At what price?

 

There have been a couple postings where forum members have posted the current gas prices in their localities; this is not what this post is about.

Only you know your personal finances, how much is you income, and the expenses you have.

With the price of gas and diesel going up what will you curtail in your daily life to keep the budget in line?

Every one here (except the millionaire members) has a limit of what they can afford.

It will be interesting to know is, at what price of gas/diesel will you throw the GPSr in a a drawer and park the car for good and look for another method of transportation?

At what price driving becomes a luxury instead of a necessity?

The Amish must be laughing their "donkey's" off at us.

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Garmin 38 - Magellan Gold - Garmin Yellow eTrex - Nuvi 260 - Nuvi 2460LMT - Google Nexus 7 - Toyota Entune NAV
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RE: At What Price?

Good question...I don't know what the make or break price will be, but I bet it will be close to $10 a gallon before people start making changes.

My theory is that people will complain once gas hits five or six dollars a gallon, but they will continue to drive, and they'll use credit to pay for that gas because they can't afford to pay cash for the gas. Then, once they don’t have any credit available because they’ve maxed out the credit cards, they’ll be forced to finally cut back and look for other means of transportation and/or cut back on daily driving.

In addition to asking about gas prices, with the soaring price of groceries, you could ask the same question about food. At what price do we stop buying certain foods, especially the expensive pre-packaged food?

Basically, people will wait until they're close to bankruptcy before they start cutting back.

Sorry for the negative thoughts, but that's how I see it.

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nuvi 285WT

For Work

I use my c580 for work mainly. I drive about 3,000 every six weeks or so. My 99 E250 only gets 14+ mpg with a tail wind on a good day, but it is hard to carry a 8 ft and 6 ft ladder with several hundred pounds of tools and equipment in a civic. I have been slowing down 5 or more mph when time isn't critical. You can't make money staying at home.

I have been doing the math for my wife's car, and whether or not to upgrade. The spread sheet is very interesting. The car is a 99 merc grand marquis - around 20 mpg in town and 26 or so highway. When I figure 300 miles a week, it costs about $54 in wichita ks right now. If i were to upgrade to a car that gets 30, I would save $18 a week, or $72 a month or around $900 a year. It is hard for me (at this point) to justify the expense of purchasing a different car (reliable) and hope to come out ahead. There are not many reliable cars you can buy for less than $2,000...

But in the future, when we need a car - fuel milage will be a bigger factor than in the past. The use of our gps I think are saving money - by not being lost and driving more direct routes. It will be interesting to see if companies start allowing us to choose "most economic" route based on speed, terrain and other traffic factors...

Daniel

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Garmin StreetPilot c580 & Nuvi 760 - Member 32160 - Traveling in Kansas

My boat? Yes

So far, the price of gas has forced us to sell our boat. I did replace it with a sail boat!

The price of gas has forced our camping group to change our summer plans. We will be camping much closer to home.

For daily driving? Not so much. Will probably occur around the $5 mark (July/August!)

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Dave - Annapolis, MD

At What Price

I think it depends also on how well your current vehicle runs. I have a 94 GMC Yukon 16 mpg not payment, and it looks and runs good. I can get a lot of gas for a 4 0r 5 hundred dollar car payment. One thing in our favor is we are retired so we have cut back on daily running just go when we need something. Doesn't work for everyone.

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johnm405 660 & MSS&T

“Mangia, mangia!”

rcharos wrote:

In addition to asking about gas prices, with the soaring price of groceries, you could ask the same question about food. At what price do we stop buying certain foods, especially the expensive pre-packaged food?

The wife and I eat out a couple times a week and I have noticed the wait time has decreased at most of the restaurants we frequent, the restaurateurs are hurting, people will stop eating out before cutting back on grocery shopping.

We own a F150 (16mpg) and a Nissan Altima (23.7mpg)we are both retired and can tailor our driving habit, the F150 doesn't move unless I need to carry something big from Home Depot.

At the current price we are combining trips in the car, very little leisure driving; having said that I'm embarking with a friend on a 10,000 mile round trip across the country thru Canada and Alaska hauling a camper, we will be sharing the fuel expenses so with diesel above $4 all that will cost me is $2 and change for each gallon.

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Garmin 38 - Magellan Gold - Garmin Yellow eTrex - Nuvi 260 - Nuvi 2460LMT - Google Nexus 7 - Toyota Entune NAV

If you're handicapped you

If you're handicapped you don't have many options!

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Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

Driving Ms. Daisy or me crazy?

I believe part of the answer is in where you live and where you work. In bigger metros, I think more people are forced to use autos due to travel factors. I work at the airport and commute in 15 minutes usually. If I were to take public transit, it would extend my travel time to 1.5-2 hours one way. Now I have an 11-12 hour day in front of me.

At this point, I choose to restrict all my driving to necessary trips, and plan all my shopping on a weekly basis and stock up the freezer. Here in Canada, we have the May long weekend but I've noticed people just aren't travelling like in previous years and are staying close to home.

For myself, I could afford to travel but I refuse to make the oil companies one more dime of profit than I have to. As a sidenote, the usual long-weekend cash grab for jacking prices hasn't happened. Yet.

--
"Delete nothing, back up everything"

GPS In the drawer? NEVER

Already parked the car, started riding the bus. I have the GPS stuck to the window and my hand on the stop rope. No need to put the gps in the drawer, I can afford to drive, but I refuse to make the oil cartels rich.

Bob

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Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.

recalculating

dog_poop wrote:

Already parked the car, started riding the bus. I have the GPS stuck to the window and my hand on the stop rope. No need to put the gps in the drawer, I can afford to drive, but I refuse to make the oil cartels rich.

Bob

I would like to see the faces of the bus driver and other passengers every time Jill announces recalculating...

How about posting a picture of the unit stuck to the bus window.

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Garmin 38 - Magellan Gold - Garmin Yellow eTrex - Nuvi 260 - Nuvi 2460LMT - Google Nexus 7 - Toyota Entune NAV

Nuvi in the drawer

"You Never Put Baby in the Corner" and you " Never Put Nuvi in the Drawer". I must say it is a great question. We all talk about gas prices, but how will it effect our habits down the road? I guess that I will wait and see how it will impacts my wallet.

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Paul..... Nuvi 765T

SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe how fast people still drive. Here is a clip from a cnn article.

Hey it sure is'nt a cure but if it helps why not!

In a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon. That figure will be even higher for less fuel-efficient vehicles that go fewer miles on a gallon to start with.

The reason is as clear as the air around you.

When cruising on the highway, your car will be in its highest gear with the engine humming along at relatively low rpm's. All your car needs to do is maintain its speed by overcoming the combined friction of its own moving parts, the tires on the road surface and, most of all, the air flowing around, over and under it.

Pushing air around actually takes up about 40% of a car's energy at highway speeds, according to Roger Clark, a fuel economy engineer for General Motors (GM, Fortune 500).

Traveling faster makes the job even harder. More air builds up in front of the vehicle, and the low pressure "hole" trailing behind gets bigger, too. Together, these create an increasing suction that tends to pull back harder and harder the faster you drive. The increase is actually exponential, meaning wind resistance rises much more steeply between 70 and 80 mph than it does between 50 and 60.

Every 10 mph faster reduces fuel economy by about 4 mpg, a figure that remains fairly constant regardless of vehicle size, Clark said. (It might seem that a larger vehicle, with more aerodynamic drag, would see more of an impact. But larger vehicles also tend to have larger, more powerful engines that can more easily cope with the added load.)

That's where that 54 cents a gallon estimate comes from. If a car gets 28 mpg at 65 mph, driving it at 75 would drop that to 24 mpg. Fuel costs over 100 miles, for example - estimated at $3.25 a gallon - would increase by $1.93, or the cost of an additional 0.6 gallons of gas. That would be like paying 54 cents a gallon more for each of the 3.6 gallons used at 65 mph. That per-gallon price difference remains constant over any distance.

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Flip Garmin Street P.330 Garmin 255WT Garmin LM50

Luckily my wife and I both

Luckily my wife and I both work about 3 miles from the house. I am also looking into getting a scooter since most of the roads I drive to work are through neighborhoods.

at what price?

I'm already looking at alternatives.

can't understand

equality72521 wrote:

I'm already looking at alternatives.

I'm having a tough time understanding the bull that the news media is trying to feed us regarding oil prices.

They claim that the reason for the higher price of crude comes from the demand for oil in China, India and emerging nations, now tell me this, if we in one of the riches nations in planet earth are already looking for alternatives (as you stated) how can the people in China, India and other third world nations afford to pay the price that is already hurting our pocketbook?

Are they paying the same price for a barrel of crude as we are?

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Garmin 38 - Magellan Gold - Garmin Yellow eTrex - Nuvi 260 - Nuvi 2460LMT - Google Nexus 7 - Toyota Entune NAV

*

flaco wrote:
equality72521 wrote:

I'm already looking at alternatives.

I'm having a tough time understanding the bull that the news media is trying to feed us regarding oil prices.

They claim that the reason for the higher price of crude comes from the demand for oil in China, India and emerging nations, now tell me this, if we in one of the riches nations in planet earth are already looking for alternatives (as you stated) how can the people in China, India and other third world nations afford to pay the price that is already hurting our pocketbook?

Are they paying the same price for a barrel of crude as we are?

Their price is subsidized. The last time I checked, it was about $1.60.

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/pric...

With the $600 rebate check, our government is giving us 150 gallons of gas.

Not yet

So far I haven't really made any changes to my driving habits, but I figured about $4.50 is my break even point for taking the bus. Once it goes over that, I may consider the local park and ride a few days per week. My problem is I live in suburbs, and work in the City so I have a 45 min to 1 hr commute. At least I didn't fall for the big SUV fad and still drive a small car!

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Magellan Maestro 4250, T-Mobile G1 with Google Maps, iPaq with TomTom, and a Tapwave Zodiac with TomTom and Mapopolis

Not accurate

Ein wrote:

Their price is subsidized. The last time I checked, it was about $1.60.

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/pric...

With the $600 rebate check, our government is giving us 150 gallons of gas.

Checking the prices at that web site money.cnn.com I know what they show as a price per gallon is not accurate.

Example they show Puerto Rico at $1.74 a gallon, that is not correct, in Puerto Rico like in the rest of Latin America gasoline is dispensed by the liters and not gallons, according to my Nuvi 1gal = 3.79 liters ,the price in PR of a liter on May 9th was $1 a liter if you do the math 3.79X1=$3.79 a gallon not a $1.74

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-7675--21-21--.html

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Garmin 38 - Magellan Gold - Garmin Yellow eTrex - Nuvi 260 - Nuvi 2460LMT - Google Nexus 7 - Toyota Entune NAV

Value Of $

Another reason that I haven't seen mentioned here is the value of the Dollar. Oil prices we see are priced as X$ per barrel. The value of the dollar has dropped quite a bit (50% or more?) and that is a one major reason for the increase in prices.

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Steve W. - nuvi 50LM, 255W & 200W - Philadelphia, PA area

gas prices

at $5.00 per gallon will make me stop and think about my daily driving habits.

Is it true?

I heard that the price that we are paying today for gas, was set weeks ago by the price of oil for that day. If that is true, can we find out when todays price (around $133.00)will cost us at the pump and when.

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Paul..... Nuvi 765T

US congress bigger threat that al-qaeda

That is right they are a bigger threat to the economy and our way of live than any terrorist, don't believe me watch this.

Yesterday Maxine Waters congresswoman (D)CA
asked the CEO of Shell if the oil companies were allowed to drill wherever they please, if they could guarantee that the price of oil will drop?

Hofmeister replied: "I can guarantee to the American people, because of the inaction of the United States Congress, ever-increasing prices unless the demand comes down. And the $5 will look like a very low price in the years to come if we are prohibited from finding new reserves, new opportunities to increase supplies."

She then threatens to nationalize the oil companies ala Hugo Chavez.

See video of the exchange.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUaY3LhJ-IQ

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Garmin 38 - Magellan Gold - Garmin Yellow eTrex - Nuvi 260 - Nuvi 2460LMT - Google Nexus 7 - Toyota Entune NAV

gas prices & trips

i was planning to go from Atlanta Ga to Hilton head SC. for a week's vacation next month - i cancelled that idea now

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marnoldi Nuvi 680 & Nuvi 2797LMT

Sail-Car?

Quote:

So far, the price of gas has forced us to sell our boat. I did replace it with a sail boat!

If only I could get that sail to work on my car. Now theres an idea... wink

Personally I live in Los Angeles, but I rent so am able to find a place to live that is reasonably close to where I work and I drive an economical car. That helps quite a lot, but I have a feeling we'll see the $5 mark sometime this year.

I've been using public transit

I've been using public transit for almost a year now, since our second car (a 20-year-old clunker) bit the dust and my employer partially subsidizes transit passes. Now that I've moved to an office even closer to home, I'm thinking about riding my bike the 3 miles each way, getting free exercise in the process.

To High

This is a Presidential election year.

I think as November nears, the price will temporary easyup a bit due to pressure from the politicians on the oil companies.

But us Americans are to depend on our vehicles, regardless of the high prices we gotta drive. I thought when it broke $3 a gallon we be screaming about it.

But it seems we been conditioned to take it in stride.

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HarveyS - Nuvi 350

It's $4.15 per gallon in my

It's $4.15 per gallon in my area of California NOW so, I stopped by my local motorcycle shop yesterday and pickup a brochure on a Susuki 400cc scooter. When I walked into the store, all the salesmen just smiled and laughed but they changed their tune when I told them that $4.15 per gallon gas it was time to start looking at a scooter.

--
Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

Giving Us Gas?

Ein wrote:
flaco wrote:
equality72521 wrote:

I'm already looking at alternatives.

I'm having a tough time understanding the bull that the news media is trying to feed us regarding oil prices.

They claim that the reason for the higher price of crude comes from the demand for oil in China, India and emerging nations, now tell me this, if we in one of the riches nations in planet earth are already looking for alternatives (as you stated) how can the people in China, India and other third world nations afford to pay the price that is already hurting our pocketbook?

Are they paying the same price for a barrel of crude as we are?

Their price is subsidized. The last time I checked, it was about $1.60.

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/global_gasprices/pric...

With the $600 rebate check, our government is giving us 150 gallons of gas.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the government can't "give" you anything. They are only redistributing the money that they took from us in the first place.

I have already made adjustments..

When it came time to turn in a leased BMW Z3 my wife was driving, I had just retired so we opted for a Prius. We got one of the first 2004s delivered and have not been sorry. We bought it more as a political statement but the mpg is really nice now. I also have an old diesel (85 MBZ) that is parked most of the time now. I found I can ride the bus for $.25 during off hours so I've gone that route. I still drive to do shopping etc, but if it's just going downtown I take the bus and relax. I hadn't taken a bus since I started driving, but when I checked into it I found it was quite easy. I use the MTA website in Los Angeles and it will help you plan a trip around town... Let them keep their gas.. BTW I was in Brazil recently and they pay about the same as we do and earn much less...

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It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. -Sophocles snɥɔnıɥdoɐ aka ʎɹɐƃ

When the batteries need

When the batteries need replacing on that Prius it'll set you back $4,000.00+

The early version of the batteries are prone to premature failure and when you ration out the cost of the batteries with the cost of fuel, you're almost dead even. I know this because a friend of mine owned one.

--
Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

There supposed to be gauranteed for 10 years..

I was worried about that when I purchased the Prius. I haven't had any problems for going on 5 years. I guess your either going to pay BP, Shell etc or Toyota America... If I'm lucky I'll trade it off prior to needing batteries and in the mean time I'm using less gas, and polluting less.

--
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. -Sophocles snɥɔnıɥdoɐ aka ʎɹɐƃ

Kind of hard to put a

Kind of hard to put a "dollar per gallon" price on it. I mean, commuting to work has to be done no matter what the gas cost really. As for "fun" driving (if there is such a thing), I'd say the $4/gal we're at now pretty much does it for me.

I don't know if it's the cost of fuel

But I've noticed an apperent drop in Los Angeles freeway traffic on weekends. It doesn't seem like as many people are out and about. Work days seem the same.

--
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. -Sophocles snɥɔnıɥdoɐ aka ʎɹɐƃ

Commute....

Sadly, my job has changed and instead of the 5 minute commute I've had for the past 8.5 years I now have to commute 50 miles each way. What great timing with the increased price of gas.

What's worse is that I do a tech support job. 98% of my job can be done from anywhere. There's no valid reason to make me commute. GAH!

The cost of the commute will make me curtail many other activities. I really can't afford to drive far to geocache anymore. I have to drive my wife's $@^@#& car to work every day instead of my truck and she's stuck driving my truck to work since she works in the same town where we live - not 50 miles away like I suddenly do now.

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GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

work from home

thrak wrote:

What's worse is that I do a tech support job. 98% of my job can be done from anywhere. There's no valid reason to make me commute. GAH!

That will be something for you to negotiate with your company; my daughter who also has a 1 hour commute was able to get her company to let her work from home and only has to go into the office on Tuesday and Wednesday.

With today's technology that will be something that the government should ask more companies to do and cut on the oil consumption, right now they have the ability to access all the information from the home computer and the company can also monitor good work practice by supplying employees with VOIP phones that can be logged from the home office and check that the employee is at his or her work station at home.

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Garmin 38 - Magellan Gold - Garmin Yellow eTrex - Nuvi 260 - Nuvi 2460LMT - Google Nexus 7 - Toyota Entune NAV

Working from home

I work from home. It definitely has its trade offs. But with gas almost over $4, you can get used to it.

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Dave - Annapolis, MD

Gas Prices

I have a 07 Toyota Hylander Hybrid. 25 mpg around town. I'm not worried about the battery, I have a 7 year warranty on the Hylander.
GAS PRICE'S....
Check your local area or your work area for the best gas prices. I have noticed there is a 5 to 10 cents a gallon difference in gas stations just a block or two from one another.
Drive Safe and Buckle Up!!!!!!!

Joe

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"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming---WOW!! WHAT A RIDE!!!" Member 2854

I didn't read them all BUT

How many people have said, I'll quit smoking when a pack reaches $ ?.??. Thankfully I quit around 15ish years ago and can't remember what they were back then.

I'm guessing people are not going to stop driving, no matter what the cost.

--
Lifetime NRA & USPSA member

.

flaco wrote:

At what price driving becomes a luxury instead of a necessity?

Apparently, the answer is $8 per gallon - according to:-
arrow http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net:80/Archives2008/Shutdown...

Interestingly, it's reached that price already in the UK...

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

Ride A Bike

Lately I've been using by bicycle for the little trips around town. Running to Blockbuster the local market etc.. People just jump in there car for every little trip it's a habit that is hard to break but it beats breaking your wallet. It's fun to track my trips with my little Mobile xt gps on my phone to see how many miles I've covered.

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Flip Garmin Street P.330 Garmin 255WT Garmin LM50

Walking also works...

And you get execise.

--
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. -Sophocles snɥɔnıɥdoɐ aka ʎɹɐƃ

It makes no sense.....

flaco wrote:
thrak wrote:

What's worse is that I do a tech support job. 98% of my job can be done from anywhere. There's no valid reason to make me commute. GAH!

That will be something for you to negotiate with your company; my daughter who also has a 1 hour commute was able to get her company to let her work from home and only has to go into the office on Tuesday and Wednesday.

With today's technology that will be something that the government should ask more companies to do and cut on the oil consumption, right now they have the ability to access all the information from the home computer and the company can also monitor good work practice by supplying employees with VOIP phones that can be logged from the home office and check that the employee is at his or her work station at home.

LOL,
I work FOR the government. The governor has said people need to telecommute if they can to save energy and cut down on pollution. However, my new boss apparently doesn't see it that way. He's a good manager but not an IT guy. He wanted the job to be in Sacramento and I said I would turn it down. (California state agencies seem to think Sacramento is the center of the universe.) He dangled this place as a compromise. As a newly promoted state employee I have to go back on probation for 6 months. After I'm off probation I'll start complaining. It cost me over $300 last month just to drive to work and back. Gas is higher now and it will probably run more like $400. It's insane.

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GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

Hybrid Time

clint45 wrote:

When the batteries need replacing on that Prius it'll set you back $4,000.00+

The early version of the batteries are prone to premature failure and when you ration out the cost of the batteries with the cost of fuel, you're almost dead even. I know this because a friend of mine owned one.

Clint - you said that to me about my Honda Hybrid, and I countered with the 8 year warranty on the battery. Hybrid is the only game in town if you want the gas mileage. If you drive in the city - get a Toyota - if hiway - Honda is best. I drove 5000 miles and averaged over 44 MPG on the trip, and got 55 MPG on one tank (in Utah with a hefty tailwind). If you are in an SUV - you are hung, cause smart dealers don't want them as trades. Don't mean to be pointed - but get off the battery!

Joel

--
"Sometimes, when I look at my children, I wish I had remained a virgin". Lillian Carter (Mother of Jimmy Carter)

Our local snap-on rep own a

Our local snap-on rep own a Prius and drives it all over the freaking place and swears by it but the rest of us in the shop don't have the luxury of being able to drive a car for work. When you work in the automotive industry a truck is a must! If the price keeps going up you'll soon find it VERY COSTLY indeed to get any car repaired because of all the shops folding their doors shut. Right now Toyota is charging $150.00 per hour and if you think that's bad, I hear rumors of it going to $200.00 VERY SOON!

--
Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

Fuel prices

I am also retired and have a 3/4 diesel truck-- gets good mileage (22) when driving at 55-60. I am going on a long trip this month and at my age I cannot wait until the fuel price goes down. Diesel fuel is $5.25 - gas $4.18 a gallon in So. Cal. Still lots of people drive 75-85 on the freeway every day. Gas will have to be $10 before you see any real change. The people on very small income are being affected the most.

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NUVI 680, NUVI 5000, MS S&T,

No yet

I did a test last week and only drove about 60mph to work and back all week (that was difficult!). The week before I typically drove around 75mph. I only spent about $2 more for gas the week before, and gas prices were about the same. I drive about 50 miles per day, and my car gets in the low 30's for mpg. That isn't enough to slow me down!

--
Magellan Maestro 4250, T-Mobile G1 with Google Maps, iPaq with TomTom, and a Tapwave Zodiac with TomTom and Mapopolis

The shops around here are

The shops around here are dying on the vine! No work coming in because people are letting the repairs go because of the cost of fuel. I've also noticed a LOT LESS traffic on the roads on the weekends, and fewer people in the stores and malls. One shopping mall in San Rafael, CA (Terra Linda to be exact) has lost nearly HALF of the stores in it. I went there a few weeks ago and it was like a ghost town.

When you combine that with every aspect of life going up because of the cost of oil, well, the picture isn't pretty. Right now we are paying nearly $5.00 per quart for motor oil and that's COST! These days there is NO PROFIT in changing oil unless you use cheap crap made in China, which will we never do!

We do a lot of custom work on hot rods and that's what's keeping the doors open these days that and the many fleets we maintain for emergency response agencies. Then you have to factor in what parts cost to ship, it's gone crazy. The other day we had a throttle body for a vette shipped out and the shipping was nearly the cost of the part which weighed in at a whopping 5Lbs...I tell you folks, if you thought it was bad now, you ain't seen nothing yet.

My truck get's nearly 24mpg and I drive between 55 and 65 on the freeway which as other have said is VERY DIFFICULT when everyone else is doing 75 & 80mph! I'm doing my part to save money and resources but it's hard when your salary remains the same while other costs rise out of control.

--
Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

Huh?

I hate to make this a contest dude, but it's obvious that you need to move East. The radical changes you describe are, for lack of a better description, Left Coast peculiar. Are gas prices high? Yes, they are, but get use to it, cause the days of $1.25 or any other price close to that are gone. Be glad you live in this country, because in Europe, it boarders on $10.00 a gallon (conversion rate). As I travel from middle Georgia to Atlanta, folks fly by me in their SUVs. Not to mention that you have at least a 45 minute wait to get into any eating place from here to Atlanta. Recession? Don't think so! At least not here! Granted, you are probably seeing the worst of it, mainly because of where you live. Has my life changed in the last year? Not a bit. Are strip malls going empty? Nope - haven't seen that either. Watch NBC, and you'll come away with a single reason for everybody's plight: "BUSH DID IT!".......

Have a great day!.......... Joel

--
"Sometimes, when I look at my children, I wish I had remained a virgin". Lillian Carter (Mother of Jimmy Carter)

Looking at gas prices on map quest...

It appears that gas prices are around the nation are somewhere around $3.50... In California it/s more like $4.50, $5.30 for diesel.. A lot has to do with Ca’s taxes on gasoline but it still hurts...

Thank you President Bush...

--
It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. -Sophocles snɥɔnıɥdoɐ aka ʎɹɐƃ

RE: At What Price?

I guess the price might be around five dollars a gallon.

Here's an article about the decline in traffic in the San Diego area...people are starting to make changes in their driving now.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080721-9999-1n21c...

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nuvi 285WT

How about $3.85/gallon

I bought a small Kia mainly for commuting and while it's not the best car on the road by any stretch of the imagination, I grin when I fill up the tank and think about 38 MPG that I get almost every fillup.

Yes, I do drive conservatively and and while gas was $3.85 a gallon this morning at the UDF, I marvel at the people who rocket by me going way over the speed limit in their big trucks and SUVs.

I think a lot of people have changed how they drive. I now combine trips making use of my GPS to route me the most efficient way possible. While most of us will still carry on using our cars out of necessity I think a lot of people will start trying to be more efficient in the way in which they drive when gas price really start to bite.

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"Life is a journey - enjoy the ride!" Garmin nuvi 255
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