The Go-To Source...

AAA is proud to serve as the "go-to" source on fuel prices for members, the traveling public and media. For more than 30 years, AAA has provided the best available fuel price data, charting price fluctuations through international crises, natural disasters and national emergencies.

Since 2000, AAA has worked to develop more visibility on fuel price data by explaining some of the factors that influence pricing, while emphasizing the importance of fair pricing and responsible energy consumption by consumers. During periods of extreme price volatility and supply disruptions, AAA quickly responds to media inquiries and works to be a calming influence on public opinion, especially concerning effects of high gas prices on travel and warning against potential price-gouging.

Whether you're looking for local gas price information or fuel conservation tips, AAA can help through resources such as the Daily Fuel Gauge Report - the most comprehensive retail gasoline survey available - and AAA's Top Ten Gas-Saving Tips.

History

The birth of AAA in 1902 came barely a year after the world's first major oil gusher, near Beaumont, Texas, drove the price of oil below 5 cents a barrel and pretty much settled what form of energy would propel the newfangled automobile all the way into the 21st century.

Up until the 1920s, most motorists purchased fuel from lumberyards, coal merchants and hardware stores, which kept it in unmarked cans under the counter. Fuel availability and pricing became recurring issues for AAA over the next century. In 1918, AAA campaigned against a 2-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax and fought rising gas prices throughout the early 1920s, charging industry manipulation. During World War II, AAA helped monitor gas rationing.

The spectra of fuel shortages reemerged in the 1970s with the OPEC oil embargo. AAA called on government and industry to make every effort to find and develop new sources of energy and keep the supply flowing without artificial restraints. Motorists also would do their part, helped in part by AAA's new "Gas Watchers" nationwide fuel conservation program in 1974.

Fast-forward to 2002. AAA and the U.S. Department of Energy announce a joint effort to educate the American public on fuel conservation, agreeing to share and release gas-price information quickly to the media to prevent panic buying or opportunistic pricing in the event of a perceived or real threat to national security.