Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Ask CNN: Why Do Americans Pay For Gasoline in Dollars, Cents and Nine-Tenths of a Cent?

Aired August 21, 2001 - 07:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: John Rovenault from Columbus, Ohio asks: Why do Americans pay for gallons of gasoline in dollars, cents and nine- tenths of a cent?

CLARK HOWARD, SYNDICATED CONSUMER ADVOCATE: John, is that the funniest thing? I mean what other product would be as silly as gasoline where it always ends at 151.9 or 138.9? And it's just an old-fashioned marketing thing that really never went away.

But I will tell you a little bit of trivia that you probably didn't want to know. Back when the first energy crisis happened in 1973, the pumps weren't set up to charge more than a dollar a gallon. And in most places in the country, we didn't have .9 gasoline for about a year and a half until all the pumps were refitted. And there were these charts where you had to figure out how much you were actually having to pay for gas that were at the pump.

So the idea of the 0.9, it's just some clever person's marketing, just like when you go to a store and things are $9.99 or $9.95 or anything like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com