How does gas at $4 and higher impact you?

Replying to: gagrice (Oct 12, 2009 4:48 am)

Anyone sorry they dumped their SUV for an econobox?
 
I didn't do anything like that, but now that gas has gotten "cheap" again, I've made some not-exactly-economical choices. I drove up to PA last weekend for a car show, and again just this past Saturday. Normally, I'll drive my Intrepid, which can get 30 mpg on the highway without too much trouble. On a few occasions, I drove my uncle's '03 Corolla, but it's just too much of a torture-chamber econobox (sorry Larsb ) for my tastes. And it's not really all that much more economical than my Intrepid. The one time I checked its fuel economy, I got 37.4 mpg. Sounds pretty good...until I mention that my Intrepid got around 32 on the same trip, same type of driving.
 
Well, this past Saturday, I drove my '79 NY'er 5th Ave, and last weekend I drove my '76 LeMans. The LeMans got about 16.6 mpg. Haven't filled up the NYer yet, but it went about 230 miles round trip, and the gas gauge is still showing about half-full, so it might have done as well as 20.
 
However, I didn't drive these guzzlers just to waste fuel. I had a lot of work put into the LeMans a couple months back, and haven't had a chance to take it on a good, long drive, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to test it out. And before Saturday, my poor, neglected NYer had only been driven about 39 miles, over the course of 3 months. So I figured it needed a good run to blow the cobwebs out.
 
So hopefully that reasoning gets me a pass from the tree huggers.

Replying to: nippononly (Oct 12, 2009 6:47 am)

Replies to this message:
• nippononly (Oct 12, 2009 11:45 am)
  • kernick (Oct 12, 2009 5:23 pm)
• andre1969 (Oct 12, 2009 12:10 pm)

Replying to: kernick (Oct 12, 2009 9:23 am)

So wait, you're talking about a 5-10 year scenario that depends on sizable investment by individual utilities???
 
Oh, well then, lower gasoline prices are just around the corner!

Replies to this message:
• kernick (Oct 12, 2009 5:23 pm)

Replying to: kernick (Oct 12, 2009 9:23 am)

I did something kinda knee-jerk back in 2008...switching from oil heat to an electric heat pump. I had been wanting to do it for awhile, but when oil prices went to around $5.62 per gallon over the summer of '08, that clinched it for me. Of course, by the time I committed to the heat pump, prices dropped like a rock. I think my grandmother renewed her contract in September of '08, something like market price with a $3.07/gal cap.
 
I averaged about 450 gallons of oil per year, so at $5.62 per gallon, I was looking at around $2500 per year just to heat the place! I knew the heat pump would make my electric bill go up, but I figured there's no way it would make it shoot up $2500 per year. However, with oil down to around $3.00 per gallon, well that's around $1350 per year. At that point, the savings is a bit more iffy.
 
This past winter, I did have one electric bill that ran around $514 (our electric rates shot up...leave it to me to switch energy sources just as one drops and the other rises. ) However, this has also been the coldest winter we've had in about 5 years, so if I was still on oil, I probably would've used more than my 450 gal/yr average.
 
I probably made the best choice in the long run, but I was mentally kicking myself for awhile. Anyway, if nothing else, I freed up an average of 450 gallons of oil per year that can now be allocated elsewhere.

Replying to: nippononly (Oct 12, 2009 11:45 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Oct 12, 2009 6:47 am)

Replies to this message:
• steve_ (Oct 12, 2009 6:18 pm)

Replying to: larsb (Oct 12, 2009 6:59 am)

Replies to this message:
• larsb (Oct 13, 2009 6:53 am)
  • gagrice (Oct 13, 2009 4:26 pm)
    • fezo (Oct 13, 2009 5:45 pm) and 8 more...
    • larsb (Oct 14, 2009 6:51 am) and 3 more...

Replying to: gagrice (Oct 12, 2009 5:54 pm)

Or a CNG one. Seems to be quite a few public CNG stations down in Utah on the interstate corridor, mostly for semis.
 
Apparently someone down in Reno has figured out how to generate power from geothermal wells that doesn't require the superheated water that the current ones have. Right now you need 225°F to 360°F water for a "binary" plant (one's in Mammoth CA and there's one at Raft River here in Idaho), or over 360°F for a "flash steam" plant.

Replying to: gagrice (Oct 12, 2009 6:12 pm)

Replies to this message:
• gagrice (Oct 13, 2009 4:26 pm)
  • fezo (Oct 13, 2009 5:45 pm)
    • dieselone (Oct 14, 2009 2:59 am) and 6 more...
    • andre1969 (Oct 14, 2009 4:23 am)
  • larsb (Oct 14, 2009 6:51 am)
    • andre1969 (Oct 14, 2009 7:42 am)
    • gagrice (Oct 14, 2009 7:56 am)
    • fintail (Oct 14, 2009 8:13 am)

Replying to: larsb (Oct 13, 2009 6:53 am)

Replies to this message:
• fezo (Oct 13, 2009 5:45 pm)
  • dieselone (Oct 14, 2009 2:59 am)
    • nippononly (Oct 14, 2009 7:30 am) and 5 more...
  • andre1969 (Oct 14, 2009 4:23 am)
• larsb (Oct 14, 2009 6:51 am)
  • andre1969 (Oct 14, 2009 7:42 am)
  • gagrice (Oct 14, 2009 7:56 am)
  • fintail (Oct 14, 2009 8:13 am)