And it was just last year that persistent “Letters to the Editor” were griping about the cost-overruns for the Metrolink expansion…hehe…I live in walking distance of a station…
The OP is right and wrong, I think. There WILL be changes in the US, as energy prices take up a larger portion of peoples’ discretionary income, but those changes are more likely to be cutbacks on spending on other things than getting serious about driving less.
And we Americans will have to cut back even more, since “other stuff”, like food, will be much more expensive.
I have a bad feeling we’re in for some fairly serious inflation until things get to whatever their new balance is going to be.
Perhaps my opinion of my fellow countrymen is too negative, but I can easily see Americans pitching almost everything before their cars.
Fuel prices already have affected my lifestyle.
The first to go was pleasure driving. Now, I’m on a tighter grocery budget to be able to afford the extra $$ going into my gas tank. The next thing in line is moving closer to work. I like my current home and the rental market close to where I work is more expensive, but it would cut my daily comute by 2/3. That would take me from (now) about $250 a month for work related fuel down to about $85.
I already drive a fairly fuel efficient vehicle, but when I replace it, it will be with one even more so.
I am rich so I don’t give a shit.
In that case, yes, the world hopes that gas at $4 a gallon is going to cause very serious changes in the US way of life. You do not need a vehicle that burns 1/12 of a gallon of petrol per mile.
See, I worry that alternative fuels won’t ever be cheaper, either. If gas is $4/gallon, what is the incentive to sell biodiesel for less than $3.99, even if it can be produced for say $2.00? I just don’t see us ever having as cheap of fuel as we used to, even adjusting for inflation.
That’s why the Government (here, anyway) taxes fuels so as to influence people to make those choices.
It’s really too bad that very few people considered all these very valid points when Big Oil and the clans like the Bush’s were getting everyone hooked on cheap fuel prices. Now the devil must be paid his price…
But I really do hope this is the death blow to these god dam urban assault vehicles. I hate those things with a passion!
Unfortunately that will not go down well with a lot of people that are in the hour or hour+ commute level. When you leave the house at 6 30 in the morning and get home at 6 at night for the 8 hour day [I have *no* idea where you get the 7 and a half hour day - any job I have ever worked at the time clocked out for meals didnt count. my day was 8 hours and 30 minutes or 60 minutes when i had a job with a 1 hour lunchbreakfor meals plus travel time] making it 630 in the morning and home at 7 or 730 is barely worth considering. Most people have maintenance things to do like make and eat dinner, clean house, do laundry, take care of kids…
Not sure where you are at, but I have not seen a job with a ‘paid lunch break’ since the early 70s. My brother had one one summer working as a roofer. They even sat up on the roof and ate there. I guess they figured if they let the guys punch out and off the roof they would not keep the lunch to 30 minutes exactly.
Sorry. I work a 7.5-hour day, and have for the last 18 years. That doesn’t include lunchtime, though. I’m salaried, so it tends to stretch anyways.
Yeah, my commute by bus is around an hour, and I tend to do laundry late. On the other hand, longer weekends would make more time for preparing things in advance. I don’t thing the long-day work week would be for everyone, but IMHO in the long term we should be reducing the necessity for long commute times anyways… possibly through modifying oyur land-use planning.
Eliminating large exclusive zones, allowing mixtures of land uses, and regulating land uses by actual impact rather than type of use might be helpful. Why not mix residential and other uses, if you properly control such things as emissions, traffic, noise, etc? Wasn’t that the whole idea of zoning in the first place: to separate the bad effects of industry from residences?
:shrug: I drive one of your so called urban assault vehicles. When you get over 20 feet of snow a year you do need 4x4. Shit, it’s snowing now. Memorial day. We might move over to Subarus or Audis. But I’m not sure… No low range. I won’t be able to tow my trailer either. I’d also have to see how much room they have inside. Not a real big MPG savings either.
They are also very handy when you have big dogs. Or a $6000 dollar tri-bike to haul around. We prefer not to put it on a rack.
And that’s one of the most annoying things about SUVs: because they have become symbols of selfish excess, people who actually need their capabilities are unfairly stigmatised.
My Volvo cross-country wagon seats 5-7 (depends on wayback), was great in the snow (we’re originally from Denver) and it fits two mastiffs in the back. I’ve taken it off-road here and it’s fine. But yeah, my husband’s expensive bike has to go on a rack.
Where we live now, we are minutes from work, shopping etc, and thank goodness for that.
Sure petrol is more expensive in Europe, but America’s wide open spaces can be daunting.
We’ve been taking so much for granted over the years; our preferences, I think, will be shifting. More “staycations” for us.
edited for seating capacity
Pay my expenses and I won’t give a shit either.
I’ve said before that I drive for a living; my Hyundai Elantra gives me 27-29 MPG in the city. Two days per week, I drive a little better than 270 miles; a little more than 540 miles for the week. On the other three days, I drive a little over 100 miles per day; I’m driving better than 800 miles per week and my weekly profit is steadily dwindling. Unlike Klaatu, I ain’t rich so quitting isn’t an option UNLESS and UNTIL I can come up with some minimal driving, home based business to get into. (Suggestions would be welcome.) The one thing that helps the situation is that my wife drives a total of 4.5 miles per day in a Scion that gets excellent MPG; a tank of gas lasts her a good, long time.
There are a ton of people in the courier/delivery business who are faced with worse situations than mine; many of the people I know are forced to drive vans and light trucks; most of them are now barely breaking even and some of them are losing money.
I don’t think it’s annoying about the SUV’s. I think its annoying that those that clearly no nothing about your lifestyle will point a finger and say ‘You don’t need that’.
It’s not just annoying, it’s a bit scary.
It might not help much but I’d consider swapping cars if I were you. Let the higher MPG car handle most of the miles.
Yeah, the Volvo may be a thought too. I lived in Denver for 15 years. I’m now 100 miles West of Denver. Denver has its snow moments, and monster storms to be sure. But it’s nothing like living at 11,200 feet.
I’m a little concerned about ‘wagon’ type vehicles being able to push through feet of snow. Wonder if they have the weight to get the traction. That and well, low range.
We just traded in our mini-van (15 mpg) to a Volkswagen Passat wagon, which is supposed to do nearly double that. I’ve only driven about 50 miles on it yet, so we’ll see.
Where the heck is that? I thought Leadville was highest up, and it’s only 10,100 (a few hundred higher for some).
Tomorrow, I am riding my bike to work for the first time ever.
Well, it’s affecting me in several ways, apart from increased costs of consumer goods.
I’m planning to buy a bicycle to ride to work, once I get some money.
When my POS Saturn is paid off next summer, I’m planning to buy a Smart Car.
I’m looking into getting a scooter for trips that are too long for the bike but short enough that I won’t need to get a car.
For the long term, I’d like to see two things happen:
-
I’d like to see the auto makers come up with a practical, affordable electric car capable of extended range and highway speeds. Tesla proved that it’s possible to get two out of three (the extended range and highway speeds, but not the price). I’ve looked at the electric cars that are currently available or on the drawing board for the next couple of years (Gems, Zaps, Sparrows, and Apteras) and, with the exception of the Gems, they’re expensive and have limited speeds and range.
-
I’d like to see rail travel make a comeback. For over 60 years everybody in this country got to where they were going by train; there’s no reason why we can’t start again. I don’t mean an expansion of Amtrak - I’d like to see a European-style or Japanese-style system that combines high-speed and conventional trains that are quick, cheap and efficient and are a legitimate alternative to car (or even plane) travel. Getting such a system up and running is not going to be cheap (it will likely cost into the hundreds of billions) or easy, but it could be feasible.