Gas Prices.........

[Independent]

Personally, in our ever-litigious society, I worry more about people on the road who choose economy over safety and drive those tiny cheap-to-operate cars, knowing they can't see over the countless SUV's, pickup trucks, and minivans. Little ecobox cars are difficult to see in traffic, "creating a hazard from their mere size and presence"..i.e. the eco-warrior trying to force a Smart Car struggling to do 45MPH on the ramp into freeway traffic that is doing 75 MPH... being blown willy-nilly from one lane to the other by every passing semi truck, white-knuckled driver and wide-eyed passenger undoubtedly scared sh*tless in traffic... but, hey, they're saving [-]the planet[/-] money!

Also cannot understand the angst when the DOT-compliant OEM headlights on my pickup truck "blind you at night, on the low-beam setting", since admittedly you know it will be a problem for you when you venture out in your little ecobox at night. Do you think that by choosing to drive a small car you should expect special accommodations from everyone else, ie the outdoor enthusiasts, contractors, and soccer moms, et al, driving their vehicles of choice??)

I suppose we'd all be safer if we all drove vehicles that were 6 feet tall and weighing more than 5,500 pounds. Or, we'd all be safer if we all drove vehicles less than 5 feet tall and weighing less than 3,500 pounds.

Given the topic of the thread, I'd prefer the second option. Like Scrabbler, if higher gas prices cause a shift in that direction, I won't be crying.

 

[TromboneAl]

Despite having to drive over 15,000 miles per year (but getting 38 MPG), I enjoy seeing alternative fuels/technologies becoming relatively cheaper.

If prices stay the same (we paid $4.19/gal recently) we'll spend about $1,600 on gas next year.

 

[mickeyd]

When I was w*orking I used to fill up a couple of times a week. Now that I'm ERd, I now fill up occasionally, maybe monthly or so. This causes mixed emotions for me. I am pissed that I have to pay $3.50+/gallon now, but happy that I am not filling up as often as I used to.

I believe that the pissed mood overrides the happy mood.

 

[DAYDREAMER]

I may have to get my Electric bike working again. .001$ per Mile, and was fun to ride. Hope my Lithiom Ion batteries are still in good shape. Use to ride 72 miles/day to and from work.

 

[dgoldenz]

A home office certainly has its benefits...if I had to pay $4.20/gallon for premium and getting 15 mpg driving to work an hour each way like most people around here, I'd quit my job. Unless you are making $100k+, between the long drive/stop and go traffic, the wear and tear on the car, and the gas cost, it's not worth it. I'd be going through 2-3 tanks a week at that rate at $65 a pop.

 

[Orchidflower]

Gas has been $4.99 a gallon in my neck of the woods for several weeks now, so we've cut back. .

OMG, what city are you in? That is just ridiculously pricey...whew.
What's going to happen to your prices when Phoenix here hits $5? You will be like what? $6.50 a gallon then?

 

[FIREd]

I haven't changed anything in response to higher gas prices. Since I retired, I drive half as much as before anyways and DW's car spends more time in the garage than on the road, so we don't consume a lot of gas to start with.

 

[rescueme]

I haven't changed anything in response to higher gas prices. Since I retired, I drive half as much as before...

Same here. The only problem I do see (as a retiree) is the increase in purchased products due to increased transport costs for the manufacturer/distributor.

That will drive up my personal rate of inflation for the products I actually buy.

 

[ls99]

Pump prices will tumble soon.


Oil price tumbles on supplies and Goldman pullback - Yahoo! Finance=

 

[glippy]

Ran across this old bit of US propaganda from WWII

Imagine if we did that today. "When you ride in an empty SUV you ride with Al Qaeda!"

 

[easysurfer]

No need to imagine.

Amazon.com: When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism (9781893224742): Bill Maher: Books

This must have been based on that AD. They are too similar to not be.

 

[kumquat]

Why is that as soon as Hitler is mentioned in a thread, a pig video is next?

 

[easysurfer]

Wasn't intended to bring on the pig. Was merely to illustrate history in advertising .. interesting.. the deja vu about a call for car pooling back then and more recently

 

[Zathras]

Pump prices will tumble soon.


Oil price tumbles on supplies and Goldman pullback - Yahoo! Finance=

Of course they will, always do. However, they also will climb again. And each time they go down, they don't go down as far, and yet when they spike, they seem to spike higher each time.

There isn't nearly as much screaming going on as we start to hit $4/gallon as there was last time.

 

[TromboneAl]

One peak oil prediction is wild oil price fluctuations.

 

[Amethyst]

One SIL, a recently retired nurse, calls it a "donorcycle".

I used to work with two guys who were always twitting each other. One was a motorcycle enthusiast who taught motorcycle safety classes, etc. He put a bumper sticker on his desk that read "Look for Motorcyclists." The other wag wrote just underneath, "Then Run Over Them."

Why is that as soon as Hitler is mentioned in a thread, a pig video is next?

I know, it's just not fair! Everybody needs a good Hitler thread now and then!

A.

 

[Zoocat]

Yes, I'm becoming more conscious of the many small errands I do throughout the week. I'm going to start taking the bus more since I have a pass. It's inconvenient but I think gas prices are probably going to stay high and go higher eventually, so I might as well get used to using other kinds of transportation. I might get a bike this summer too.

Also, I have read that rising gas prices are a result of the devaluing of our dollar. Since oil is paid for in dollars, the oil producers raise their prices to recapture the same value.

 

[NW-Bound]

In short, they drive like everyone is "out to get them".

But for me, that would take the joy out of it. I like to ride too, but have decided that I would only ride the trails through the forest with my dirt bike.

Which isn't a bad position to take for anyone.

Yes, I am careful and even drive my motor home as if people were "out to get me". The difference, however, is that if one succeeds in "getting me", he is gonna getting hurt more than I do, hopefully.

 

[scrabbler1]

Same here. The only problem I do see (as a retiree) is the increase in purchased products due to increased transport costs for the manufacturer/distributor.

That will drive up my personal rate of inflation for the products I actually buy.

Same here. Even with gas at $4 a gallon, I will spend about $500 a year on it with my car which gets good gas mileage and low miles driven. So even if it goes up 10% to $4.40 a gallon, I would spend $550 a year, barely a blip in my budget.

It is the price increase built into stuff I buy which concerns me more.

 

[HFWR]

I used to work with two guys who were always twitting each other. One was a motorcycle enthusiast who taught motorcycle safety classes, etc. He put a bumper sticker on his desk that read "Look for Motorcyclists." The other wag wrote just underneath, "Then Run Over Them."



I know, it's just not fair! Everybody needs a good Hitler thread now and then!

A.

Your wish is my command...

YouTube - Hitler Rap

 

[Bestwifeever]

Not many people know that Hitler actually had a motorcycle:

YouTube - Hitlers Harley

 

[bbbamI]

Our gas bill should go down some now that DH is done with his RT. We put 1400 miles on the car for his treatments alone.

I don't see us making any changes.

 

[Koolau]

This is an interesting topic. Our two cars are "capable" of 25mpg. each. If I drive, that's about what we get. If DW drives, it's more like 21. She learned to drive in a "kiddy kar" so if she isn't pushing a pedal, she doesn't think she's driving.

Still, we use about 40 gal./month, so the run up from $2.25/gal in 2008 to $4.35/gal in 2011 hasn't changed our lives appreciably. The real problem is the rising cost of all the goods we purchase. Living on an island as we do means virtually everything is imported - using oil to propel the ship (or aircraft). Our local inflation has been dramatic, even though the official US inflation rate has been quite tame (another discussion).

I've always been quite conservative in driving - both number of trips and driving style. I don't know how I could raise our mpg much (other than to do all the driving) and we rarely just get in the car for "fun". Obviously, at some price point, we would simply cut out many trips we now do for convenience.

The folks I feel sorriest for are the families (some I know of) which scatter 3 or 4 drivers daily to different w*rk places, commuting 25+ miles each way. Their family (household) fuel usage could easily exceed 250 gal/month. Since most of their driving is for w*rk, it's less optional than for many people. While we have a good bus system, commuting by bus can double the commute time from 2 hours/day to 4. W*rking isn't optional, so it can become a real problem to w*rking families as fuel prices rise.

 

[TromboneAl]

Our echo gets better mileage at 55 than at 65 mph. Our tacoma doesn't.

 

[Glo]

We're not changing much about our driving habits. I still have a led foot and probably always will.