[Beewee]

Ok with the "war" on terror...or Iraq I'm not really sure which gasoline is on the rise. What have you all been paying for gas?


Yesterday I paid $1.59, today it was up to $1.62!

[nonhuman]

What about a "they should be raised to encourage people to buy fuel-efficient cars and to create more of a public interest in alternative energy vehicles" option?

[Earth Mk. II]

Where's the "I don't own a car" choice?

[MindFad]

Man, when I was in Vail, CO, regular was $1.90 -- and premium was $1.99. I don't know what it is here in Miami (I don't drive or have a car ... yet), but it certainly isn't that much.

[Eug]

Gas is comparatively cheap in the US compared to most other places in the world.

In fact, it could be argued it's too cheap in the US IMHO (for the general consumer).

[Beewee]

Originally posted by Earth Mk. II:
Where's the "I don't own a car" choice?

That doesn't help my one-sided argument.

[Earth Mk. II]

Originally posted by Beewee:
That doesn't help my one-sided argument.

oh. ok.. carry on then!

[Zarqawi's Stump]

Originally posted by Eug:
it could be argued it's too cheap in the US IMHO (for the general consumer).

maybe it's just too expensive elsewhere. You probably know how things are in most of the Great Satan--very spread out. Folks need cars to get to various places. Buses just won't cut it for most of America. They're too slow and too inconvenient.

Gasoline sucks. The prices suck. Gas-powered automobiles suck.

Please for Allah's Sake get alternatives to the market and develop the infrastructure to fuel it!

[maxelson]

Correct me if I am wrong- but isn't this particular round of panic pricing the result of the strike in SOuth AMerica?
Fear not. As war breaks out, I am sure the Oil companies will find the room for another hike, cry poverty and then post another year of record profits.
TIme for a Hybrid.

[malvolio]

Yup, the major supply problem right now is the strike in Venezuela. Although Bush will never mention this, Saddam Hussein is actually helping our gasoline situation by increasing Iraqi oil production to compensate for the Venezuelan shortfall.

[boots]

Originally posted by maxelson:
Correct me if I am wrong- but isn't this particular round of panic pricing the result of the strike in SOuth AMerica?
Fear not. As war breaks out, I am sure the Oil companies will find the room for another hike, cry poverty and then post another year of record profits.
TIme for a Hybrid.

that was my read on it too. In Atlanta, I paid $1.499/gal last night. We don't have the same excise taxes on the gas (in GA) so it is always about 10-15 cents cheaper here.

[maxelson]

Jeez. 20k for a hybrid. Base model. I applaud Toyota's policy of making the entire line hybrid by... what... 2008? But PLEASE can we make them more affordable? I know, I know. They will. But I need to buy this year. Well, maybe not... but I am hanging at 140k miles with a 100 mile per day commute and no alternative as to public transportation. My car is at the point where stuff just happens. I mean, it hasn't had anything major since the clutch replacement and seems fine, but I start getting paranoid at this point. My car pool mate is on leave. The pike costs me 2.60 each day (thank you, oh THANK YOU Massport!). I have, til now, avoided caluculating my annual commuting costs. It would depress me.
Well, at least my car gets 39 on the highway.

[itai195]

You do get a $2000 federal tax discount too, maxelson.

Gas here in the Bay Area is, according to CNN at least, the most expensive in the nation. We're paying in the high $1.80s for regular, at least near my house.... I'm all for hybrid cars, I just want more options than a civic or a prius.

[maxelson]

Yeah. I did some pretty thorough research. I know about the tax incentives and I am VERY glad for it. We are seriously looking into the feasibility, but it is 5 grand more than the car I would buy today.
I am a Saturn guy. I like them cars a lot and the company. I cannot believe they have not put one on the market yet (Honda and Toyota buyers are their biggest target market). Here's hoping(and here's hoping my post does not get database error smacked )

[boardsurfer]

Ranging from 1.79 regular to 2.29 premium around here. I am thankful that I work 1.5 miles from home.

[Xeo]

I have a February birthday. When I started driving in '98, gas was between $0.80 and $1.00 a gallon. In the summer it spiked because more people drive during the summer. Now, in the winter it's $1.60. That's damn near 2 times as much. I know inflation happens but this much this fast? I can't imagine what it'll be like this summer.

[Zarqawi's Stump]

I thought I saw a stat on TV today saying gas prices have gone up 75 % since 1 year ago in the Great Satan.

[Zimmerman]

Anything less than $2.50/gal and I'm not going to complain too much. I don't drive a whole lot, and my vehicle gets decent, if not stellar gas mileage. And of course I don't WANT gas to get that high, but it isn't going to change my habits until it does. I paid $1.75 the other day.

[PB2K]

Dutch unleaded Gas costs 1,24 euro's a litre. Stop whining !!!

[Nimisys]

Originally posted by maxelson:
Yeah. I did some pretty thorough research. I know about the tax incentives and I am VERY glad for it. We are seriously looking into the feasibility, but it is 5 grand more than the car I would buy today.
I am a Saturn guy. I like them cars a lot and the company. I cannot believe they have not put one on the market yet (Honda and Toyota buyers are their biggest target market). Here's hoping(and here's hoping my post does not get database error smacked )

saturn was the first with the all electric Ev1

gm is working on hybrid vehicles (their truck is due next year) but their aim is not the small already fuel effcient saturns but the less efficient fullsize trucks, vans and suv's.

as for infastructure 90% is already there as all the current pipelines that transfer oil can also be used to transfer hydrogen

[imaxxedout]

I pay 1.89 and I only get like 17mpg. UGH.

I miss my neon. Sorta.

- Ca$h

[engage1000]

Cash...

$1.89 per gallon? Oh I am so jealous. Up in Muskoka (Canada) we pay 82 cents a litre for regular and about 90 cents for premium, right now that is.



edit: works out to about $2.45/gallon USD at the current exchange rate.

[scottiB]

In 1983 when I got my license, there was something going on in the world (what it was; I can't remember being 16 and all and not caring about anything in general) where gas spiked to $1.40/gallon in the Detroit area. Put a real crimp in my white-suburban-punk-ass lifestyle. I couldn't afford the latest Human League cassette for a bit--and that was before this Napster stuff.

Back in '83--thems were REAL dollars

[dillerX]

$1.69/gal here. not bad.

[maxelson]

Originally posted by Nimisys:
saturn was the first with the all electric Ev1

gm is working on hybrid vehicles (their truck is due next year) but their aim is not the small already fuel effcient saturns but the less efficient fullsize trucks, vans and suv's.

as for infastructure 90% is already there as all the current pipelines that transfer oil can also be used to transfer hydrogen

Yes, they were. You're absolutely right. And I could buy one. For 40k. And only if I lived in CA. If I had the money and lived (ulp) on the left coast, I would certainly consider it!
Ah. It is just me with my consumer loyalty. I find something I like that works well for me, it takes horses to pry me off. Going from Saturn to Toyota will be like going from Mac to Windows for me. But right now, I drive 100 miles a day. I get just shy of 400 miles on a tank. Considering the environmental impact, not to mention the amount of my cash that goes to the pump... a car with double the mileage looks like the way I have to go. And it KILLS me that the ability is there- the technology is there to make a car what gets 80MPG. And yet... nooooo. Can't do that. Bad for oil business.

[roger_ramjet]

Originally posted by Nimisys:

as for infastructure 90% is already there as all the current pipelines that transfer oil can also be used to transfer hydrogen

I don't think so. At least not from what I've read.

$1.69/gallon here. It's gone up sharply in the past couple of weeks.

[Cipher13]

Try about $1.10 per LITER. Not gallon...

[maxelson]

OT, but help me out with this: How is a Prius in the snow? I know they are HEAVY, sure, but those tires look awfully flimsy to me...

[scottiB]

max, have you looked at the Civic hybrid? It seems to be a bit beefier--exactly like a gasoline model--a little less compromise.

A problem with the EV-1 is that it couldn't be a year-round driver in the north; bitter cold would sap the battery just like an iPod's.

[kOnshii]

WOW, that is very expensive, in AUS i though prices were also going crazy, we pay $1 comparable to 58c US a litre.

Well, if American weren't so dam addicted to SUV, that produce power you people will never need i think it just stupid. There should be legislation on the amount of oil a car consumes per mile or where i live per km. (metric is superior)

I say, Goo japanese, 4 cylinder cars are not just fast, but fuel efficient. So they aren't able to climb Mt Olympus but at least they'll allow us to breath for a little longer before we all DIE.

..............................
Americans use the world largest amount of fuel, in the most un-efficient way, produce the most pollution and are trying to convice the world the Saddam is a threat to the world????

[Mars_Attacks]

Originally posted by kOnshii:

Americans use the world largest amount of fuel, in the most un-efficient way, produce the most pollution

Bzzzzzzztttt. WRONG!

[maxelson]

Originally posted by scottiB:
max, have you looked at the Civic hybrid? It seems to be a bit beefier--exactly like a gasoline model--a little less compromise.

A problem with the EV-1 is that it couldn't be a year-round driver in the north; bitter cold would sap the battery just like an iPod's.

Thanks for the suggestion. Just checked it out.
Are there any reasons- hard reasons against a CVtransmission? (continuously variable)? The difference in mileage between the standard and CVT are almost negligable. I want to know about reliability.

[Eug]

Originally posted by maxelson:
OT, but help me out with this: How is a Prius in the snow? I know they are HEAVY, sure, but those tires look awfully flimsy to me...

Funny you should ask.

The all seasons on my Prius are just that. All seasons. They ain't great in the snow. (I should probably get winter tires but have not yet done so.) However, the funny part is that around here I'd say about half of the cars off on the sidewalk after a big snowfall are SUVs, despite the fact that most cars are sedans. It's all about the driver.

As for the gas mileage, the thing I've noticed is that with the Prius, the mileage does not increase as much in the city as with other cars for real life mileage. I find with standard cars they get OK mileage on the highway, and only get good mileage in the city if you drive like 100 year old blue-haired senior. The Prius manages to maintain OK gas mileage in the city with normal driving.

CVT has repeatedly been shown to get better gas mileage than manual, although the difference can be slight. The importance of manual is driver-controlled performance. I like CVT (and even automatic) because I screwed up my right shoulder. Manual would not be a good idea for me. CVT is soooo smooth though. Automatic feels so archaic compared to CVT.

Re: Price. One thing you should remember about the Prius though is that it's tough to compare. The Corolla is cheaper, but it's a much less nice car. The Prius is bigger, with a much nicer drive, and cleaner build quality, more like the Camry. In standard car terms it's still not $20000 US of car, but part of that is made up by the tax incentives and the gas savings. Plus the car is just so damn cool. Gotta love that engine monitor LCD screen.

Bzzzzzzztttt. WRONG!

I'm not sure but he may be close. The US has one of the highest per capita energy use levels in the world. Canada is way up there too. I'm not sure who is number one though.

[maxelson]

THANKS, Eug. THis is the real world info I need (Heh... SUVs- false sense of security- they can GO better in show, but they stop just like the rest of us!).
99% of my driving will be highway.
So, the CVT is OK maintenance wise? I am all for that if it is (being stuck on the pike bouncing between 1-2-3-1-2-1-1-1-2-3-1-3 is just NO friggin fun).
Anyone have any experience with the new Honda Hybrid?

[residentEvil]

filled up my dodge ram last night...$47...i was on empty. but hey, it is the cost of ownership. if you can't afford it, don't drive.

as for being a bad consumer cause i choose this type of vehicle, too ****ing bad. it is my choice. until someone comes out with a truck that offers damn near the same features and power AND costs the same as gasoline only driven vehicle, i will keep driving what i have. my needs are impraticle for an all electric or a hybrid.

[andi*pandi]

regarding US energy use etc, we may be a large consumer of energy, but we are not the worst polluters. Many countries in South America and Asia are worse, because they have fewer environmental regulations. Had a friend who lived in guatemala. She said mufflers were rare... People could drive any piece of oil-burning crap, no inspections.

Although, that also describes Florida.

I'd be interested in a hybrid, but they seem very small to me. I need space. I need to haul things!

[Fabiano007]

I really can't understand...

Here in Brazil, where I live, we pay about USD 2.50/galon...
It was about 2.00/galon before war rumors...

Just remenber: US salaries are much higher than ours. Avarage guy, which owns car here gets less than USD 500/month.

[roger_ramjet]

Originally posted by andi*pandi:
regarding US energy use etc, we may be a large consumer of energy, but we are not the worst polluters. Many countries in South America and Asia are worse, because they have fewer environmental regulations. Had a friend who lived in guatemala. She said mufflers were rare... People could drive any piece of oil-burning crap, no inspections.

When I visited Taipei half the population got around on motor scooters - good mileage but those 2-cycle engines are very dirty. It was not uncommon to see a family of four balanced precariously on those things! Fascinating city but the air quality was poor.

[scaught]

Originally posted by Earth Mk. II:
Where's the "I don't own a car" choice?

in my dreams.

i HATE my car. i hate it. its not a bad car. it gets decent mileage and all that crap. i just hate driving it, paying for it, insuring it, scraping the ice off it, etc.

my dream is to move to a city that has good public transportation that can get me to work and back in a decent amount of time. chicago, boston, DC, etc etc. unfortunately i live in detroit now which has a miserably inefficient bus system and where everything is a million miles apart.

[DBursey]

Originally posted by engage1000:
Cash...

$1.89 per gallon? Oh I am so jealous. Up in Muskoka (Canada) we pay 82 cents a litre for regular and about 90 cents for premium, right now that is.



edit: works out to about $2.45/gallon USD at the current exchange rate.

Sorry to nitpick, but I have to question your math.

Using the latest exchange rate @ $1 CDN = $0.658 US, and given that 1 litre = 0.26417 US gallon, we get:

Regular: $0.82 CDN / litre = $2.04 US / US gallon
Premium: $0.90 CDN / litre = $2.24 US / US gallon

Still too high, but not seriously out of line with prices south of the border, if you consider the tax component of the Canadian prices.

[scottiB]

andi*pandi wrote:
I'd be interested in a hybrid, but they seem very small to me. I need space. I need to haul things!

Me, too. If an automaker could develop a hybrid in a package like a Focus wagon or Honda Element, I'd buy one.

[maxelson]

Originally posted by scottiB:
Me, too. If an automaker could develop a hybrid in a package like a Focus wagon or Honda Element, I'd buy one.

Saturn's got a hybrid VUE arriving... in 2005. Can't wait that long!
I gotta go with the Honda, I think. But woe unto Honda if there's no MP3 input for my iPod! Hmmm. I don't see a cassette player either... THAT's an issue...
At any rate, the Honda Hybrid is now built into a Civic body. I didn't kow that til a few minutes ago. I am sure the Prius is nice and all, but it is bottom of the birdcage BUTT ugly. I can live with the stlye of the Honda.
Hey- where ARE the batteries in those things?

[scottiB]

Originally posted by maxelson:
I gotta go with the Honda, I think. But woe unto Honda if there's no MP3 input for my iPod! Hmmm. I don't see a cassette player either... THAT's an issue...

A jack is included with the Element's radio. Perhaps it can be a dealer installable item.

[bewebste]

Originally posted by maxelson:
Saturn's got a hybrid VUE arriving... in 2005. Can't wait that long!
I gotta go with the Honda, I think. But woe unto Honda if there's no MP3 input for my iPod! Hmmm. I don't see a cassette player either... THAT's an issue...
At any rate, the Honda Hybrid is now built into a Civic body. I didn't kow that til a few minutes ago. I am sure the Prius is nice and all, but it is bottom of the birdcage BUTT ugly. I can live with the stlye of the Honda.
Hey- where ARE the batteries in those things?

I got a Civic with a cassette player and I have a cassette adapter that goes out to a headphone jack that I can plug into my iPod. Works like a charm.

Also, I believe the battery in the most hybrids is located in the area between the backseat and the trunk. You don't even know it's there.

[maxelson]

Originally posted by bewebste:
I got a Civic with a cassette player and I have a cassette adapter that goes out to a headphone jack that I can plug into my iPod. Works like a charm.

Also, I believe the battery in the most hybrids is located in the area between the backseat and the trunk. You don't even know it's there.

Yeah- that's my iPod setup now. But if there's no cassette deck in the Honda, that puts a damper on my evil little commuting plans.

Do we lose much trunk space?

[Myrkridia]

Originally posted by engage1000:
Cash...

$1.89 per gallon? Oh I am so jealous. Up in Muskoka (Canada) we pay 82 cents a litre for regular and about 90 cents for premium, right now that is.



edit: works out to about $2.45/gallon USD at the current exchange rate.

Holy... Wow, Dude I feel so sorry for you.

[DBursey]

Hey- where ARE the batteries in those things?

My employer runs a fleet of the new hybrid Honda Civics. The batteries are stored under the trunk area just behind the rear seats, and do not seem to result in any lost luggage space.

The hybrid Civic runs very well. The only indication of its hybrid credentials comes when one pulls the car to a stop at the traffic light and the gasoline engine automatically shuts off! Press the accelerator again, and the motor starts up practically instantaneously.

Myrkridia, regarding engage1000's gas price conversion; see my earlier post.

[andi*pandi]

max, I believe there are wireless solutions for ipod-->radio devices... set radio to x station, and ipod will broadcast to it.


http://www.marware.com/ConnectFM.html


hmmm... new car sans tape deck... that would mean I'd have to retire my 80's mix tapes. Sigh.

[scaught]

Originally posted by andi*pandi:
max, I believe there are wireless solutions for ipod-->radio devices... set radio to x station, and ipod will broadcast to it.


http://www.marware.com/ConnectFM.html

that one looks like itll work.

heres another. smaller. cheaper. cooler looking.

http://griffintechnology.com/products/itrip/

[engage1000]

Originally posted by DBursey:
Sorry to nitpick, but I have to question your math.

Using the latest exchange rate @ $1 CDN = $0.658 US, and given that 1 litre = 0.26417 US gallon, we get:

Regular: $0.82 CDN / litre = $2.04 US / US gallon
Premium: $0.90 CDN / litre = $2.24 US / US gallon

Still too high, but not seriously out of line with prices south of the border, if you consider the tax component of the Canadian prices.

DBursey,

You are entirely correct and I appologize. I got all mixed up and used Imperial instead of US gallons (was sort of doing it from my head). Imperial is .22 or so to a litre and you're figure of .26 US Gallons per litre is correct. You would get $2.45 based off of an Imperial Conversion.

$2.04US/Gallon sounds more like it using "US Gallons". LOL. Again, my appologies.