3/gallon gas comming soon

[sbergman27]

Originally Posted by darthbauer

There was the upside of a lot less traffic when gas was over $4/gallon.
... but thats about it to me.

Don't forget the self-destruction of the U.S. auto industry. That was something that we'd been needing to happen for a long time. And is arguably the biggest plus we got out of the $4+ period.

-Steve

[cali yaris]

Personally, I think that in the long term it would be better for the U.S. and, in fact, the world, if the U.S. saw about $5/gal gas in the near future.

Yes. It's the ONLY thing that will change consumer behavior.

[darthbauer]

Originally Posted by sbergman27

Don't forget the self-destruction of the U.S. auto industry. That was something that we'd been needing to happen for a long time. And is arguably the biggest plus we got out of the $4+ period.

-Steve

Sure the auto industry tanked more than a bit with brands like Hummer going down but there is still going to be a need for something bigger than a Yaris for families that have multiple kids and or large breed animals for pets. I'm not saying go out and buy an H2 and never worry about space again but it would be nice if Jeep could come out with a 4 door Wrangler that got better MPG than it does now but still have a decent amount of power.

My Yaris is great for getting to and from work but a little more is needed on the weekends.

[Thirty-Nine]

We're paying an avg. of $2.84 in Portland now.

[sbergman27]

Originally Posted by darthbauer

My Yaris is great for getting to and from work but a little more is needed on the weekends.

It's all about using the appropriate vehicle for the job. My Chevy Sprint (And do forgive me for going on so about that car; It's my pride and joy) gets about 220 passenger-miles per gallon on the highway with 4 people in it. But I'm a bit of a recluse, living alone, with no friends. And so I effectively get about 55 passenger-miles per gallon if you don't count my faithful traveling companion, Shadow, a terrier mix. The Sprint is about the best a recluse can do on the highway, except perhaps for the 1st generation Honda Insight, which is about as rare as the Dodo bird.

An 8 passenger GMC Savana van, which *always* traveled with a full complement of passengers, would be getting 160 passenger-miles per gallon. But if it traveled with only one occupant for even 30% of the time, it would be more efficient for those 8 people to just drive their own individual Sprints.

The problem is not the existence of SUVs. (Which we *used to* call *commercial* vehicles, and for good reason.) It's about using the appropriate vehicle for the job. And *very few* SUV owners in the US are really doing that, no matter how much they might want to tell themselves that they really need an SUV.

-Steve

P.S. I wonder why the high efficiency diesels, so common in Europe, and which are now a very well established technology, exhibiting amazing fuel economy, are being withheld from the U.S. market? Who in the world would have an interest in keeping them from being introduced here, I wonder?

[Kioshi]

Originally Posted by sbergman27

Who in the world would have an interest in keeping them from being introduced here, I wonder?

i love this statement...thats how the govt. does it...put us in the hole~

Gas has been at $3.05 since November for me, in Fremont, CA. I'm paying $3.27 for gas at Shell now...

And i agree gas should be $5 because other countries have been seeing those costs for quite a long time, just something new to us in America...and yes, it'd would change how people drive..if prices continue to stay at $5~~

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by darthbauer

Sure the auto industry tanked more than a bit with brands like Hummer going down but there is still going to be a need for something bigger than a Yaris for families that have multiple kids and or large breed animals for pets.

Bring back the station wagon. The SUV of the 70's and 80's.

[sbergman27]

Originally Posted by Altitude

Bring back the station wagon. The SUV of the 70's and 80's.

Ahhh, the station wagon. A technology honed to such perfection over the decades that the engineers went stir crazy and started *inventing* problems to solve.

Should the tailgate open to the left? Or to the right? Or just swing down? Or slide down, under power, when you turn the tailgate key? Should the glass be fixed? Should it slide down into the tailgate? Or go up into the roof? Should the tailgate have glass at all?

Today, I think that most consumers would prefer to contract leprosy than to be seen in a station wagon.

Yeah, I grew up in the 60s and 70s. :-)

-Steve

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by coffiend

Sure, it might be an eye opener to the American public.

But you've got to think about those of us who have a longer commute to work / school and cant afford 50 dollars to fill up the tank of a Yaris... If gas was consistently $5/gal. I would not be able to afford to get a degree. Believe me, I would depend on a public transit system if there was one available to my use here...but there isnt... $5 gas would send me into a downward spiral.

I don't believe for a second you are that helpless... Sure, I get living in Nebraska isn't the best of places in terms of transportation options... but really... dropping out of college because of gas prices. That is absurd, and frankly, if you can't find a way to make things work, you don't deserve a degree.

Trade in for a motorcycle.... buy a bike, solicit on craigslist that you are looking for a car-pool buddy to help cover half the price of commuting to school and back. LIVE CLOSER TO SCHOOL! Take out a small loan, chances are you already are in debt due to school loans, a few hundred dollars of debt per quarter more isn't going to significantly change your life.

Go to the Top ramen, rice, beans, and oatmeal diet that soo many true "poor college" students know about.

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by coffiend

^ sorry for my grammar - posted from my phone.

can't afford $5 gas to get a college education, but you can afford an internet capable cell phone service.

More proof that your issue isn't gas, but your ability to live AT or BELOW your means.

[sbergman27]

I would be disinclined to second-guess coffiend's apraisal of his own financial situation. He made a very sensible decision in choosing a Yaris, even if a different history might have made better choices possible.

Back when gas was $4+, the news stories that I did take a perverse pleasure in seeing were those ones where the couple goes on TV, tearfully telling the channel 4 news reporter about how their dreams had been crushed. You see... they bought a Nissan Titan V8 for him, and a big Chevy Suburban for her, and then found the home of their dreams out in the country, with a 70 mile commute to work. But now that gas is so *unfairly* high, they're going to have to sell their dream home, and move back to a cramped apartment in the city. Boo hoo.

People who make stupid decisions deserve what they... well... deserve to get.

Coffiend made a wise and sensible decision based upon what was available to him. In a very real sense, he is the one who has been wronged.

As much as I love my Sprint, the major reason for my decision to downgrade (in an FE sense) to the Yaris, was safety. Bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles... and featherweight cars from the 80s... have a significant safety penalty attached.

-Steve

[darthbauer]

Dodge had the Magnum and that was as close to a station wagon as i think we are gonna get for sometime.


Unless you call the WRX hatchbacks and Lancer sportbacks wagon's.

[Black Yaris]

I have just realized I do not pay attention to gas prices, if I need gas I buy some
$2, $3, $4 or even $5 a gallon, nothing I can do about it, and I ain't going broke at any price

[sbergman27]

Originally Posted by Black Yaris

I have just realized I do not pay attention to gas prices, if I need gas I buy some
$2, $3, $4 or even $5 a gallon, nothing I can do about it, and I ain't going broke at any price

Perhaps we need to tie the gasoline tax to personal income. I'll bet that there is some point at which it would get your attention.

-Steve

[Black Yaris]

Originally Posted by sbergman27

Perhaps we need to tie the gasoline tax to personal income. I'll bet that there is some point at which it would get your attention.

-Steve

there may be a point, but they pay $7-8 a gallon in Europe, and I still would not even think twice to pay that amount

a larger valorium tax on license plates and/or drivers licenses would work well

[sbergman27]

Originally Posted by Black Yaris

a larger valorium tax on license plates and/or drivers licenses would work well

There is definitely something to be said for the "Hit 'em all at once" approach. Spreading things out, tank by tank, is akin to softening the blow of a 40,000 vehicle with a monthly payment.

Yeah, hit them with an *extra* 2000 - 4000 dollar licensing fee (equivalent to a $2.50 - $5.00 per gallon increase in gas price if they drive the American average of 12,000 miles per year) once a year. They won't have planned properly for it, and it will seem like being hit by a financial brick wall to many of them. Make sure that it applies to the *first* licence they buy when they purchase the SUV. Fee is due right now. Before you can drive the vehicle. No exceptions. Subject to jail term.

-Steve

[Black Yaris]

well what I am saying is spread things out, they could raise taxes on petrol slightly as well as increase the "gas guzzler tax" on new cars, valorium tax, larger fees on automotive related items.

Kinda like what they did with tobacco products, it will price people out of cars that consume a lot of petrol. Those who can afford them will, and those who can not will be forced to conserve or learn to live w/o a car

[darthbauer]

Originally Posted by Black Yaris

well what I am saying is spread things out, they could raise taxes on petrol slightly as well as increase the "gas guzzler tax" on new cars, valorium tax, larger fees on automotive related items.

Kinda like what they did with tobacco products, it will price people out of cars that consume a lot of petrol. Those who can afford them will, and those who can not will be forced to conserve or learn to live w/o a car

I don't drive a gas guzzler and I already think that the gas guzzler tax is to high. A friend of mine has an 08 GT500 and to renew his registration was over 1600 bucks. I'm sorry but that is a bit of a joke.