Gas Prices and what you can do about them

[Kibagari]

Alright, I'm sick of listening to, watching, and reading about people whining about gas prices. Everytime prices edge up a bit, everyone driving a Ford Guzzler complains about it. You're getting less than 20 MPG. The only thing you should be complaining about is the fact that you're an idiot for driving such a huge vehicle and NOT getting an engine that will give you better MPG.

Consider the advent of the diesel engine. Volkswagen makes a diesel engine that gives their wonderful little cars over 35 MPG on a BAD day. Diesel isn't as noisy and disgusting as it used to be. Plus, with the added mileage, who cares if Diesel is 20 cents over gas?

So you're driving a Ford F250 4x4. Gas. What are you smoking? Get the freaking diesel. It's more money initially, but the fuel prices and MPG (not to mention the fact that diesels last longer than gas engines) will save your butt down the line.

Toyota and Honda make wonderful vehicles with i4 engines that do what you need them to: Accelerate, decelerate. Amazing! They also get more MPG than most other vehicles out there. Get a smaller vehicle if you can, save yourself the aggravation- and get a diesel on top of it- talk about amazing mileage.

Another new advent is Biodiesel. You can make this stuff YOURSELF at the cost of less than a dollar per gallon. It runs CLEANER and MORE efficiently than petro-diesel (not to mention it smells like pizza, or chinese food, or whatever the oil came from). So instead of filling up 3 bucks a gallon at the tank in your cute little i4 diesel- you fill up 90 cents a gallon, and still get over 500 miles per tank.

If you need a big family vehicle, there's a wonderful alternative. Jeep is putting Diesel engines in their Liberties and Grand Cherokees, have been for years. There's no excuse for you to have this giant, gas guzzling V6 or V8 that has no economy whatsoever.

That and I'm sick of seeing full size pickups with "5.8L HEMI ENGINE" or "6.2 L TRITON". Buy a diesel people, get with the program. More power, more economy (not a lot, but it's better than gas), and plus you get that sweet, sweet diesel rumble. It's like listening to a motorcycle engine idle, only bigger.

Next time I pull up at the pumps in my cute little Corolla and hear some mid-50's woman in her Ford Excursion complaining about gas prices, I think I'm going to freak out.

Side note: Biodiesel can heat your home, POWER your home, and power your vehicles for much less money than paying someone else for dino fuels. Just a side thought if you like going 'green'.

[JC Viper]

Diesel vehicles in the US aren't very common as not all gas stations carry it and it tends to be more expensive. Another thing is that unlike Europe there are still plenty of people in the US that believes only dirty trucks use diesel fuel.

My parents drive a mid sized Nissan Pathfinder which does wonders in the snow that NY gets in the winter time. That's probably why many cars around here are SUVs. Then their interior space is a close second when hauling people and junk around. Then there is the supposed safety that comes with an SUV. Remember the US likes everything big.

It would be nice if more people started using scooters for short hops in town or K-cars (those small cars in Japan) which would also help with the rising fuel costs. Also, having under inflated tires and a lead foot will cause an increase in fuel consumption but people are lazy and in a hurry nowadays anyway.

[Septimus]

Since this is the Soap Box:

I hate it when people tell me they're "protesting the gas companies" by "telling all their friends not to buy gas for a day."

My eyebrow cannot raise high enough to respond to that statement without biting off the head of whomever says it.

[Kibagari]

Unless millions and millions of people don't buy gas for a month, it's not going to hurt the gas company. More than likely, every time they hear of a protest, they sit in their high chairs, light their cigars, and laugh.

[ceemes]

Funny how people b itch and whine about the price of fuel and yet don't think twice about paying two to three times as much for a litre of bottled water or milk.....go figure.

[JC Viper]

Funny how people b itch and whine about the price of fuel and yet don't think twice about paying two to three times as much for a litre of bottled water or milk.....go figure.

'cause spending money on designer water is trendy, gallon jugs are for them poor folks. I guess the thinking is that you need gas in order to get to work to get that paycheck to be able to buy milk and then b itch about it.

[ceemes]

Funny how people b itch and whine about the price of fuel and yet don't think twice about paying two to three times as much for a litre of bottled water or milk.....go figure.

'cause spending money on designer water is trendy, gallon jugs are for them poor folks. I guess the thinking is that you need gas in order to get to work to get that paycheck to be able to buy milk and then b itch about it.

That only is true if you live in an area without public transit, ya know, buses, trams, elevated trains, subways and the like, things most urban centres have in abundance.

My cage and bike get about the same gas mileage, so there is no real savings fuel cost wise for my in choosing either one for my commute, plus I was smart enough to find a place to live that was only 10 to 15 minutes away from the office.

But I have to laugh at my co-workers whining about how much they are paying each week for fuel, most choose to drive huge arsed SUV's and live miles away from the office. The majority of them refuse to take a bus in, even though we are locate right next to one of the major transit inter-changes in the area. Instead they choose to fight rush hour(s) traffic day in and day out, burning dollars out their tailpipes while they sit there idling and going nowhere fast.

As costly as the price of fuel is in North America, we still enjoy some of the cheapest fuel going in the the industrialized world. Personally I would love to see less single occupant SUV's on the road and more buses.

[JC Viper]

Funny how people b itch and whine about the price of fuel and yet don't think twice about paying two to three times as much for a litre of bottled water or milk.....go figure.

'cause spending money on designer water is trendy, gallon jugs are for them poor folks. I guess the thinking is that you need gas in order to get to work to get that paycheck to be able to buy milk and then b itch about it.

That only is true if you live in an area without public transit, ya know, buses, trams, elevated trains, subways and the like, things most urban centres have in abundance.

My cage and bike get about the same gas mileage, so there is no real savings fuel cost wise for my in choosing either one for my commute, plus I was smart enough to find a place to live that was only 10 to 15 minutes away from the office.

But I have to laugh at my co-workers whining about how much they are paying each week for fuel, most choose to drive huge arsed SUV's and live miles away from the office. The majority of them refuse to take a bus in, even though we are locate right next to one of the major transit inter-changes in the area. Instead they choose to fight rush hour(s) traffic day in and day out, burning dollars out their tailpipes while they sit there idling and going nowhere fast.

As costly as the price of fuel is in North America, we still enjoy some of the cheapest fuel going in the the industrialized world. Personally I would love to see less single occupant SUV's on the road and more buses.

Hey, you're on a motorcycle related forum! Encourage the use of 2 wheelers.

I don't know about your area but NYC is well known for it's public transportation but the city is also very populated meaning huge crowds on the buses and trains not to mention several delays a month. We had a pretty powerful rainstorm that shut down a good portion of the city's transit and buses don't follow the schedule. Sometimes I like having the convenience of my bike or brother's car.

[blues2cruise]

If more people would try cycling or busing for commuting their fuel bills would go way down.
They would also have the added benefit of some fitness and it would help air quality.

[crazy5dave]

Gas is about $5 a gallon in Japan.