Gas Prices.........

[Texas Proud]

I drive 18,000 miles or so a year, DW only 10,000. So that's why I have the 4 banger and give her the 2 ton terror (minivan) to drive..........

Europe has loads of diesel and other high mileage cars, yet most of them never see the US shores, that's a shame.........

There is a downside to diesels.... (maybe it is not as bad today... but it was bad 10 years ago).... the soot.... when I was living in London I would get a lot of black soot in my nose... you could see it when you blew your nose!!! Mabye it was something else... but I did see it in a lot of other countires in Europe...

 

[HFWR]

Switch to Tea... I hear they like to party....

Only if it's Texas Tea!

 

[FinanceDude]

There is a downside to diesels.... (maybe it is not as bad today... but it was bad 10 years ago).... the soot.... when I was living in London I would get a lot of black soot in my nose... you could see it when you blew your nose!!! Mabye it was something else... but I did see it in a lot of other countires in Europe...

The new diesels are low sulfur, not much black smoke at all anymore..........

 

[FinanceDude]

Only if it's Texas Tea!

You drink oil? Sounds serious! (Cue Beverly Hillbillies theme song)

 

[HFWR]

You drink oil? Sounds serious! (Cue Beverly Hillbillies theme song)

I'm thinking something along these lines:

"a mixed drink made primarily of a high concentration of alcoholic ingredients, without any actual iced tea."

 

[ls99]

The problem with what you present is "the minimum stopping distance for an automobile is determined by the effective coefficient of friction between the tires and the road." You seem to think that this friction is the same for all vehicles...


If you look at the stopping distance of most trucks/SUVs they are a bit longer than a sports car.... and almost all 18 wheelers take a lot longer to stop... sure, you can have more tires or wider tires etc. so a truck can stop quicker... but most do not...

Yes, coefficient of friction is the same for all vehicles. Learned that in EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator's Class). It was beaten into us by the Court Certified Accident reconstruction expert PA State Police instructor.

And demonstrated with various tire segments on a variety of pavements.

Now if the vehicle, say a tractor trailer is moving at some speed at the time of using a stationary Prius for a bumping post the mass becomes relevant. The Tractor trailer's non-impact stopping distance remains the same.

For further info see: Engineering Physics for Lawyers. http://www.e-z.net/~ts/physics.htm

 

[Texas Proud]

Yes, coefficient of friction is the same for all vehicles. Learned that in EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator's Class). It was beaten into us by the Court Certified Accident reconstruction expert PA State Police instructor.

And demonstrated with various tire segments on a variety of pavements.

Now if the vehicle, say a tractor trailer is moving at some speed at the time of using a stationary Prius for a bumping post the mass becomes relevant. The Tractor trailer's non-impact stopping distance remains the same.

For further info see: Engineering Physics for Lawyers. accident reconstruction,engineering physics,speeds,distance,energy

Than how do you explain the various stopping distances from all the car mags...

 

[ls99]

Than how do you explain the various stopping distances from all the car mags...

Brake system design and implementation, ie. materials, proportioning, plus ABS variability. Add suspension features such as anti-dive etc..

For more info:

anlysis calculation design of automobile disc brake system PDF Download

 

[albundyz]

We live about 40 miles from the Pacific Ocean. In the past, we would sometimes drive to the coast and have a nice dinner in Ventura Ca.

no more. I feel badly for those restaurants, but I'm not gonna spend $17 in gas to go to dinner.

FWIW, we seriously underestimated the amount of money we spend in retirement TO DRIVE TO OUR HOBBIES. My wife drives 60 miles roundtrip to dance with her girlfriends. I drive 110 miles to play softball. ugh.

we'll give up dinners in Ventura, but not gonna give up our hobbies.

 

[Midpack]

We will drive less I am sure, we certainly did last time gas went over $4/gal. Just stayed home a little more and consolidated trips even more than usual. And my next car will get significantly better mileage, though I'm not going to rush out and buy a car just because...

 

[Walt34]

FWIW, we seriously underestimated the amount of money we spend in retirement TO DRIVE TO OUR HOBBIES. My wife drives 60 miles roundtrip to dance with her girlfriends. I drive 110 miles to play softball. ugh.

We had the same experience. Both of us drive a lot more miles than we used to, especially DW.

All that time that used to be spent at work is now free time and that entails going somewhere. Her next car is going to be something along the lines of a Honda Fit or similar high-mileage car.

The motorcycle does help in the gas mileage department, but it also has higher maintenance requirements partially offsetting that. I'm doing well to get 10k miles out of a $150 tire (they use softer rubber to grip better but wear faster than car tires).

 

[easysurfer]

I've already skipped taking the car out for errands I could put off or skip in an attempt to bunch the errands together another day to make fewer trips.

 

[Dreamer]

I drive 6 miles round trip Mon, Wed and Fri to work. DH is not working. However, we are planning on driving from WV to CA and back in June and July. Our granddaughter is now living in San Diego and we can't wait to see her again. My DH has never been to Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. I hate that gas prices are so high, but decided to go ahead and go this year since no one knows how our health will be in later years. We are taking DH's Durango for the extra room. We will be taking out some of the things that DD could not fit in her car when she moved back to CA. We are also bringing back a chair and ottoman that we gave to DD and that she no longer wants due to it's size. Also, in the summer, my DH drives his corvette that has a 454 big block engine. It is his only hobby, so I am quiet about the amount of gas it uses. I will try to talk my DH into something much more gas efficient, when his Durgango goes. We will not buy any other vehicle, until ours die though.

 

[jazz4cash]

Anyone that has not signed up for the Penfed CU Visa Rewards (5% rebate on gasoline).......what are you waiting for?

 

[Meadbh]

Speaking of oil conspiracies, here's a documentary I watched on a plane recently:

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/50078/Collapse__part_1_/

 

[Budman]

I own oil company stocks. Generally, as prices at the pump go up, so does the stock price. Its like a natural hedge. I have made more money on the oil stocks than what I have spent at the pump, so it really doesnt matter to me.

 

[Dawg52]

I own oil company stocks. Generally, as prices at the pump go up, so does the stock price. Its like a natural hedge. I have made more money on the oil stocks than what I have spent at the pump, so it really doesnt matter to me.

It certainly takes the sting out of filling up.

 

[mickeyd]

Guess what kiddies, to hell with fuel prices, I will be splashing my 50 silverton convertible in 2 weeks which pulls in an impressive 1/2 mile per gallon of diesel! Now that is some fuel economy for ya!

I just got off a cruise that covered 4000+ miles and was expecting them to slap on a surcharge at the end, but they did not add one on though they advised at the beginning that a $9/day surcharge could be added. While on board I was speaking with the Environmental officer and he said that they get 1 mile for every 50 gallons diesel. His goal was to reduce fuel consumption by 10%...

 

[Moemg]

I am so glad we bought our airfare for our Alaska trip eight months ago . We paid $300 a person and now they are at $900 !

 

[FreeAtLast]

I try not to look at the price of gas each day. I look at my annual expenses. I try not to worry too much about something that I can't control. I am semi retired and work 4 morning a week, however, I am thinking about asking the boss if I can work from home 1 day a week if the price of gas stays at $4.00 at the end of the year. It is about a 20 mile drive each way.

 

[Zathras]

I own oil company stocks. Generally, as prices at the pump go up, so does the stock price. Its like a natural hedge. I have made more money on the oil stocks than what I have spent at the pump, so it really doesnt matter to me.

I'd prefer to own the stock and not pay at the pump.
Most people just won't do anything to lower their gasoline use, so it seems like a good buy.

 

[haha]

I would be willing to use the bus exclusively for in city travel, but it really is not possible, and it is getting worse because Metro's response to rising costs is to cut back on route frequency.

I live on a good route, and can get downtown easily and with little waiting Also to University District and Queen Ann/Seattle Center. But today I wanted to go to the Apple store, probably only 4 miles away at most, and it would have taken 3 buses to get there.

Last night I took the bus to see GF, coming back I had to time my departure pretty well or it would have meant an hour standing on the corner.

As usual, government is doing everything wrong.

Ha

 

[Spanky]

Last night I took the bus to see GF, coming back I had to time my departure pretty well or it would have meant an hour standing on the corner.
Ha

I hope it is not freezing cold. The weather is pretty chilly where I live now - 31 degree F with wind gusting to 21 mph.

 

[Major Tom]

One has to look at the guys who have ridden 300k miles without a scratch. What do they do differently than than the ones who become organ donors? They pay attention to traffic, they are meticulous about maintenance, they stay sober (even at age 17 I knew that!), and they essentially avoid placing themselves in harm's way and stay out of predictably hazardous circumstances. In short, they drive like everyone is "out to get them". Which isn't a bad position to take for anyone.

Agree with this. I rode for about 7 years and while one or two non-serious spills might have happened even with careful riding, the 2 serious accidents I had, though both technically not my fault, could have been avoided by more careful riding. Even so, after the second one I freaked out and bought a Volvo.

 

[brewer12345]

I drive very little on a daily basis, taking the commuter train for most of my very lengthy commute. When we blow the most gas is towing in the summer, but since most of our trips are for 3 days we generally don't go much more than 2 hours away from home.