Q: Why do gas prices end in 9/10 of a cent?

A: This is good timing for this question. With the cost of gas these days, every cent - or 9/10 of a cent - counts.

I've often wondered what would happen if I actually cut out a chunk of a penny, so that 9/10 of it were left, and tried to pay for that final 9/10 with it. Somehow, I get the feeling that wouldn't work.

Anyway, from asking and searching around, the only reason I've heard for the 9/10 price is the old marketing ploy of making the price as close to the next number up as possible.

You see it all the time in retail. Items are priced at, say, $6.99 instead of $7. I've even seen new automobiles priced at $19,999, as though we're supposed to think, "Hey, it's less than $20,000. What a bargain!"

Then again, it must work, because it seems like it's been done in the business world for about 100 years - or perhaps I should say 99.9 years.

I did find one interesting item, from a Conjecture Corp. Web site called www.wisegeek.com.

It gave February 2007 figures provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. According to those figures, prime suppliers of gas sold 372,833.5 thousand barrels that month. Each barrel is 42 gallons.

According to calculations from the site, that means the extra 9/10 of a cent per gallon brought in an additional $141 million that month. That amounts to nearly $1.7 billion in additional money for the year that someone is getting. I'm not sure who that "somebody" is, but I get a sinking feeling it's not the consumer. I guess this week, you can call me "Easy Rider" Bernie, because here's another vehicle-related question:

Q: All my life, I'd heard that putting sugar in someone's gas tank will wreck an engine, but someone recently told me that isn't true. Is it true?

A: I'm borrowing the answer provided by two of my favorite radio personalities: Tom and Ray Magliozzi, who have the nationally syndicated show "Car Talk."

I found on their Web site that they have been asked this question (by a wife who had poured sugar in her husband's tank in a fit of anger, nonetheless).

Here's what they say, in a nutshell: The theory is that sugar will get thick and gooey like caramel in the engine, thus ruining it and requiring a complete overhaul.

They point out, however, the sugar wouldn't reach the engine, because filters between the tank and engine would stop it.

In fact, there's a "sock" at the end of the tank's pickup tube that stops it, and a fuel filter that does the same thing.

So, if someone pours sugar in your tank, Tom and Ray say it'll plug the fuel filter, so you may have to replace the filter several times, depending on how much sugar is dumped in the tank.

You also should have the gas tank removed and cleaned out. They say you should get it done by a professional mechanic, and it'll cost about $100 to $200.

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