I can relate to Va fuel prices...
its 3.18 a gal here....but I bought the truck to drive, it may hurt the wallet a little bit but thats why we have it...
now the 31ft RV with the 454 gasser that gets 6-8mpg.....that stays parked till I can sell it...but thats only cause I have the X for a TT anyway!

 

You have to remember that as the price of fuel goes up so dies airfares and such. With that said, history shows when this happens car travel goes up. So now people will be taking car vacations and not flying as much. Now lets take it one step further. They like their car vacation and now want to get a travel trailer to tow behind their vehicle. Maybe they need a bigger vehicle? People don't mind shelling out for a vehicle that they get to keep and use at their leisure as opposed to shelling out for a flight that they get to use once.

RV sales are at an all time high...so is fuel. Us baby boomers and gen X's are spending money differently than our parents. So will the price of fuel hurt...yes. Will it stop people from using their toys....probaly not.

 

Its not stopping me from using my Toys!!
Nick

 

If I can't afford to put gas in my vehicle I should probably be concerned with other financial dilemma's I might not be seeing. I will always need a vehicle to do the things my family and I enjoy. My son has begun racing JR Dragsters this summer so before buying the race car we searched and found a heck of a deal on a Toy Hauler. V10 EX, 32' 9500 lb toy hauler (with 30 Gallon fuel tank) and a Alchohol burning Jr Dragster... you can tell I don't give a rip about fuel prices. Not loaded or anything but I have changed my travel habits... I don't run the EX to the grocery store just because I like it better than my Daily driver.. know what I'm saying ?

We will always need fuel, just need to be smarter with it that's all..

 

THe rest of my family already drives hybrids

2 - 2007 Toyota Prius
1 - 2005 Lexus Rx400h

We keep the X because we need it for trips/towing, and its cheaper to have me drive it than buy another car...

Isaac

 

If you want good mileage get a VW Diesel golf. Screw the prius, that things such an overrated hunk of scrap its unreal. Not to mention its actually WORSE for teh environment then most any car on teh road when overall manufacturinga nd disposal is all taken into account. They only get about 45 mpg city best in real life (dont believe marketing hype), less on the highway. The VW diesel cats destroy those numbers!

 

Probably invest in a WVO system. If I can cut my fuel bill in half, it will be worth it at 4+ a gallon.

 

3.65 For You 7.3 And 6.0 Guys Here In Central Cali

 

is that what its at on your side of the pond? after convertining from pounds of course...that really sucks!!! I thought it was only a few dollars more but not 2.5 X more. I never can understand why us Americans complain so much about the price of fuel. I don't think most of us realize how GOOD we have it at $3 a gallon.....AvGas is bad enough at $4.50-$5.50 per gallon.

 

We dont hve that high of fuel prices compared to the ppl in europe. Man do i feel bad for them

 

Diesel here is .50 higher than gas, but still cheaper to run down the highway than a gasser (barely) lol!!

 

Every driver has to put fuel in something! Just that some of us have to put in a "little" more fuel a little more often...

 

1. So? Bigger tank, less fills. You still get about the same mpg. Yes, it costs $176 to fill your tank once. Or is it worse to fill your tank up for $44 but do it 4 times?

2. Well, if I crash my Ex, it would be easier for me to buy another one.

Hasn't yet and won't.

 

European gas costs are way higher. Right now, it costs me about $100 to fill up my Excursion when I go to the pump. Well, I suppose it would technically cost me more, but I don't run it dry.

When I was in Europe last summer, my friend let me borrow his Alfa Romeo 156 and drive it around Switzerland and Germany. It's a fabulous car, with a 2.5L V6, 6-speed manual. It's equivalent to a BMW 325i, just much, much nicer. I filled it up twice, with a much smaller gas tank, and it cost me $100 each time. I probably put under 20 gallons in it as opposed to the 34 or so I put in my Excursion for that same $100. Pretty crazy over there.

It's definitely true that Americans complain too much about the cost of fuel, but the other difference we have is that we drive a lot more than Europeans because things are so much more spread out. Our infrastructure is significantly more dependent on driving and on cheap fuel. When you're in any European city, public transit is amazing, and you really could get away with just walking most places. Countryside is similar, but the vast majority of people live in cities. In America, we have urban sprawl. Everyone has their own back yard, 2 car garage, etc. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I am saying that makes us a lot more spread out. Furthermore, seeing as all of Europe would fit inside the US with lots of room to spare, you physically can't drive as far before you hit some barrier like water or another continent.

XHunter is absolutely right on the price of AvGas. While it's absurd to me that we're still flying around on leaded fuel, we are. Anyone who thinks that they get bad mileage in their Excursion ought to try flying around in a Piper Navajo. My flight instructor has one. Cruise is 40 gallons/hr, which comes out to something around 5 mpg (at takeoff power it's 100 gallons/hr). Although that's a particularly inefficient plane. XHunter, what do you fly? I've got a 172 and a Piper Archer II in my club, I'm looking around at 310s and Aztecs.

 

I haven't flown in a few years, just getting back into it now--got married then had a baby(got any idea where my money went?) I have a lot of time in the Archer III and Seminole. the flight school near me has some nice & new 172 & 182 with the G1000 panel, I'm looking forward to flying those...there is another school that rents the Cirrus but there is a 5-10 hr transition traning required. I want to get current again then get my commercial.