Firebug has done a pretty awesome job of breaking down the reason why gasoline is not comparable to other common things we buy in the 'competitive' sense.
I'd like to chip in that the way that gas stations actually make money is by selling confectionary items and sundries. That they have to sell gas to get you in their store is just a fact of life for them.
The competition in the gas industry is not on the price of gas (like I said, read a couple of Firebug's posts to understand why), but rather points and rewards programs. So now we see grocery (and large box) stores taking over the gasoline retail business. They can entice you with saving $$ on gas, but what they give you is a coupon to spend in their store.
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