<p>Being a low income family, we are really hurting from the recent raise of gas price. I drive an old Ford Taurus and my daily drive is about 60 mile. DW drives a Town & Country which we purchased used. We have budgeted $300 a month for gas but I dont think that will not be enough. </p>
<p>DD is riding her bike to some after class activities now and we walk to nearby Kroger to buy small stuff like cheese or milk. We limit our drive to supermarket to once a week. </p>
<p>This morning, I even slow down to 60 MPH on a highway with a 65 MPH SL. Because I heard cars are most efficient at around 55 MPH. My usual speed is around 80 MPH.</p>
<p>What are you doing to cope? Change to a smaller car is not an option for us.</p>
<p>We swapped our midsized SUV for a Prius, and dusted off the bikes. Tried to manage a small grocery run on my bike with a large backpack, but my coordination hasn’t improved with age! Fortunately, we live in a very walkable area, so weather permitting, we hoof it more these days. S2 walks to school.
We’ve turned it into a challenge “How little can we spend on gas this week?” So far our personal best is $27. However, that was when we were all down with the flu… The real challenge will be when the kid’s summer jobs begin. Hopefully they’ll come up with some carpooling ideas. They pay for their own gas.</p>
<p>Yep we have a challenge with my Ds summer job also. It is 40 miles away but is in the town she will be going to college in and she will continue to work there during the school year when she will be living ther so her gas will go way down - the biggest plus is it ‘gets her foot in the door’ with a job related to her career plans which is why we are willing for her to do it though the gas $ will almost be as much as she will earn!.</p>
<p>I did look at buying a hybrid - I really want one - but can’t afford a car payment with 2 in school. Still trying to figure out ways to save!</p>
<p>We’ve definately been walking more ever since last summer’s gas hike. If it’s within a mile or so of home, the rule is, you walk unless you need to carry lots of stuff (like groceries) home or the weather is nasty. We all walk to church, the local drugstore, convenience store and after dropping off the cars for service, we walk home. The same goes for DD; the novelty of driving hasn’t quite worn off, but she hates paying for gas so she walks a lot, too.</p>
<p>We live on the outskirts of a semi rural area so no public transportation. Also hills so walking or biking anywhere isn’t the easiest if time is involved. I have made an effort to drive less. My two go to different schools in different directions and get out out different times in the PM. I am now having one wait so I don’t have to make as many trips. We have always carpooled to the furthest school. Also I am trying to make my errands more efficient.
My son has been skateboarding and riding the bus. He is broke; no money for gas or insurance so no driving for him.
I did see a brand new Prius taxi today on the freeway. That is the first one I’ve seen. I do notice an upswing in the number of prius’s in the school parking lot.
I am also getting gas at the cheaper station when I am out that direction. The stations closest to our house and to the school are more expensive.</p>
<p>We live ten miles out of town and there is no public transportation in our area at all (no trains, buses - nothing). So all we can do is try and cut down the number of trips we make. D has been going to a State Math & Science school 100 miles away so we usually make the 200 mile round trip once a week - thank goodness that will be over in a week!</p>
<p>I would suggest reducing driving speed and avoiding quick acceleration and deceleration. I won’t be buying a new car for at least three years until viable plug in hybrids are available. Current hybrids save gas mostly because they are small, not because they are partly electric. Plug in hybrids will allow drivers to drive all the time on electric rather than simply below a certain speed as is the case with current hybrids.</p>
<p>I work in the R&D department of a major Plastics/material producer. I will not buy a today’s hybrid. There are very serious issues about those batteries. No one will tell you about the current generation of battery because we can’t talk about it.</p>
<p>lb - I had heard that the batteries have to be replaced after 80,000 miles. True? Otherwise, I’d love to get a hybrid: needs to be a Suburu-type vehicle, small wagon to hold dogs, high clearance, AWD.</p>
<p>TheMom’s commute totals 4 miles per day, round-trip. Add in some extra miles for shopping and she’s not too bad.</p>
<p>I’m at the point where I need a new car (business) now. I’d love to get a hybrid but concerns about the battery and the fact that I’d 80K miles about a year after it got paid off makes me leery. Also, the car I want doesn’t come in a hybrid yet.</p>
<p>My mileage is wildly variable week to week but it consistently comes out to between 11K and 13K miles per year. </p>
<p>When evaluating political candidates, I give bonus points to those serious about reducing oil consumption without going to coal. It would be nice if they cracked nuclear fusion.</p>
<p>I find it impossible to believe this is such a problem for people… gas just isn’t very expensive, and going from ‘not very expensive’ to ‘still not very expensive’ isn’t going to put anybody in the poor house. If you can afford a car, you can certainly afford to put the gas in it. A meal out once a month is probably equivalent to the amount extra that gas costs now… not such a burden.</p>
<p>If you’re going to bike, walk, and car pool - do it to save the planet, not a dime.</p>
Incorrect. My 2nd-generation Prius is larger than many other cars which get significantly worse gas mileage, and there are many miles each day when the gas engine does not even engage.</p>
<p>While initial estimates were ~80K miles on the 1st-generation Prius batteries, they are not dying at that mileage. In fact, I now have 60K miles on my 2004 Prius (and its battery) and fully expect it to just keep right on ticking. I’m not worried in the slightest about the battery going before I’m ready for another car.</p>
<p>Far better to be getting 47mpg and emitting almost no exhaust (and having fun doing it) while waiting for the next generation of technology, says I.</p>
<p>(Edit: a friend of my father is retired from a major battery manufacturer. He has nothing but praise for the batteries and power systems being used in hybrids. FWIW.)</p>
<p>I telecommute more often. The last 3 weeks, I’ve been working at home. The problem with that is I need to drive to the gym to get some excercise otherwise I would balloon real fast.</p>
<p>Echoing Mootmom, my Civic is much roomier than our old Neon, and gets better mileage. It’s not obviously not just size. Neon got 40 on the highway if we were lucky; Civic Hybrid gets 40+ around town, high 40’s on the highway.</p>
I’m not worried in the slightest about the battery going before I’m ready for another car.</p>