Noticing that customers are paying more attention to prices, and even comparison shopping, gas station operators have begun to accord the signs increased importance. No longer do they tend their cash registers with blithe unconcern, when the fellow just across the street is selling regular for three cents less. Now, they watch the adjustments on each other's signs with hawk-sharp eyes and run right out to match each other penny for penny.

But what about the station that's not just across the street? Such a situation requires even greater consumer alertness, so price comparisons can be made even while not shopping for gasoline.

After all, three cents a gallon for twenty gallons comes out to be sixty cents. And with that kind of savings, Americans reason they have increased their buying power markedly, especially given the entirely reasonable prices of just about everything in contemporary America.