense to me to drive any distance to fill up.
My mom used to drive across town to save a few cents.
It just doesn’t make sense … you loose what you save!
In that case … if they are damaging their engine … then it is even worse!