When I was a kid, let's say it was 1967, my grandad owned an appliance shop that had a gas station next door and one across the street. He'd send me to the one next door to get him a pack of Lucky Strikes for . 25 and gas was . 25, too.
In '79, I was paying @ . 85/gal for gas and . 95 for a pack of Winston Lights.
Here it is 2012 and we're paying @ $4. 00/gal for gas and @ $4. 00 a pack.
I ran into an old timer the other day buying fuel and he told me he owned an excavation company back in the '60's. He was building boat ramps out in the middle of the woods for the Corp of Engineers before they flooded Percy Priest lake. He said he had salesmen hunting him down out in the woods BEGGING him to buy diesel for less than . 10/gal.