Gas $4 this summer

[REWahoo]

Too many people.

What we need is...

...a visit from these guys:

 

[travelover]

What we need is a fast jump in prices to get people to drive less. Otherwise they just get used to it.

People have gotten used to ridiculous traffic jams. If you live in the boonies for a while and then go back to a population center, you think "WTF, people do this every day? It's not possible.". Too many people.

+1. I live in the ex-burbs and have mostly light traffic anyway, but mitigate that with my retiree driving schedule. Urban traffic is insane.

 

[scrabbler1]

We have already seen back in the summer of 2008 the effect of a sharp increase in gas prices. Sales of SUVs and other gas-guzzlers dropped which made driving around a little easier for a few months.

But Rescueme raised another good point. Sharp increases in the price of gas do not compare to the shortages back in the 1970s which resulted in gas lines. Having to wait 30-60 minutes on line to buy gas (whose price was already rising quickly in that decade) was a much bigger hardship and far more disruptive to everyday life than just paying more for plentiful gas today.

I buy gas every 3-4 weeks and from my local gas station who already charges more than $4 a gallon (he is my mechanic, and lets me get free air from his non-free pump which offsets the gas price). I drive very little in my car which gets about 27 mpg so even a $1 per-gallon increase would cost me maybe $10 a month, nothing for me to get excited about.

 

[rescueme]

...to get people to drive less.

IOW, retire?

 

[haha]

What we need is a fast jump in prices to get people to drive less. Otherwise they just get used to it.

People have gotten used to ridiculous traffic jams. If you live in the boonies for a while and then go back to a population center, you think "WTF, people do this every day? It's not possible.". Too many people.

The worst traffic I ever see is in rapidly growing semi-rural trading centers. I took a buddy who has a disability and can't drive up Mt Vernon. Ye gods, College Way is almost impassable. When I visit my GF on Friday afternoon I have an easy light traffic drive to the Freeway, where northbound traffic may be heavy or light but always moving. Then I exit onto the mess that runs along the north of a regional shopping center. Sometimes I just prefer to take a bus, even though the trip home will take me a while and I'll have to stand at less than lovely spots either in the U District or Downtown.

My visually disabled friend has a steady GF from Skagit County. They visit one another 2x/month-trading who goes and who hosts. She drives when she comes down, and can park in his garage since he has no car. He lives just off Broodway and she considers their weekends together a chance to broaden her horizons taking in the freakshow on Broadway. He learns about cows and silage and stuff that he never heard of when he goes up there and they visit her family and local friends. He takes the 'Hound and she picks him up and delivers him back on Sunday evening. Then from the Downtown station he can walk up the hill to his building.

To briefly return to topic he says that he never sees the traffic downtown or on Capitol Hill that he experiences up there in Skagit Co.

One exeption in my mind is I-5 south from about Northgate on until you clear at least the airport is a mess at least 12/24 of the available hours. I can't fathom where all the people are coming from or going.

Ha

 

[Nords]

... you think "WTF, people do this every day? It's not possible.". Too many people.

I feel like that whenever I'm accidentally on the road during rush hour.

I'm contemplating cutting back on some activities that would involve risking rush hours.

(he is my mechanic, and lets me get free air from his non-free pump which offsets the gas price).

Free air offsets the gas price? How much air does your car use?!? Or how little gas does it use?

 

[scrabbler1]

I use the air pump every other visit which is about once every 6-7 weeks. Usually one or two tires need some air. The pump costs 75 cents so if he is charging 7-8 cents per gallon more than other stations (none of which are as conveniently located as his), then the breakeven point is 10 gallons which is about what I buy per visit. So the free air offsets half the overall cost (not the total cost, if I implied that).

 

[easysurfer]

Every time I hear of skyrocketing gas prices, I can't help but search about gas efficient cars. The latest one I have an interest in is the new Toyota Prius C.

2012 Toyota Prius C [w/video]

Not that I'm about to buy yet, but it doesn't hurt to stay informed.

 

[easysurfer]

I use the air pump every other visit which is about once every 6-7 weeks. Usually one or two tires need some air. The pump costs 75 cents so if he is charging 7-8 cents per gallon more than other stations (none of which are as conveniently located as his), then the breakeven point is 10 gallons which is about what I buy per visit. So the free air offsets half the overall cost (not the total cost, if I implied that).

I prefer to just top off the air with a portable inflator.

The one I use is a Craftsman which is both cordless (don't like having to use the 12V cords) and easy to handle. The chuck on my inflator actually broke, but I fixed it a few months ago and now works even better.

 

[haha]

Count me in as one more who thinks gas is way too cheap.

And I don't see why $6/gallon would really cause any change...

It is pretty well established that at a certain gasoline price threshold the US economy struggles at best. All the allegedly smarter European governments with very hefty gaoline taxes are much more geographically compact than the US, and have well established public transportation. In our country, when gasoline costs go up, so do welfare, food stamp and unemployment costs. The working poor are most damaged, as mom and dad need to get to a job that is often far off, sometimes with split shifts, in old cars.

The well to do who are still working mostly have newer cars, live near work and services, and really don't notice gasoline price changes other than as a topic of conversation.

The welfare poor have nowhere they have to go. The government services they use migrate to their neighborhoods.

Ha

 

[Midpack]

Every time I hear of skyrocketing gas prices, I can't help but search about gas efficient cars. The latest one I have an interest in is the new Toyota Prius C.

2012 Toyota Prius C [w/video]

Not that I'm about to buy yet, but it doesn't hurt to stay informed.

I've been about to buy a Prius for many years, seem to have the "one more year syndrome" on that front. If my 2003 Honda would just have a catastrophic breakdown, that's all it would take...

 

[Nords]

Every time I hear of skyrocketing gas prices, I can't help but search about gas efficient cars. The latest one I have an interest in is the new Toyota Prius C.
2012 Toyota Prius C [w/video]
Not that I'm about to buy yet, but it doesn't hurt to stay informed.

You can keep an eye on it at PriusChat.com, too. The engineers there are quick to give an unbiased estimate.

I use the air pump every other visit which is about once every 6-7 weeks. Usually one or two tires need some air.

Yikes.

I put air in my tires once or twice a year. You appear to have leakage issues.

 

[BigNick]

That hollow, distant laughter you can here is your European friends, all of whom would crawl over broken glass to be allowed to pay $4, or indeed $6, for a gallon of gas. Today in Germany, I saw some kind of super-mega-premium grade - which, to be fair, you'd have to be an idiot to put in your car anyway, not least because you'd need an idiot's car *cough* Porsche Cayenne *cough* to want to - at $9.50 per US gallon. Regular gas is still bumping along around the $8 mark here.

 

[Chuckanut]

The price of gasoline includes a lot more than the pump price. Think of some of the oil rich parts of the world. The price is often paid in blood, not just dollars, euros, yen, etc. It is in our own best interest to use oil products prudently, find domestic resources, and, ultimately, develop alternatives to oil. My 2 cents.

 

[Midpack]

That hollow, distant laughter you can here is your European friends, all of whom would crawl over broken glass to be allowed to pay $4, or indeed $6, for a gallon of gas. Today in Germany, I saw some kind of super-mega-premium grade - which, to be fair, you'd have to be an idiot to put in your car anyway, not least because you'd need an idiot's car *cough* Porsche Cayenne *cough* to want to - at $9.50 per US gallon. Regular gas is still bumping along around the $8 mark here.

Crawl over broken glass to talk to their elected officials. Predictable correlation with consumption as expected...

 

[scrabbler1]

Yikes.

I put air in my tires once or twice a year. You appear to have leakage issues.

I disagree.

How often should the tire pressure be checked? - Tire Gauge China Factory, Rising

Most of the time, I add 2-3 psi to one or two tires tops. I had one tire fixed a few months ago which was actually leaking air (10 psi in 2 days).

You should check your tires more often.

 

[easysurfer]

I've been about to buy a Prius for many years, seem to have the "one more year syndrome" on that front. If my 2003 Honda would just have a catastrophic breakdown, that's all it would take...

From what I've read thus far, the only negative which I see on the Prius C is it's small gas tank size (only 9 gallons). Of course at 50mpg, that's still 450 miles before a fill up.

 

[easysurfer]

You can keep an eye on it at PriusChat.com, too. The engineers there are quick to give an unbiased estimate.

Thanks. I'll have to give that site a visit.

 

[Midpack]

From what I've read thus far, the only negative which I see on the Prius C is it's small gas tank size (only 9 gallons). Of course at 50mpg, that's still 450 miles before a fill up.

From what I've seen, the c will have essentially the same mileage as the regular Prius. I'd rather have the extra space. Evidently the c will cost quite a bit less, but about the same mpg.

 

[easysurfer]

From what I've seen, the c will have essentially the same mileage as the regular Prius. I'd rather have the extra space. Evidently the c will cost quite a bit less, but about the same mpg.

I went over to Priuschat.com as Nords suggested (thx Nords), there's plenty on the Prius C there. One article which seems to indicate that the 53mpg estimate is conservative and the actual mpg is closer to 60.

2012 Toyota Prius c Review - The Affordable 60 MPG* Monster | PriusChat

 

[mountaintosea]

Yeah price already 4/gal. in So Cal for unleaded regular.

 

[Koolau]

If high mileage is a goal then a Honda 250cc motorcycle is a viable choice. A guy at work has one and in an effort to get 100 mpg with it he did get 99.5 mpg stock, no modifications. Close enough. They're popular worldwide for that reason.

Like last time though, motorcycle sales will soar.

100 mpg IS a remarkable feat. My old cars get 25 mpg. They weigh 10 times as much as the Honda 250 and carry 5 times the passengers (and heaven knows how much more cargo.) Additionally, they have some intrinsic additional safety not to mention creature comforts and climate control. Not at all saying MCs don't have a place in this discussion of $4 gas, but for the amount of fuel used per mile, the car has a lot more utility IMO. The real issues with cars is using them for a single occupant. In this mode, most cars lose out (fuel-mileage wise) to almost any 2 wheeler. But, I guess my point is that the savings of a MC is not all that dramatic when you consider all the other factors besides fuel used per vehicle mile. For the difference in size/weight, one might expect a lot higher mileage for the MC. YMMV

Been fascinated lately by the electric scooters now available. No idea how reliable they are nor what the maintenance costs would be. Still, for roughly $.01 to $0.02 per mile of electricity, it would seem like a good neighborhood "cruiser". If I put a couple of baskets on one, I could do 80% of my shopping. The trick is not to get run over by an SUV or bus. The driver of the other vehicle would probably never know he hit anyone and only assume he had hit a chuck hole.

 

[NW-Bound]

...The trick is not to get run over by an SUV or bus. The driver of the other vehicle would probably never know he hit anyone and only assume he had hit a chuck hole.

That's the whole g*******ed problem with riding a two-wheeler in the US!

In other countries, the drivers know to look out for the cyclists. We have been to Barcelona, and there were a lot of scooters in the streets.

But the ultimate test of your motorcycle riding skills would be in an Oriental city!

 

[TromboneAl]

I use the air pump every other visit which is about once every 6-7 weeks. Usually one or two tires need some air. The pump costs 75 cents so if he is charging 7-8 cents per gallon more than other stations (none of which are as conveniently located as his), then the breakeven point is 10 gallons which is about what I buy per visit. So the free air offsets half the overall cost (not the total cost, if I implied that).

Here in California, if you buy any gas they have to give you free air. So, note that you can buy $1 worth of gas, and get free air, which is what I do if I'm stuck somewhere that doesn't have free air.

 

[REWahoo]

Here in California, if you buy any gas they have to give you free air.

We have something similar here...