Summer Vacation And Gas Prices

[Aoie_Emesai]

As summer looms around the corner, and people will want to travel, the gas prices will probably (will) rise during the summer months. (that's May, June, July) For me I'll have less class but I will still have to drive. I only worry about this because I'll have to drive to school, and that takes a large hit on my wallet (debit card). The gas price where I live as of April 10, 2006 are around the $2.58-$2.69 range, depending whether it's QuickTrip or Shell.

For anyone taking summer classes or taking a (some) vacation/s for summer this issue will be major. It's quite annoying that the USA has little pubilc transportations espically if you live rural like me and the only mode of transportation is my mighty car.

How do ya feel about this?

For me, I won't be able to travel or take some time off, I need the money and I decided to take summer classes.

[Ending]

Only about 2 euros per litre? That's real cheap gas you have there, since the same costs about 10 euros around here. Just wait until the prices rise there too. A lot.

IMO, it's a good thing. Forces people to find alternative ways and develope those currently more expensive but less polluting options. Also, gas-prices have relatively less impact on (future) motorcyclists like me when compared to car-goers, so got nothing to complain.

[tsurumaru]

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

As summer looms around the corner, and people will want to travel, the gas prices will probably (will) rise during the summer months. (that's May, June, July) For me I'll have less class but I will still have to drive. I only worry about this because I'll have to drive to school, and that takes a large hit on my wallet (debit card). The gas price where I live as of April 10, 2006 are around the $2.58-$2.69 range, depending whether it's QuickTrip or Shell.

For anyone taking summer classes or taking a (some) vacation/s for summer this issue will be major. It's quite annoying that the USA has little pubilc transportations espically if you live rural like me and the only mode of transportation is my mighty car.

How do ya feel about this?

For me, I won't be able to travel or take some time off, I need the money and I decided to take summer classes.

I'll just post these figures here because I could never understand why Fuel Economy in the US remains so poor, I guess its those Bloody SUV's that are mostly to blame:

A reasonably modern European subcompact car may manage highway travel at 47 mpg (US) or 36 mpg (US) in city traffic, with app. 140 grams of carbon dioxide emission per kilometre.

An average "car-shaped" US car produces circa 27 mpg (US) highway, 21 mpg (US) city; a large SUV usually gets 13 mpg (US) city, 16 mpg (US) highway. Pickup trucks vary considerably; whereas a light US pickup with a 4 cylinder engine produces circa 28 mpg, a full-size US pickup with extended cab with an 8 cylinder engine produces circa 13 mpg (US) city, 15 mpg (US) highway.

[dan88]

I'm just glad that fuel prices have dropped from the highs of last september.
Super Unleaded 99 was 98.9p/litre! [=> US$6.90 per (US) gallon]

I only get 5 weeks holiday a year so will be working most of the summer.

[kj1980]

At least the gas price is stable over where I live. For the past several months, it lingers around the 120 yen per liter range for Metro Tokyo. That's around USD$3.83 per gallon at today's exchange rate of 118.63 yen per USD$1. In either case, I travel by train so it doesn't really make any difference.

[raikage]

Originally Posted by tsurumaru

I'll just post these figures here because I could never understand why Fuel Economy in the US remains so poor, I guess its those Bloody SUV's that are mostly to blame

Partly that, partly the fact that even regular sedans consume more fuel than their non-US counterparts.

For example, the smallest engine size you can get in a BMW here is 2.5 liters, while in Europe (IIRC) there is a 1.8 avaliable.

If I didn't already have a fairly gas-efficent car, I might consider getting an old diesel Mercedes that I could convert to biodiesel.

[srb]

Originally Posted by raikage

If I didn't already have a fairly gas-efficent car, I might consider getting an old diesel Mercedes that I could convert to biodiesel.

A German friend of mine had diesel Mercedes before it was stolen, and that damn thing could possibly go all the way through Germany on a single tank.

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

How do ya feel about this?

Well, I think it's very unfortunate for you. Are there really no good bus lines that will be able to take you to where your classes are held? Also, why can't you go on a light vacation via train or bus, or go backpacking or cycling? Not all fun vacation options require a car.

[Aoie_Emesai]

I drive a nice sedan so I get a good 27-29 mpg on my car. And sorry peoples, I keep forgetting that everyone here aren't just from the United States, and we all live on different schedules. ^_^

Originally Posted by srb

Well, I think it's very unfortunate for you. Are there really no good bus lines that will be able to take you to where your classes are held? Also, why can't you go on a light vacation via train or bus, or go backpacking or cycling? Not all fun vacation options require a car.

My school is about 24 miles away, and I live in a sorta small town with about 40,000 peoples, I think. There are really no bus lines where I drive to. I live about 40 miles from a very Metro area, and they don't have any public transportation till about 20 miles+ out form where I live, so my sedan is my only mode of transportation. Though I do live right next to a airport though. ^_^

About the vacation, again I live in a sorta small town and we're talking about the typical vacation: Sun, Beach, Girls in bikinis. I'll have to drive a minimum of 90 miles to get to any coastal water. ^_^ Thanks anyway.

Originally Posted by kj1980

At least the gas price is stable over where I live. For the past several months, it lingers around the 120 yen per liter range for Metro Tokyo. That's around USD$3.83 per gallon at today's exchange rate of 118.63 yen per USD$1. In either case, I travel by train so it doesn't really make any difference.

Gas just jumped 10 cents in my area. Lucky I got gas yesterday.

[Sakaki]

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

Gas just jumped 10 cents in my area. Lucky I got gas yesterday.

10 cents isn't bad at all, around here it's been jumping .30 to .40.

Last week it was $2.42 in the morning then by afternoon it was $2.80, by last night it had dropped to $2.63 this morning it was $2.90.

I think that's was has more people ticked about prices more than what the price is. You just never know what it will be, that and they keep jumping it up ..30/40 then lower it about .20/.30 then jump it up again so that it just keeps creping up.

[Kurz]

Time for people to get Motorcycles...
Much cheaper on the gas.

[sorvani]

I don't know why more people in the US don't buy scooters. a nice 249cc (freeway legal, in about every state) only costs $5,000. If you don't need one big enough to handle the freeway you can find them as low as $2,000.

myself i own a 2005 Civic Hybrid. I average about 34mpg normal (i never go more than 10 miles in a single trip in a normal day). and about 45mpg when i go out of town on long highway trips. If i drove a little umm less fast/hard those numbers would go up 3-5mpg

i plan on getting a scooter when i get the car paid off next year.

[dan88]

Originally Posted by sorvani

I don't know why more people in the US don't buy scooters. a nice 249cc (freeway legal, in about every state) only costs $5,000. If you don't need one big enough to handle the freeway you can find them as low as $2,000..

Riding a scooter/motor bike is not much fun when it rains and not everyone lives in California. Riding a scooter on the freeway/motorway just looks silly! Also Scooters are a lot less stable than a proper motor bikes due to the smaller wheels. Get a real bike!

Originally Posted by sorvani

myself i own a 2005 Civic Hybrid. I average about 34mpg normal (i never go more than 10 miles in a single trip in a normal day). and about 45mpg when i go out of town on long highway trips...

I worry about Hybrid cars and the exotic batteries they carry around. Will they end up like old mobile phones where the batteries don't hold charge after a couple of years. Will the batteries just be dumped and destroy the evironment?

I have an light weight sports car and can get 40mpg however when driven hard on the motorway this drops to less than 20mpg.

[Aoie_Emesai]

Originally Posted by sorvani

I don't know why more people in the US don't buy scooters. a nice 249cc (freeway legal, in about every state) only costs $5,000. If you don't need one big enough to handle the freeway you can find them as low as $2,000.

myself i own a 2005 Civic Hybrid. I average about 34mpg normal (i never go more than 10 miles in a single trip in a normal day). and about 45mpg when i go out of town on long highway trips. If i drove a little umm less fast/hard those numbers would go up 3-5mpg

i plan on getting a scooter when i get the car paid off next year.

Sorvani, if you do live in the US, you already understand ^_^. Here's some facts, most people, meaning 60%-70%+ drive more than 40-55 miles a day (that's not including the trip back home) to work, and a scooter isn't really a efficient mode of transportation. Where I live, I take about 3 different highway to get to my school and 2 different higways to get to my job, and luckyly for me I only drive 12-14 miles to my job.

--

I would like to get a Hybrid car, but at the moment that's not possible for me ^_^.

[Lemonhead]

For those that aren't in the U.S. just remember that alot of people here live in crazy sprawled out citys with some of the worlds worst public transit known to man.

But yea the gas prices are getting annoying, my area is at the $2.68 gallon zone and over like $3.04 if i have to fill up in the city. I don't even drive my suv anymore it's just to expensive. At least last year when i was in uni everything was less then a 5min drive, now i'm out in the burbs and watching my wallet empty on gas rather then beer. It's sad that going from Norcal to Socal this summer it'll be cheaper to fly and rent a car then drive....Did anyone see the record profits chevon-exxon reported last year, me thinks somethings amiss.

[DaFool]

Something I don't get about the U.S. is why they don't have many 1.6L engines or diesel engines (and why diesel fuel isn't much cheaper than gasoline as it should be). Some of these cars can even beat hybrids. The U.S.-spec engines are higher displacement but not necessarily higher-refinement.

It seems that 1.3L 7-passenger minivans are about to take over by storm. Still doesn't beat that 1.0L natural gas hybrid that I took in India coming down from the Himalayas (and the driver didn't even refuel before climbing up, much less coming down!)

[Diaboso]

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

As summer looms around the corner, and people will want to travel, the gas prices will probably (will) rise during the summer months. (that's May, June, July) For me I'll have less class but I will still have to drive. I only worry about this because I'll have to drive to school, and that takes a large hit on my wallet (debit card). The gas price where I live as of April 10, 2006 are around the $2.58-$2.69 range, depending whether it's QuickTrip or Shell.

For anyone taking summer classes or taking a (some) vacation/s for summer this issue will be major. It's quite annoying that the USA has little pubilc transportations espically if you live rural like me and the only mode of transportation is my mighty car.

How do ya feel about this?

For me, I won't be able to travel or take some time off, I need the money and I decided to take summer classes.

ha you cant be any more rural than ME I live in one of the most rural places in the US

[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by DaFool

Something I don't get about the U.S. is why they don't have many 1.6L engines or diesel engines (and why diesel fuel isn't much cheaper than gasoline as it should be). Some of these cars can even beat hybrids. The U.S.-spec engines are higher displacement but not necessarily higher-refinement.

It seems that 1.3L 7-passenger minivans are about to take over by storm. Still doesn't beat that 1.0L natural gas hybrid that I took in India coming down from the Himalayas (and the driver didn't even refuel before climbing up, much less coming down!)

We have an obsession with horsepower. Americans simply wouldn't buy cars with smaller engines. Engines are a lot more fuel efficient today than 20 years ago, but that gain has been used to make more powerful engines with the same crappy gas milage, rather than engines with the same power and greater milage. That might change with the rise in gas prices though.

As for diesel, american diesel fuel has traditionally been very dirty, with large amounts of sulfer and other impurities. As such, there was never a big call for it outside trucks which needed the low end torque provided by diesel engines. New regulations are changing that, with cleaner diesel fuel, but diesel's reputation here won't change overnight.

[Sakaki]

Actually diesel fuel was quite a bit cheaper than gas for a long time when it was only larger trucks using it. Then a lot of people started to buy diesel cars and light trucks because of the cost, and that is when the price rose to above that of gasoline.

[sorvani]

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

Sorvani, if you do live in the US, you already understand ^_^. Here's some facts, most people, meaning 60%-70%+ drive more than 40-55 miles a day (that's not including the trip back home) to work, and a scooter isn't really a efficient mode of transportation. Where I live, I take about 3 different highway to get to my school and 2 different higways to get to my job, and luckyly for me I only drive 12-14 miles to my job.

I live in saint louis. we don't have public transit worth the name. there are a LOT of people who live in every US metro area driving around big useless SUV's and who drive less than 40 miles one way to go to work or school. there is nothing wrong with a trip of that distance on a scooter. and weather? just dress appropriately or carry a change. i know one person who rode in all winter on his vespa.

[Aoie_Emesai]

Originally Posted by sorvani

I live in saint louis. we don't have public transit worth the name. there are a LOT of people who live in every US metro area driving around big useless SUV's and who drive less than 40 miles one way to go to work or school. there is nothing wrong with a trip of that distance on a scooter. and weather? just dress appropriately or carry a change. i know one person who rode in all winter on his vespa.

hahaha, that's horrible. Depending on where you live, that's the kind of vehicle you should drive.