sometimes it seems people feel entitled to drive as big a vehicle they want and use as much gas and they want. they had a good ride for so long they just think it should go on forever. they don't want to have to deal with the fact speculators have driven oil prices to the moon and just want to sit and complain till its fixed. heh.

 

If you are ready to make some changes, step over the Eco area. Lots to learn and do your share to help these issue.

The point being, control what you can and ignore what you can't

 

Well I drove a Dodge Ram up until 2 days ago. And my decision to trade it in was based on the never ending rise in gas prices. I bought the Ram in 2004 for $30,000. Traded it in for $11,500. I told my wife I wouldn't take less than $10,000. So it worked out.

I filled up the Ram once a week, for anywhere from $75 - $85. I figure I should save around $200 a month in gas now.

Honda is notorious for not dealing on their cars. The salesman told me they can now offer big deals on one of their vehicles - the Ridgeline. If gas keeps going up I don't think they will be able to give away trucks next year.

 

[quote=Mx6GT89;315230]I honestly dont look at the prices. I fill up and leave. Granted I only pay around $36 for a full tank so why would I care?[quote]


Same here

 

Bottom line is gas will never get cheaper. We are just catching up to what everyone else in Europe and Asia have been paying for decades. Better get used to it!

 

Somebody needs to find a solution to nuclear waste! Then we can all run on electrical cars from a nuclear power source.

I just feel sorry for a lot of people stuck with old gas guzzlers that I see driving slowly.

If I was a cop, I'd spend all day pulling over speeding gas guzzlers since they can afford to burn gas. A traffic ticket would be equivalent to 1 or 2 tank of gas for them. That should at least decrease the demand of gasoline by 1-2% if it's done in all 50 states. And if gas companies see a big decrease in demand, they will have to compete against each other sooner or later. But unfortunatly, it's not happening because demand is rising.

Don't you just love the horrible seats on the Corolla, Deanwvu? Hahah, You'll enjoy the fit's seat waaaaaaaay better!

 

like someone mentioned before, its a global economic issue.

~60% of americas oil is supplied from foreign nations. a barrel of oil hit 132 dollars/barrel today. thats a record for the world market, not just america. so if you think america is the only one who is paying high gas prices, think again.

you can drive less and switch to a more fuel efficient car, but that wont change the overall gas market as much as some people are lead to believe. the only sure way to lower OUR gas prices is to become more energy independent, which means rely less on those countries in the middle east for oil.

unfortunately, we are our own worst enemies, seeing as most of the efforts to become energy independent has been stymied by environmentalists. no im not anti-environment, im part of the surfrider foundation myself.

but i get the picture. people are still willing to drive cars (as daily commuters) that arent practical. if they want to spend most of their paychecks on gas, thats their problem. i do believe that there will be a turning point where the gas prices are so high that itll finally sink in. i think it would be around the 5-6 dollar/gallon mark.

and on a totally different note, the correct use of this phrase is "I COULDNT care less," not "I COULD care less."

 

Wow, that's a lot of gas! Personally I am only good for about 1-2 cubic feet of gas per day. Double that if I eat at Taco Bell.

 

Hahaha! I should have seen that one coming, lol!

 

I can't speak for other areas, but Calgary is an oil town so many of the people in town work for companies that benefit directly from high oil prices. The better the company does, the more raises / bonuses they get. From that perspective, they want us all to drive hummers.

 

yeah i know,
people are kind of stuck with them.
my best friend bought an 03 hummer h2, and now for the same price he bought it for, he could purchase a 07 h2.
no resale value

 

Yes but alot of their high price is taxes which pays for free health care and other services. If I was getting free healthcare out of the deal, hey no problem fill-er-up.

 

Personally I hope gas prices triple. As long as we (The U.S.) can get relatively cheap gas there is no incentive to develope alternate fuel sources and technology. Until we put down our oil crack pipes we will continue to ship our wealth overseas. We will continue to stick our noses into other countries businesses to protect our oil fix. The day we stop depending on foreign oil is the day the "war on terror" will be won.

Unfortunately gas prices can go down very easily. If the U.S. government made a serious effort to shift us away from the internal combustion engine the oil speculators would flee from the market and oil prices would tank. Pass a bill in congress offering a billion to an electric car company to develope and mass produce an electric car. Do so and gas prices would be a 1/3 of their current cost in a month.

 

man i hate politics. to the extent where i was debating if i was going to even post here.

i will say this: while there are many who can't get out of their suv's and other gas guzzlers...(i dunno if i pity them because i wonder what portion of them truly bought that type of car and uses it for its purpose. Sure, my dad has a honda pilot, but he also has five kids to lug around in addition to my mom, so they need a big car. I can't tell you how many 1-2 people suv's i see on the roads and through the drive thru at my bank.)...you guys also have to take this into consideration:

if there are fit and other gas friendly car drivers who don't car about prices, there will be people with gas guzzlers who don't care either.


my boss just went out and bought a brand new mustang gt. she hardly knows anything about the car (thinks its so revolutionary that the volume adjusts when she slows down. ), but it wasn't enough to stop her from buying a car that wouldn't see 22 mpg on the highway to save its life.

for some people it just isn't an issue. i dunno if its ever gonna get better.

 

while what you mention about europe and asia is true, you have to acknowledge that they have a plethora of small cars that are very thrifty when it comes to petrol, and a lot of their vehicles run on diesel. and in asia, a lot of folks rely on public transportation, not on their car, to get around.

 

eh, I have no problem with that seat for my 24 mile commute. When I take the HOV its 35-40 minutes in the car tops. Then I get to recover at work, and drive home!


Ya, I cannot wait for the 2009 Fit! If it were out today I would be at the dealer right now.... As gas creeps higher and higher though I wonder if I am doing the right thing by waiting. That Jeep will be harder and harder to get rid of!

 

Please don't use the argument, that we don't pay as much as everyone else around the world. It's an entirely different ball game as to why a lot of the people around the world pay more than us. 1) Their gas is heavily taxed but in exchange they have way better public transportation than us. 2) Their countries are significantly smaller than the US. 3) The countries which oil is cheaper are the countries that produce oil so it's subsidized in those nations. What the change needs to be is, oil needs to begin to be produced within the United States, alternative fuel sources need to be created, there needs to be oversight in commodity trading (biggest reason why we have this artificial inflation of gas prices (it seriously defies the laws of supply and demand)), and we need to strengthen our economy again.

 

How about the use of freight rail again?


Freight rail is 3 times more fuel efficient than trucking. Not to mention that our trucks are what DESTROY our roads (no way our 2500-3000 pound cars do a damn thing to them!). Add to that the incredible congestion they cause!

There is no reason trucks should be traveling more than a few hundred miles at most (from the rail yard to the destination).

 

I didn't want to go nuts and bore people with a lecture on supply and demand as well as economics. (That class was a nightmare in itself to attend, and I will not subject others to that pain. ) I was merely stating my two cents from an automotive standpoint only since this is a car site.

 

I have been to the amtrak station more often this past year and learned that the railroads are being taken down. (Apparently, Mr. Bush does not think trains are a good idea) I do not know if it counts freight lines, but I am, uh, "pro-train transport"


I have heard some horror stories about the free health care system; all because it is free does not mean it is "fast." Example: impending heart attack, take a number and sit and wait. I "heard" about people having to go to America and paying out of pocket for "immediate" medical attention. perhaps a Canadian or UKer can confirm this.