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Everthing Auto Blog On The Road: Cheap Gas In Georgia (Not!)

Posted on July 7, 2008
Filed Under On The Road, Sedans |

I can’t get this image out of my mind, so I might as well share it. Last April, while test-driving a 2008 Kia Optima (the Korean manufacturer’s midsize sedan), I came across this gas sign while reporting on the Tour de Georgia bicycle race.

My travel for the day was largely back roads from Suwanee to Dahlonega, the end of the race’s longest stage, 133 miles.

Farmlands with twisting single-lane roads featured ideal scenery — abandoned, weather-beaten barns, rusted farm equipment, country stores with advertising signs offering boiled peanuts.

About 15 miles from the finish, I drove through an intersection and right past a small gas station that prompted a double take. About a mile down the road, I turned around to further investigate what appeared to be phenomenally low gas prices.

And, of course, it was too good to be true. The building was vacant, with a large, front window revealing a trashed interior. The gas pump cords were slashed, and yet the gas price signs of yesteryear remained. No one was around to ask whether the Thomas’ Deer Cooler, also advertised, is still open for business.

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