The Houston Chronicle

Regular is premium enough: A consumer group in California is proposing that only regular gasoline be sold to help deal with the state’s chronic gasoline price increases, the Los Angeles Times reported this week.

By going to a single grade with an octane rating of 87 or 88, storage space would be freed up for the state to employ a publicly owned strategic fuel reserve to cushion against

higher prices, the newspaper said, citing a study by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

But Steve Mazor, chief auto engineer for the Automobile Club of Southern California, said a government reserve system could actually worsen inventory levels.