Gas price revolt

In My Humble Opinion
41

We don’t need everyone to carpool, we don’t need everyone to telecommute, or take the options you have at your disposal. We need everyone to take advantage of the options they DO have.

Prices that skyrocket due to market forces will also plummet due to market forces. Drop overall consumption by 15%, I guarantee prices drop 30%.

I’m tired of hearing people who use tons of gas say that there’s “nothing” they can do to reduce their consumption. I can believe people (like you) who say there’s “nothing more” they can do, when they’ve already cut their consumption by more than half. Most people are barely doing anything to reduce consumption. They’d rather just get mad at the oil companies, try and get the government to reduce prices, or come up with cockamamie schemes to protest.

It’s also a societal issue. We need employers to help make these ideas work, and society in general has to be accepting of gas saving ideas, people need to work together for it to gain traction.

42

Ooof, I think that would just get them to believe that their slurpees really so good that people have to stop for them ALL THE TIME.

43

I’ve been thinking about this. If fuekl prices keep going up, someone who comes up with an electric engine and battery pack that can be retrofitted to existing SUVs, even if it makes then short-range city vehicles only, will probably profit… simply because there will be inexpensive SUVs available as raw material.

44

To a certain extent you’re correct, but don’t forget that safety has a significant weight penalty as well. There’s a reason that some small cars weigh as much as 4,000 pounds, and it’s not because the company wanted to spend more on materials.

45

I’m doing my part. Last week, I took out my scooter to get ready for the summer. 80 MPG, more fun than a car, except when it’s raining. Maybe 3 cents per mile in overhead/maintenance other than gas. Gets me 80% of where I need to go.

Now my Jetski, that’s a different story…

46

My R1 gets 40 to 43 mpg, which is pretty close to the Prius on the freeway and it’s faster and more fun. (Although it does burn Premium gas.) But as I said it’s 100 miles to the Park & Ride. My butt’s only good for about 80 miles on that bike. Lane-splitting is not allowed up here, so the amount of time I spend in the saddle can’t be reduced. If lane-splitting were allowed I’d ride to work more often (in the summer). I’d get to work faster, and a smaller vehicle – that’s not sitting in traffic too – would cause less congestion so traffic would be faster (if there were more people taking advantage of motorcycling).

47

Good point. The buying public getting a lot more included in our cars than we did in the past.

I just bought a new vehicle and, while not a revolt/protest, I did make a decision that it had to average 30 mpg or better. While we liked the concept of the Prius, it made more economic sense to buy a Hyundai Elantra. Even driving 22,000 per year and planning on gas at $4/gallon, we were money ahead with the cheaper Elantra. But it has side air bags and does well with crash tests. This car struck a good balance for me between quality, price, fuel efficiency, safety and style. I would have liked to get even better efficiency but could not find a car that was acceptable to me. It is a sad state of affairs where the biggest drawback of ultra-fuel efficient subcompacts is their potential to get creamed when hit by the big gas guzzlers.

48

Since I just bought a new car last October ('07 Saturn Ion 5 speed manual), I’ve been challenging myself to see how far I can stretch my fuel economy numbers, at first I was dismayed at the fuel mileage, as I was getting about 24 MPG City (98% of my driving is a 10 mile commute one way between home and work), but as the engine wears in, fuel mileage has been increasing, my last two fill-ups were 28MPG and 30 MPG City

I’ve cut out 99% of unneccecary trips, and since the roads between home and work are rather hilly, I’ve been shifting into neutral and coasting whenever possible, I also tend to keep my RPM’s low, no higher than 3000 RPM, 2500 is typical, and on many roads I can keep it at 1500-2000 RPM with no loss of power, the Ecotec motor is a torquey little beast

heading to work, I can coast about 80% of the way down Frost Road, and about 60% down Beech, the rest of the way is flat main roads where I can tach out at no higher than 1800 RPM
heading back home, once I get back on Beech, I can coast about 50% of the way, and on Frost, about 60%

I haven’t done enough highway driving, so I don’t know what I’d get there, I’m GUESSING high 30’s maybe low 40’s if the conditions are right, and bear in mind, these mileage numbers are with draggy snow tires on the car, I’d imagine I’ll get slightly better mileage with my street tires (going back on next weekend)

So, my “revolt” per-se is to cut out all my unneccecary driving trips, slightly overinflate my tires (harsh ride quality does not bother me) and buy the cheapest gas possible, and I’ll be bringing in one of my bicycles to work so I can bike to lunch

49

This is true. It’s also true that anytime anything even vaguely resembling this statement comes out of a politician’s mouth, his or her ouster in the next election is pretty much a given.

50

:confused: Wait a minute. On Frost you coast 80% of the time in one direction, and 60% in the other direction. On Beech you cost 60% in one direction and 50% in the other. How is this possible?
It appears that you have achieved bicycling nirvana. a road that is downhill in both directions. Speaking from experience, you don’t find those very often.

51

I’m constantly thinking in terms of how I can drive down my energy consumption, on the assumption that automotive fuel isn’t the largest market for crude oil. I have 3 acres of wind-swept prairie on the bottomland of the South Platte River; I can fit three large domestic windmills on it without bothering anyone. I could actually contribute to the electrical grid instead of consuming from it. The problem: Cost. My up-front costs would take more than 20 years to pay off, at current electrical rates, and there’s no guarantee that the equipment wouldn’t need replacement by then. So it’s at best a zero-sum proposition; at worst, it costs me a lot of money with no eventual payoff. So, I’m waiting for the rich guys with more altruism than common sense to create demand, thus driving down the cost of wind energy, and then I’ll jump on the bandwagon when it’s economical for me to do so.

Meanwhile, my wife and I are taking advantage of the latest in technology to keep in touch with our new granddaughter 1,600 miles away; we’re researching ways to make our two vehicles as fuel-efficient as possible until we can afford to trade them in on even more efficient ones; we’re shedding expenses like Dish TV (cutting back to the barest basics) and long-distance phone service (cellular is better and cheaper); and we’re cutting way back on “discretionary” purchases like expensive wines, dining out, etc. I’m betting that the economy will eventually adjust to higher fuel costs, as it did in the 1970s; while we wait, we’re getting into the greener habits that we’ll have for the rest of our lives.

52

I drive an F350 diesel, with two 20 gallon tanks. Fuel is running around $4.25 locally, which means I can’t even fill ONE TANK before I hit the $75 credit card limit!

As obnoxious as this is, when i did a pie chart of all my expenses, fuel was near the bottom of the list. Even doubling the amount I spend would still put it below Mortgage, insurance, food, utilities and communications. I probably spend as much for our dogs as I do on gasoline / diesel.

I think that people have come to expect cheap fuel, and that is going to have to change. I predict $5/gallon within the next 2 years. I’m waiting anxiously for the Chevy Volt…

53

Why on earth would they limit CC fuel sales by price? Are they worried about hoarding? Fraud? Fill-and-flee? Even if they were, wouldn’t it make more sense to limit by volume? Do you pay before you pump?

54

I guess folks who never buy more that $75 worth of gas never see this…
I always use pay-at-the-pump. There’s been a credit card limit for ages. The limit used to be $50, and was raised to $75 a few years ago. Something to do with not needing to have a signature…

55

I think before anyone judges you on your pickup, we have to ask what you do with it. Where I live the overwhelming majority of diesel pickups are used to pull stock trailers and work trailers.

And you’re right about the perception of high costs. Last fall I read an article on one of the webzines that said, as a percentage of our annual family expenses, fuel prices were no higher than they were in the late 1970s.

56

Well, I don’t have a horse.

I have a Llama.

So, I do need to haul hay and other llama stuff. I bought the truck because I have 80 Acres that I want to build a Strawbale house on. I never intended it to be a “daily driver”, but my Mustang is getting pretty decrepit. I want to get a small commuter car, but I just can’t justify the expense right now. Even spending $2K more on fuel each year is worth holding off a $30K purchase…

57

Okay, this is the second poster mentioning something I don’t understand.

Now, I’m a suburban boy; I live in the city and take the subway to work, so my understanding of livestock farming is limited fto “provide grass, possibly fenced, and let them eat”. But… Ruffian, beowulf, I thought the idea was that you could support your animals on your own land. Obviously medical expenses and such would be additional, but can’t your animals feed themselves from your fields or forests? Do you import bedding for your animals?

And beowulf, strawbale house? Cool! What are you using for thermal mass?

58

Actually, Bronco is my conversation piece / lawnmower.
Here he is in my pasture.. So, I only need to haul hay in the winter, when all the grass dies (December - April or so). Having a PU is just incredibly useful though, so even if I didn’t have him I would own one, as a second car. I’m always moving big objects (sheets of steel, drywall, plywood, you name it).

I was planning on the concrete slab acting as thermal mass, with interior stucco or clay on the straw helping. I have a zillion books on the subject. Now I’m only missing two things: Time and Money.
Here’s a view from the Strawbale house location

59

Here is another radical concept for many highway commuters. Slow down.

I had been averaging close to 80 mph on the highway for a 30 mile run. I recently slowed down to about a 65 mph average (due to finally get a speeding ticket after 7 years of doing this)

My gas mileage went from around 24 mpg up to 30 mpg. This was in a Ford Focus Wagon that already has nearly 120,000 miles on it.

When I run this car into the ground, my next will be a hybrid or plug-in hybrid. I expect to get in the high 40s or better. I hope it will be in the 60s.

So as the good Doc said up front, “Cut back on your gas consumption.”

Jim

60

well, the hills on those roads are large, rolling hills, the side of the hill I coast down going to work I have to climb when driving home, and since the hills are steeper on one side, the side going to work, I can coast more, the drive home has more uphills than downhills