<p>I think much good can come form the higher prices in the long run and the price per gallon is about the same as my favorite Starbucks drink. I spend more at Starbucks than on gas. It costs two of us about $6 to drive RT to work–nearly 30 miles each way and that’s OK. That’s about $2 less than the bus and done in half the time.
We bought two new fairly high MPG cars and love them–comfort and performace are both excellent with 30 real highway mpg.</p>
<p>You are indeed lucky. Starbucks is something I indulge in for my wedding anniversary. You are also lucky to be able to buy fairly new cars. What a dream. Welcome to my 151,000, 13 year old car. There is so much in our economy which doesn’t reflect its true cost - our food (especially meat) and our restaurants should cost more - but most of the workers involved aren’t paid living wages so the rest of the population benefits. If gas costs were high because of taxes which could be used for public transportation, or pollution improvements - combined with mandatory better gas mileage in cars which should have been done decades ago - then it would be okay. To have oil/gas executives skipping to the bank with the profits (including our fearless leader) - is not something acceptable.</p>
<p>Gas prices - I have accepted them… I just can’t afford them… ;)</p>
<p>I worked my way through college in restaurants and other similar jobs (car wash, candy packer, cheese packer, etc.). They pay what it cost to get someone willing to do the job. I was glad to have the jobs as the helped get me to where I wanted to go and taught me what I did not want to have to do with my life.
We sold our 1997 Honda that gets 30 mpg and has another 100K miles in it for $3500. Most working people can afford that.</p>
<p>I have had the same car for 5 1/2 years now (BMW 5-series sedan). Since I got it, I have left one gas consumption measurement indicator untouched (there are 2, I use one indicator to measure mpg for each tank, and the other for long-term). Three months ago, at 68000 miles, my average was 16.9 mpg. When prices started to go up precipitously, I decided I need to do a little better. </p>
<p>I have focused on
*accelerating gradually (mostly)
*braking gently
*choosing routes that don’t have a lot of stop lights or traffic, when available, even when slightly longer
*using my cruise control if appropriate
*driving 65 instead of 70-75 </p>
<p>EVERY tank of gas since that decision has averaged more than 18 mpg, and my long-term gas use is now at 17.1 mpg (in less than 4000 miles). This is (yes, I’m a gnurd) about a 5% improvement in my gas use, without any major changes in my driving habit. 5% of the $3.50 premium gas costs around here is 17.5 cents, or $2.63/tank or approximately the cost of one large iced tea at my local Starbucks. Which I drink about as often as I fill my gas tank–about once every week to ten days.</p>
<p>It’s not like this is your out-of-wedlock child that you need to accept…</p>
<p>To me, it seems sort of ignorant to accept something for no apparent reason.</p>
<p>The cost at the pump is what tends to get the biggest headlines. Invariably, stories about how people are no longer able to afford to drive or about the huge impact on lower income families surface with great regularity.</p>
<p>However, do the same families really compute the cost of owning a car -and often more than one car? In many cases, the cost of insurance, taxes, maintenance, parking, and depreciation of the car dwarf the gasoline expenses. by a huge margin. </p>
<p>When all the numbers are added correctly, a good number of people should realize they cannot afford the second or third car they consider a necessity. People throughout the world have come to that conclusion a long time ago; the United States is still very confused about “needing” and “wanting.”</p>
<p>As I said, there are some good outcomes with higher gas prices. People driving less and getting more efficient cars. If we can slow consumption 5-10% it will help stabilize the prices and be good for the environment, etc. The higher prices will also help pay for new exploration and better extraction techniques providing a longer supply of gas. All good.</p>
<p>Barrons, I am afraid that the higher prices do not directly translate in more money for exploration. No matter how many reports surface about price gouging by oil companies, they tend to operate with the same prpfit margins of about 10 cents per gallon. </p>
<p>If we were serious about funding new technologies and more exploration, we should support special assessments in addition to the market costs. The problem is that the government would not support such special assessment without extracting the bulk of it for its own uses and general spending. The writing is on the wall, and one does not have to go much farther than Europe to see what happens when governments realize that the appetite of consumers for gasoline is not easily curbed … at whatever cost, and that gasoline taxes are extremely lucrative.</p>
<p>Xiggi, today’s WSJ disagrees with you:</p>
<p>“The Irving, Texas, company is spending money on more than just shareholder payouts. Exxon’s capital expenditures in the first quarter rose 41% to $4.8 billion from year-earlier results, and the company plans to spend $100 billion by the end of the decade to develop additional oil and gas resources.”</p>
<p>but the Europeans have also invested a great deal in reasonably priced alternatives to cars, like decent public transportation (the Paris metro when out on a regular strike day is faster than the Chicago CTA on a regular day). They also have some interesting taxes - for example, if you buy a gas guzzling more powerful engine car, your renewal license is- shock of shocks - more expensive than for a modest car. So if you really want that BMW , fine, but you will pay more every year in renewal taxes. Of course if you can afford the BMW, you probably don’t care but the fact is, it is a good way to encourage thinking about your purchase. And for those who deplore families with 2nd cars, if the alternative is a 2 hour bus/train trip one way every day to work then a 2nd car is perhaps a luxury, but then time is money too…</p>
<p>merepoule: be careful in generalizing that BMW makes gas guzzlers. Its Mini Cooper is both fun to drive and very light on gas consumption, as just one example. Engine size, car weight, aerodynamic slipperiness, and driving habits determine gas consumption, not manufacturer.</p>
<p>okay,I was just naming a car brand that I know is taxed more heavily for its larger engine models; presumably a mini would be taxed less if it has a less powerful engine…(of course purchase price would be taxed according to the cost; its the renewal license that varied per engine type). the point is there are many ways a government could encourage conservation, while rewarding people for using alternative means of transportation - the US government has always been behind automakers/gas/oil industry. don’t get me started about road conditions …</p>
<p>I say “embrace the love”. If it’s good for oil companies, it’s good for America, and Scott McClellan needs the chance to make his killing before the term is up.</p>
<p>Besides, we’ve secured the oil pipelines in Iraq, the invasion will pay for itself through oil sales, and nuclear power will be too cheap to meter. Every dollar in the gas tank is a vote for America!</p>
<p>i dont know… i think if you can afford a bmw or a big suv and can afford to drive a car that gets 18 miles per gallon and that’s considered good, then you shouldn’t be complaining about the cost of gas. (i’m not trying to single out whoever posted this, just saying in general)</p>
<p>I computed my gas milage the other day and it was 31.2 mpg and I was dissapointed that it was so low!</p>
<p>Fendergirl, I wasn’t complaining about the cost of gas; I was explaining how I reduced my effective gasoline cost by 5%. As you point out, gas is only one part of car ownership.</p>
<p>Mileage varies a lot depending on the kind of driving you do. My car gets about 26 mpg on the highway, but I mostly do local driving. I have many friends whose SUVs and minivans–essential (they say) if you have children–get less than my 18 mpg.</p>
<p>(As for your 31.2 mpg, when I was 23, my only transportation was my bicycle. I didn’t get my first car until I was 25.)</p>
<p>Got my first car at 37. </p>
<p>Someone’s been gettin’ my share.</p>
<p>Clean air filters are said to boost mileage by 3-5%.</p>
<p>Also inflate tires to upper end of range.</p>
<p>“Accepting” high gas prices is a good second-cousin to “let them eat cake.”</p>
<p>I am sure glad we live in the city and don’t have to commute far- we thought about building our own home farther out, or even buying a larger one than what we could afford in the city, but I notice for instance our inlaws who bought a brand new home in the burbs- about the same time as we bought ours, they spent twice as much * then* and it was about 3x as big, but now our house is actually worth more.
People just don’t want to not only spend all that money on transportation, but they don’t want to spend all that time on the roads- freeway driving could be efficent I guess, if it wasn’t stop and go driving.</p>