Having lived in Madison, it was interesting seeing all the old hippies I left behind...... I guess they were all in cold storage and they were thawed out just for this bit O BS I got out in '79, HATE SNOW & COLD!!!
I remember ~1970, gas being about $0.35 a gallon. My mom would fill up her VW for less than $5. The pump was analog. There was a BIG set of numbers on top (Dollars and cents) and a smaller set of numbers on the bottom (Gallons). The smaller numbers used to cycle around so much faster than the big numbers (about 3x as fast). I also remember gas prices "shooting" up to 60 - 70 cents per gallon during the Carter Admin. Up to a dollar a gallon around 1979.
Actual inflation-adjusted data are shown here: Inflation adjusted Gasoline Price Chart When all external costs are considered the use of gasoline has never been cheap, but the pump price was ridiculously low in the 1990s. Today in the UK it's more than $8 per gallon. So it will be in the US in a little while.
You found me out. I am from the future. And here's what it's like: Fall 2011 gas prices are cheap because oil is $14/barrel. Charlie Sheen has been elected president in an emergency session of Congress with an 88% popularity rating across the US. Later this year when the Prius PHV comes out Toyota will shock the world with selling it for $800 and still make money on it.
Back in 1943 I filled up my $15 - 1931 Chev for 8 cents per gallon. However, since WWII was in progress you had to have a government coupon to get rationed 4 gallons, so being 16 y.o. H.S. guys we often stretched it with stove naptha. This made it sound like a pop corn popper. Back then a dollar was worth 100 cents, not 2 cents like now. That was before Trickie Dickie took us off of the gold standard.