Gas prices are your fault

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014






Quote:

Who's at fault for gas prices? Partly, it's us



Big autos, longer commutes gobbling up supplies



May 11, 2004



BY JOCELYN PARKER FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER



Sorry folks: We're at least partly to blame for the ongoing pain at the

gas pump.



Like it or not, we're burning more gas than ever. Consumption has jumped

nearly 24 percent since 1990. And the government says we're on track to

burn another 48 percent by 2025.



Sure, there are more vehicles on the road. Between 1990 and 2001, the

number of registered vehicles grew about 22 percent, according to the

federal government. And the miles those vehicles traveled jumped 29

percent.



But the biggest reason consumption has risen so sharply -- after growing

at a much slower pace in preceding years -- is parked in many of our

driveways: The number of light trucks, especially SUVs, has spiked in

the past several years, growing about 74 percent between 1990 and 2001.

And since these vehicles consume more gas than passenger cars, they're

likely responsible for the record level of fuel use, experts say.



Link



And it's going to get worse this summer
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    fellowshipfellowship Posts: 5,038member
    Last month I dumped my Dodge Ram quad Cab which got something between 12 and 14 miles per gallon and replaced it with my new Acura which gets 27 miles per gal in the city.



    Do I miss the truck?



    Not one bit.



    Fellowship
  • Reply 2 of 45
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    good man my Fellow man
  • Reply 3 of 45
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Fellowship: thumbs up



    I blame urban sprawl and the people that design new developments with only cars in mind. I live in an urban environment but recently had to go to a town in the middle of farm-filled central illinois. We were quite literally shocked by the MASSIVE strip mall complex (like 20 massive strip malls clumped together in the middle of nowhere) and the fact that nothing but hotels were more than one story tall. Amazing. Just to go from one store to the next you had to get back in your car and drive across a vast parking lot.



    In contrast, where I live I only use the car every two weeks or so. I don't even need public transportation.
  • Reply 4 of 45
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    I recently bought a Civic Hybrid. Currently running 39.4 MPG. Also, I get 400 miles/tank so the last time I bought gas, it was still at $1.99/gallon.



    I haven't sold a car, but this car is currently my primary vehicle.
  • Reply 5 of 45
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ebby

    I recently bought a Civic Hybrid. Currently running 39.4 MPG. Also, I get 400 miles/tank so the last time I bought gas, it was still at $1.99/gallon.



    I am getting my first car soon, it's either going to be my brother's jeep, or(happy birthday WR) a hybrid.



    Gas prices are expected to flirt with or reach $3.00/gallon in SoCal



    400 miles a tank sounds mighty fine to me.
  • Reply 6 of 45
    psgamer0921psgamer0921 Posts: 393member
    I've read all these GREAT reviews about the 04 Toyota Prius. And fully loaded it's like $26k. Wow, that's great.
  • Reply 7 of 45
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    I also considered the Prius and it has a little more power, but all the meters/dials are in the center of the dash, not in front of the driver like normal cars. The Prius also "looks" like a hybrid car. I just want a normal looking car, thankyouverrymuch. To each his own.



    But you really have to test drive them before making a purchase. The dealers around here all gave me some BS to prevent me from driving the cars. (Can't find keys, other costomers, someone else is out now...) Unless they are certain you will purchase the car, they will try to prevent you from driving it; which is kinda pointless.



    Oh, and a note: Don't mention the competition (Civic vs. Prius) until the end of your reviews. They don't like it.
  • Reply 8 of 45
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ebby

    I also considered the Prius and it has a little more power, but all the meters/dials are in the center of the dash, not in front of the driver like normal cars. The Prius also "looks" like a hybrid car. I just want a normal looking car, thankyouverrymuch.



    But to each his own.




    indeed, Most times when I mention hybrids to people their response is usually something to do with ugly aesthetics. It's surprising how much the look of the car matters.
  • Reply 9 of 45
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wrong Robot

    indeed, Most times when I mention hybrids to people their response is usually something to do with ugly aesthetics. It's surprising how much the look of the car matters.



    Very true. I think manufacturers have thought that if someone was going to by a hybrid they wanted something that looked "different".



    I think they would do well to make to make cars that look "exactly the same" but just happen to get phenomenal MPG.
  • Reply 10 of 45
    toweltowel Posts: 1,479member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ebby

    The Prius also "looks" like a hybrid car. I just want a normal looking car, thankyouverrymuch.



    How 'bout the Civic hybrid? I agree that the Prius can look a little too "futuristic". The Civic hybrid, OTOH, looks like, well, a Civic.



    Edit: Doh. Need to read the thread more carefully next time. [slinking away...]
  • Reply 11 of 45
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Towel

    How 'bout the Civic hybrid? I agree that the Prius can look a little too "futuristic". The Civic hybrid, OTOH, looks like, well, a Civic.





    (that's what he has
  • Reply 12 of 45
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Towel

    How 'bout the Civic hybrid? I agree that the Prius can look a little too "futuristic". The Civic hybrid, OTOH, looks like, well, a Civic.



    Some people don't want a car that stands out...

    ... and some people do!



    Lets just say the "cop factor" played into my purchase decision. It is sometimes good to blend into the croud. 8)



    Civic Hybrid

    BTW: That is mot me driving.
  • Reply 13 of 45
    quagmirequagmire Posts: 558member
    Chevy is coming out with a mild hybrid Silverado. It will save you about 4-5% on gas consumption( its better then nothing right?). This how it will work. When the truck stops the gas motor shuts down and a eletric motor will powering all of the instruments and radio on idle. When you tap the gas pedal, the engine automatically starts up. A meduim size portion of gas consuption is idle. So this should help a little.
  • Reply 14 of 45
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Gas prices are not our fault. They are the fault of the greedy Oil cartel and oil companies who are setting record profits.
  • Reply 15 of 45
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by quagmire

    Chevy is coming out with a mild hybrid Silverado. It will save you about 4-5% on gas consumption( its better then nothing right?). This how it will work. When the truck stops the gas motor shuts down and a eletric motor will powering all of the instruments and radio on idle. When you tap the gas pedal, the engine automatically starts up. A meduim size portion of gas consuption is idle. So this should help a little.





    It's better than nothing. it would be great if that was an easy mod for auto shops to do, cheap, quick install..etc.
  • Reply 16 of 45
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wrong Robot

    indeed, Most times when I mention hybrids to people their response is usually something to do with ugly aesthetics. It's surprising how much the look of the car matters.



    that's strange because most SUVs and pick-up are ugly imo
  • Reply 17 of 45
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SDW2001

    Gas prices are not our fault. They are the fault of the greedy Oil cartel and oil companies who are setting record profits.



    probably true to some degree, oil companies are evil empires, but society is to blame as well. supposedly we've reached peak oil as well. so it's a combination
  • Reply 18 of 45
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by quagmire

    Chevy is coming out with a mild hybrid Silverado. It will save you about 4-5% on gas consumption( its better then nothing right?). This how it will work. When the truck stops the gas motor shuts down and a eletric motor will powering all of the instruments and radio on idle. When you tap the gas pedal, the engine automatically starts up. A meduim size portion of gas consuption is idle. So this should help a little.



    Hmmm...



    I would have thought the added complexity and cost would be prohibitive for such a modest improvement.



    Either it doesn't cost as much as I would imagine (manufacturing or engineering), or Chevy is testing the water to see if people will pay more for at least the illusion of being "eco-friendly".
  • Reply 19 of 45
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by burningwheel

    that's strange because most SUVs and pick-up are ugly imo





    that's what I said
  • Reply 20 of 45
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SDW2001

    Gas prices are not our fault. They are the fault of the greedy Oil cartel and oil companies who are setting record profits.



    Spoken like a true recent SUV buyer.
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