Well, that was shocking.

[wjoerob]

Sounds like some of us need to learn the idea of "ONLY BUYING AND DRIVING WHAT YOU REALLY NEED". Picture yourself pulling up to the gas pumps one day in the not-too-distant future, and finally deciding NO, you're not going to pay THAT MUCH! How much will it have to be? $4.00? $5.00? $10.00? The thing is, if you drive a gas hog just cause it looks cool or makes you feel good, you deserve whatever the price may be. Or maybe you enjoy sending your fortune to the oil companies and Arab countries. But the rest of us will end up paying the same. Sorry to say, the electric cars aren't affordable yet, and bicycles would get blown off the road.

 

[AlanB]

Sounds like some of us need to learn the idea of "ONLY BUYING AND DRIVING WHAT YOU REALLY NEED". Picture yourself pulling up to the gas pumps one day in the not-too-distant future, and finally deciding NO, you're not going to pay THAT MUCH! How much will it have to be? $4.00? $5.00? $10.00? The thing is, if you drive a gas hog just cause it looks cool or makes you feel good, you deserve whatever the price may be. Or maybe you enjoy sending your fortune to the oil companies and Arab countries. But the rest of us will end up paying the same. Sorry to say, the electric cars aren't affordable yet, and bicycles would get blown off the road.

"what I really need" is an interesting matter of debate for me at the moment. And there are a zillion factors weighing in there. Unfortunately, I cannot afford one of each, a motorcyle for decent days for the commute, a small car for cruddy weather and the commute, a pickup for those days when I have to haul building / landscape materials and commute, and a dump truck for when I need to pick up Gravel at the end of my commute so I don't have to drive all the way across town again (40 miles) without accomplishing anything but getting to the gravel pit.

We are strangling ourselves with our own regulations and good intentions, hopefully when we pass out, our hands will let go and we will not find we have tied a rope around our neck that kills us.

 

[Soundguy]

I almost bought one of those 3 wheeled vehicles.. back looks like a motor cycle.. front like a small car.. like an MG... suposed to get 40mpg and do 60mph. Seats 2... I almost got it as a commuter vehicle to get back and forth to work.. vs my 14mpg powerchoke.. or my 12 mpg? 5.9l gasser dodge..

soundguy

 

[AlanB]

I am thinking of going with a city van, 16' used Ryder truck, cab forward, isuzu. Put a 12' dump landscaper bed and a 3 or 4' box on the back and driving it instead of the Z71. I think it will get similar milage (neighborhood of 15) running empty and will let me play with Bio-diesel some if I get the urge.

Would have the room to go SVO etc. etc. if I wanted to try that as well.

I constantly think of going to a small gas milage car, then I squeeze my fat butt into one and remind myself of why I don't like the idea. Not to mention being about eyelevel with the hubcap of most trucks in my neck of the woods.

 

[buckle97]

... or my 12 mpg? 5.9l gasser dodge..
soundguy

You need to have that Dodge checked out! I consistently get 13 mpg in my 5.9l half ton

 

[jinman]

I just bought a 2007 Pontiac Vibe with less than 11k miles for just over $14k. Yesterday, I checked the mileage and it was nearly 38 mpg for my 150 mile-per-day commute. I'm a happy man.

It has great space inside and I can carry a stack of 8' 2x4s on the passenger side and close the hatchback. You don't need a 3-wheeler clown car to get good mileage, room, and comfort. I'll save my Dodge Cummins for the big hauling jobs.

...with the money I save, I'll invest in some of those "nasty" oil companies so I can share in the huge profits. After all, who are the oil companies but investors like you and me and our 401K plans?

 

[SkyPup]

Our turbodiesel Volkswagen TDIs have been purring along getting 45 mpg for the last ten years now......same mileage in town as out of town. Only difference is that now it takes 400% more money to fill the tank than when new.....

 

[JimWalch]

A recent study found the average American walks about 900 miles year.

Another study found Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.

That means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Kind of makes you proud to be American.

 

[bigshovel]

Took my diesel drum and filled all 35 gallons for the mowing season $150.15 to fill. It will take 6 gallons to mow my yard. I used to be able to pay $25.00 to have it mowed. So it is more expensive for me to do it now than it was not long ago for someone else.

Brad

 

[Phils]

There's been much on the news about how these fuel prices affect truckers. We all know how it's affecting us (filled my K2500 this morning @ $95).

I've been wondering how the poor souls delivering newspapers or pizza are surviving.

Phil

 

[jinman]

I've been wondering how the poor souls delivering newspapers or pizza are surviving.

Phil

Of course, I don't know about pizza or the paper, but the post office is raising the price of postage.

 

[bigshovel]

At my business we use between 4000 and 5000 gallons per month on 4 vehicles. Thats a signifigant hit on the bottom line over last year. You can only raise prices so much to stay competitive. It will be interesting to see what the trucking company's do to stay afloat that burn 250,000 gallons a month. I would not want that bill.

Brad

 

[MossRoad]

Well, our 29MPG Impala's tranny is dying. Not safe to take out of town. Estimate to repair is $2400! We had reservations at a water park in the Wisconsin Dells Sunday and Monday, so we had to take the Suburban. The thing went all the way there and back on one tank of gas... 680 miles! We averaged 17.3 MPG. That was with three hours of stop and go through Chicago, about 50 miles of city driving in the Dells and 65-70MPH the rest of the way. For a 15 year old Chevy 350 I was pleased. Fuel costs were a low of $3.25 when we left to a high of $3.55 when we came back. I skipped that place and got it for $3.44. It had jumped .19 in two days.

 

[MossRoad]

T...(filled my K2500 this morning @ $95)...
Phil

The Subrban took two transactions to fill. Our credit card company limits gas purchases to $75.00 a poke when paying at the pump. $146.00 to fill up when near empty!

 

[Podunkadunk]

At my business we use between 4000 and 5000 gallons per month on 4 vehicles. Thats a signifigant hit on the bottom line over last year. You can only raise prices so much to stay competitive. It will be interesting to see what the trucking company's do to stay afloat that burn 250,000 gallons a month. I would not want that bill.

Brad

They'll do what everyone else will do...pass those costs on to the consumer. Eventually, the consumer will get fed up and won't buy non-necessities, thereby driving the recession ever further.

Something (I wish I could define "something") has to be done...NOW. Otherwise, it will only get worse. I feel for the people who can't afford 3-4$ gas prices . It's a mess, people can only cut back and budget-trim so far.

I'm curious to see if it leads to depression or not.

Podunk

 

[davitk]

You need to have that Dodge checked out! I consistently get 13 mpg in my 5.9l half ton

I've been getting 11 with mine, replaced the spark plugs (some idiot gapped them wrong) and jumped to 12!! Yee Ha

 

[Soundguy]

I'm curious to see if it leads to depression or not.

Podunk

It's depressing me already!

soundguy

 

[jinman]

I'm curious to see if it leads to depression or not.

Podunk

Maybe it will lead to tele-commuting, Internet sales, and advanced innovation that will throttle economic growth. Just think. . . WalMart.com could put a squeeze on Amazon.com and take over UPS. Then you could have WalMart door-to-door on every street corner. What can "brown" do for you?

 

[bigshovel]

Maybe it will lead to tele-commuting, Internet sales, and advanced innovation that will throttle economic growth. Just think. . . WalMart.com could put a squeeze on Amazon.com and take over UPS. Then you could have WalMart door-to-door on every street corner. What can "brown" do for you?

I give my project managers the ability to telecommute about half do, the rest must like to drive.

Brad

 

[Podunkadunk]

It's depressing me already!

soundguy

Yep.

I'm depressed because it's too late to edit my post and put an "a" in front of depression...changing it from a state of mind to an economic state.

Good on ya for catching that. I guess it's applicable both ways though...I am depressed every time I fill up.

Podunk