I drove across Michigan the last weekends from southeast to west and back. Both times, I was struck by how much gas varies from one area to the next.

Both weekends I saw gas below $4 a gallon and above $4.20. Why?

Station owners always say that they have no control over such things and their profit margin is pennies per gallon. If that is true, either the companies who sell the wholesale gas are charging different prices, or some of these stations are making more than a few cents of profit, and some of them must be losing money.

Competition seems to play a part in low prices (usually a new station) or the lack thereof (the only other station closing) seems to play a part in high prices.

Another seems to be being in a key spot near a busy highway. I rarely see cheap gas out in the middle of nowhere.