View Full Version : How high would gas have to go?
The gas price thread got me thinking. I don't think many people really even consider fuel mileage when they buy a vehicle these days. What would the price of gas have to hit (per gallon) before gas mileage became a real consideration in your next vehicle purchase?
RacinM3
03-05-04, 01:04 AM
I'm about to get a new car soon, and gas is $2.50, and it's not come into my decision yet, so I'd say $4 or more.
chop456
03-05-04, 03:32 AM
Gas mileage was a major influence on my current vehicle purchase, and fuel was $1.35 in 1999.
People who buy Excursions FOR NO REASON deserve what they get.
pinniped
03-05-04, 03:46 AM
There are lots of advantages to small cars and if gas remains what it is now, that will affect my purchase...lets see, do I want to throw away $40 a week on making the Saudis more wealthy just to drive a bigger car...
It would factor into a couple things. First, I'd have to look into a second small car to go back and forth to work in. My truck, even a 20mpg is just too much at $2.00 gallon and 28miles one way to work. 2nd would be my next boat purchase, I'd probably opt for a slightly smaller boat requiring less HP to push. If you think gas is high at service stations, try buying it on the lake at a marina. :eek:
Railbird
03-05-04, 07:04 AM
Big truck/small car here. Gas prices are just the cost of being mobile.
4wheeldrifter
03-05-04, 08:20 AM
Probably wouldn't affect my decision much as I'm not gonna buy one of those 4WD UPS trucks anyway. Don't need one. I suppose if we got into Euro prices I might have to consider something on the more econo side, but with a family you can't go too small.
For now, my 9 year old 4-banger Nissan gets me back and forth quite well, thank you. :p
I need my truck to pull my boat on fishing trips..... I'd possibly look into a small car...something sporty of course.
People who buy Excursions FOR NO REASON deserve what they get.
Absolutely!
Fuel mileage is always a factor for me, but it's not at really at the very top of my list. My current car is a Dodge Stratus, and the one I had before this was a Pontiac Grand Am. My next car would probably either be the same size or smaller, provided I could find a small car I can actually fit in comfortably.
I'm getting 30MPG in my RSX, which is good since I drive 30 miles each way to work. I try to get a decent milage car for my commute. Only problem with it is the premium fuel requirement.
Wife gets around 22 in her Saturn VUE, be we also tow a small trailer in the summer, so we need a little bigger vehicle for that.
At least we use our SUV, I know a lot of people who commute 20+ miles with a Suburban for no other reason than having a big SUV.
racer2c
03-05-04, 11:31 AM
Considering I commute 140 miles a day...I'm pissed I have to pay $1.75 for 92 octane.
fourrunner
03-05-04, 12:06 PM
Unfortunately it doesn't matter ... I'll just pass it along to my customers...
I also do Estimating for Insurance Companies on repairs to fire or water damaged Furniture & Cabinetry. They pay for my time & all expenses, So I'm lucky that I can pass these costs along.
I'm looking at the new Lexus hybrid, just because I think it's really cool.
It will probably cost a fortune, so the price of gas could be a factor, but at the end of the day the gas companies have you by the short and curlies.
If you want a nice car, you gotta pay.
JLMannin
03-05-04, 12:28 PM
I did not choose any of the options, because fuel mileage is already a consideration when I purchase a vehicle.
I cannot control what I pay per gallon of gas, but I can control how much gas I use. The car I drive to and from work is a 1998 Saturn SL1, and the family vehicle is a mini-van. The Saturn gets 30 to 40 mpg, the mini-van gets around 25 mpg.
My next work car will definately be a gas/electric hybred. I will never own a station wagon with a 4 inch lift kit (what most "SUV's" actually are)
RacinM3
03-05-04, 12:44 PM
Even though I said $4, I'm thanking god every day that we traded in our Durango 5.9 last year! 11 MPG, and $55 fill-ups at todays prices! Now we have a car-based wagon that gets better than double that mileage. :thumbup:
Wheel-Nut
03-05-04, 01:08 PM
Gas mileage was a consideration when we purchased our last two vehicles.
My wifes was a '95 Cougar with a 4.6L V8, it is now an '01 Altima with a 2.something 4. Considering she drives 100 miles round trip 5 days a week we do much better than the Cougar, although the Cougar ran like a scalded dog!!
I went from a '93 Ranger with a 2.3 four which got great mileage to a '02 Tacoma Double Cab 3.4L V6 which gets moderately decent mileage (19 - 22mpg). I only drive 50 miles a day so a little less mileage is no big deal. I needed a larger vehicle for the boys. One here and one on the way. I could have bought one of the full size trucks but the mpg's turned me off.
If gas goes to the $2+ range here in southeast Texas I will start making my short trips, < 5 miles one way, by bike.
Gas mileage was a major influence on my current vehicle purchase, and fuel was $1.35 in 1999.
People who buy Excursions FOR NO REASON deserve what they get.
People who buy Hummers just to be in vogue should be hung from traffic lights....
-Kevin
MAXAR RE
03-05-04, 02:09 PM
My wife and I both have Civics, and while we have enjoyed their fuel economy, we didn't buy them for that reason. We bought them because we like small, affordable, low-maintenence cars. With the gas prices on the rise, however, we are enjoying the benefits of 30+ MGP average.
I had already decided that my next car will be a Civic EX (early next year, hopefully) long before the gas prices started to rise, but if they keep rising like this and stay above $2 (where the oil & gas companies want it) then I will look at buying a Civic Hybrid, or even an Insight. I have no problem with 50+ MPG. :D
I've always tried to keep an eye on the mileage of vehicles I buy. Unfortuantely it's not very realistic to try and fit my 6'9" large framed body into a civic...very uncomfortable, my coffin will pry be about this size. In December I picked up a Ford Explorer sport,(2door) with the v6 and 4wd. No need for the v8, and I get about 17 mpg around town. I'm hoping a few years down the road the manufacturers will have some of the hybrids or diesels out in the midsize area on the vehicle scale.
I do find it irritating with all of the JUMBO suv's cruising around with just one person in it. To bad they can't put a chip in a vehicle and have the fuel pumps capable of reading the mileage stats of a vehicle. Graduated fuel prices then...you buy a gas hog you can pay the higher prices, it's almost like that with insurance it seems.
Hopefully I don't offend anyone with this opinion, but there is absolutely NO friggin need to use one of those Hummers on the street :thumdown:
oddlycalm
03-05-04, 03:12 PM
Energy cost has been a decision factor for me since 1974. The winter car is an AWD wagon w/ 2.8L engine that seats four comfortably and will do everything an SUV will do. The summer car is a sporty convertable w/ a 3.2L engine. Both get reasonably good mileage if driven with restaint... ;) Telecommuting for the last 15yrs is the biggest positive factor, and limits driving to errands and pleasure. Were either of us to start commuting to a job (unlikely), we would probably move into a high mileage vehicle. However, when our combined annual mileage is 12,000 or less, that doesn't seem very compelling.
Probably bigger factors to our overall energy consumption are the 90% efficient gas furnace, the heat pump instead of an air conditioner, and the 500lb. stone lined water heater that never gets warm to the touch. A lot of folks that worry about their car's fuel economy but are perfectly content to throw away $100/month on wasted energy in their home.
oc
datachicane
03-05-04, 03:36 PM
For the last year, my daily commuter has been full electric. It actually takes less time to get to work, and since it folds up and stashes under the desk in my cubicle I don't have to pay for parking. Four months' savings in parking alone and it was paid for, although the added cachet to me treehugger status is priceless... :D
Besides, it's great for zipping around the track come race weekend.
Using gas is always a consideration. My drive to work is seven miles, hence, I hardly ever drive the Mini :-(
I agree with JMannin's post
Ziggy
racer2c
03-05-04, 05:24 PM
I commute the distance I do because I am able to make 100% more than someone in my position in my town (I get blank stares when I tell locals that I work in a corporate IT dept.). My office is in one of the highest cost of living areas in the country, Fairfax VA) and I feel that the quality of life that my family enjoys in living out in the small town is worth the cost of commuting at current gasoline prices in my current 28mpg highway car. If gas prices continue upward, I would rather get a better commuter car rather than pay the outrageous prices of Fairfax and loose the other benefits that our rural small town offers.
The average cost of a new home in Fairfax is $400k. That is on .2 acre lot for single family, although a co-worker just bought a 'bargain' townhome for 350K with no yard at all. Not for me, no thanks.
Gas prices have always been one of our considerations. We've run our '91 Civic hatchback into the ground commuting 80km daily (sometimes twice daily)...but it's closing in on 400,000km, and is needing more work than we can afford. It has become un-highway-worthy this year, forcing mr anait to commute with the Odyssey :eek: - too costly all around.
Next month we'll try to patch up the Civic to last another 6 months or so...we're also considering buying a used truck (do they make those in diesel??) to get us through the next couple of years of house construction. If mr anait could squeeze his 6'4 frame into one, he could use it for commuting. We'd then use the Odyssey only when necessary (trips into the city with all the kids), like we used to.
When our house is built (super energy efficient, geothermal, thermal mass, passive solar, etc etc etc), and we have a bit o' money to work with, we'd love to get a hybrid. Mr anait found them roomy enough for his frame, although not as roomy as our current hatchback.
Sean O'Gorman
03-05-04, 11:52 PM
My car's data says 21/27, I think I get that good...if gas prices got expensive enough I'd probably have to get my old Honda back in running condition, even though its 21 years old it gets 40+ MPG. :cool:
We really don't consider fuel economy per se. We just tend to like smaller cars. I suppose $2.00+ gas might put the kibosh on consideration of the new retro Mustang GT, but a Mini or Miata are probably more likely anyway.
chop456
05-20-04, 04:38 AM
Time Magazine Article on Hybrids (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040524-638416,00.html)
Not enough emphasis on diesel technology, especially BioDiesel and ULSD, but still a good read.
I can't help but laugh at my B.I.L. with the V-10 Ford F-350 that he has for no apparent reason other than to pretend he's a suburban cowboy. His last fillup was $66. Mine was $29 and got me 740 miles. :D
At my local Mobil:
$2.15
$2.25
$2.35
$1.77
I'm with Oddlycalm it's been a factor since '74 time frame. I need a pickup but it's a stick shift diesel with a 3.73 final ratio I get 20mpg with a 4wd. Looking into a new car for the wife and it's most like a VW TDI.
High efficency furnace sips fuel oil and is augmented by 6 cord of wood. House is 2X6 walls with R19 and R38 in the ceiling.
chop456
05-20-04, 07:01 AM
Looking into a new car for the wife and it's most like a VW TDI.
You should drive it. They're real chick magnets. ;)
The Passat is now available with the new 2.0L PD TDI engine in sedan and wagon form.
Time Magazine Article on Hybrids (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040524-638416,00.html)
Not enough emphasis on diesel technology, especially BioDiesel and ULSD, but still a good read.
I can't help but laugh at my B.I.L. with the V-10 Ford F-350 that he has for no apparent reason other than to pretend he's a suburban cowboy. His last fillup was $66. Mine was $29 and got me 740 miles. :D
At my local Mobil:
$2.15
$2.25
$2.35
$1.77
M-B was at Austin BioFuel's annual banquet 2 weeks ago looking to get some of the good stuff for the biodiesel they want to start production on
Mr anait is picking up the necessary parts to do the conversion on Big Bird. Our vegetable oil supply will be ready for pickup soon; we'll need to decide where in the garage we're going to put the storage tanks, and experiment with how warm we'll need to keep them. The tanks and lines in the truck will be kept warm to keep the oil from turning to sludge. Here are a couple links:
http://www.biofuels.coop/peter/
http://www.biofuels.coop/peter/images_small/tank_hoses1.jpg
We want to get this going asap. Even though the truck is diesel, and gets 20mph or so, it still costs about $50 to fill the tank. Can't stomach that for long.
Napoleon
05-20-04, 12:48 PM
I won't vote since I already have a Toyota Echo that gets 35 mpg around town.
My wife and I were looking at a 1/2 ton Suburban or pickup. We were going to also buy a bigger trailer so we could go camping too.
Not now.
We're going to wait and see where gas prices level off before we upgrade. I lke the 20/25 MPG my Saturn VUE is currently getting. And the pop-up isn't so bad that I want to see my milage drop into the mid teens.
racer2c
05-20-04, 02:34 PM
Time Magazine Article on Hybrids (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040524-638416,00.html)
Not enough emphasis on diesel technology, especially BioDiesel and ULSD, but still a good read.
I saw an "expert" on TV the other day saying the zero emission diesels were the near future, not hybrids. I guess hybrids roll of the marketing tongues better than zero emission diesel. They could call it a ZED. :gomer:
ZED's dead, baby. ZED's dead.
My motorcycle gets about 48mpg for my commute, so that my big V8 truck can sit in the driveway, which really helps the mileage.
Wheel-Nut
05-20-04, 03:03 PM
Mr anait is picking up the necessary parts to do the conversion on Big Bird. Our vegetable oil supply will be ready for pickup soon; we'll need to decide where in the garage we're going to put the storage tanks, and experiment with how warm we'll need to keep them. The tanks and lines in the truck will be kept warm to keep the oil from turning to sludge. Here are a couple links:
http://www.biofuels.coop/peter/
http://www.biofuels.coop/peter/images_small/tank_hoses1.jpg
We want to get this going asap. Even though the truck is diesel, and gets 20mph or so, it still costs about $50 to fill the tank. Can't stomach that for long.
So do you just pull up to the local fast food joint and unload their grease trap in the tank?
So do you just pull up to the local fast food joint and unload their grease trap in the tank?
Not quite that quick! :D A good friend owns a chain of restaurants, so we're dealing with him. His staff will load the used oil into containers, which we'll empty into larger tanks at home. We'll filter the oil before using it. Real biodiesel, afaik, is treated as well, and chemicals are added - I'm not exactly sure what that process is. But with minimal filtering of the oil we'll be getting, we can use the oil without having to re-process it further.
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html#process
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