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Automotive News & Views Are gas prices fueling your pain? 
10042 messages, Last post on Jul 12, 2008 at 3:07 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Will you switch to a hybrid? Will you dump your SUV/ truck for a car/ crossover? Will you drive less? Will you switch to Asian makes? Will you add accessories that help you save gas? Will you drive in a more conservative manner... the so-called light-foot? Have you already taken steps such as those mentioned above? If yes, please tell us what you did and whether it helped. If not, tell us what you think you are going to do. Also, if you were driving in 70s when oil rose to all time high, what did you do? And, did that help? |
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keep doing what I've been doing, except maybe drive a bit more gently. I'm usually not a leadfoot anyway. I won't buy a new vehicle simply to get better fuel economy, but when the ones I'm driving wear out, they'll get replaced by something more economical. When my 2000 Intrepid finally retires, I've thought about getting a 4-cyl Altima, but I've been thinking about that anyway. $4.00 gas wouldn't change that. I'd probably cut the grass less often. And let parts of the yard return to forest. As for the 70's, I was a kid back then and don't remember the first gas crisis. I do remember the second one, though. My Mom traded a 1975 LeMans coupe with a 350-2bbl for a 1980 Malibu coupe with a 229-2bbl. The LeMans rarely broke 15-16 mpg, while the Malibu regularly got lower 20's. That LeMans was getting pretty ratty though, so Mom was probably going to trade, anyway. However, had their been no fuel crunch, she might've gone for a V-8 in the Malibu instead of the V-6. In 1979 we moved to Southern Maryland, about 40 miles from my grandparents. We had been living with them. Mom ended up getting homesick, so every other weekend we drove up to see them. So needless to say, even though Mom bought a more fuel-efficient car, we didn't do our part to conserve. 
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Replying to: andre1969 (Apr 05, 2007 9:54 am) 2004 Nissan Armada about 10mpg towing the two toys below. 1998 Baja 33ft Cigarette Boat w/Twin 502s getting about 3mpg and a 185gal tank 1994 Subaru Legacy Race car about 4-6mpg on the track Looking at a 2008 Subaru Legacy SpecB as my "economy" car -mike |
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Replying to: altest (Apr 05, 2007 9:40 am)
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Insulated myself against the pain of $4 by buying a Camry Hybrid (after owning a Civic Hybrid) and that price does not scare me much. Go Go Hybrids !!! 
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Replying to: altest (Apr 05, 2007 9:40 am) But if gas does go to $4+ a gallon, I'll probably keep the Civic and add a Hybrid or another Civic to the garage. I do a lot of highway driving, and the difference between the gas and Hybrid Civic in both fuel economy and cost don't tip things in favor of the Hybrid model... |
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Replying to: larsb (Apr 05, 2007 10:08 am)  -mike
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Replying to: bumpy (Apr 05, 2007 10:00 am) Thank you, yes, I will echo that sentiment, except that my car is a 40 mpg Echo (and my other car is a 35 mpg Matrix). Saw this gas price spike coming a while back, and made the trade then. I really hope they do bring some ultra-frugal diesel-powered small cars to the U.S. - that would be a hoot! Now I do a lot of driving, so even for me gas prices will have an impact if they get much above $4/gallon. I already employ some gas-saving habits in the way I drive. If gas gets to $4.50 or $5 I will definitely be reducing the amount that I drive, at least among the discretionary miles. Which, by the way, is something everyone could probably do a lot of (reduction in miles driven) using simple tricks like combining errands, walking the errands of a mile or less from the house, carpooling for work, etc. You don't have to immediately trade in the old car for a new gas-sipper, which can be a major expense even if you calculate that it will save you money after year 2 or year 4 or whatever. OTOH, trading out of a full-size V-8 pick-up into a Camry hybrid can save you several thousand dollars a year right off the bat, if you drive more than the average.
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Replying to: paisan (Apr 05, 2007 11:01 am) Rocky
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Replying to: rockylee (Apr 06, 2007 4:07 am) From what I've read you are a big GM fan Rocky, how do you like those twin 502 Big Block Chevy's? 415hp each! If I push the Cig. Boat to it's limit of 75mph the fuel economy drops down to about .75mpg-1mpg! The economy car for me the specB I think gets 19/25mpg! Currently however I live in manhattan and take the train to work, so I guess that's a good trade off since I don't burn anything M-F haaaaa The way I look at things is that I work 3 blocks from Ground Zero, saw the 2nd plane hit with my own 2 eyes and had to walk home 12+ miles on 9/11 Do I really care how much money I spend in gas? Not really, I'm just glad I am here to be able to spend the money on the gas! -mike
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