How Would You Cope With High Gas Prices?

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In LA it went up 19 cents in one day.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49315510

He's a good answer when people ask "What do you do when there is a power outage?

while a power outage hit Exxon Mobil Corp's refinery in the Los Angeles-area city of Torrance on Monday, disrupting operations for days.

This guy has to insert a new gas price.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion...prices-electric-cars-20121005,0,5048496.story

 

[Robert.Boston]

Maybe I should change the thread title to "How Are You Coping ​With High Gas Prices?". Sheesh.

 

[dhrivnak]

For me i just smile. With my non-gas Roadster, a battery powered lawnmower, and my Wife's plug in Prius gas prices are a non-issue.

 

[dpeilow]

Watching this from $9/gallon Britain, I smile for other reasons. You guys don't know you're born.

 

[Discoducky]

Watching this from $9/gallon Britain, I smile for other reasons. You guys don't know you're born.

Agreed. Does that high of prices in the UK keep people from driving or just keep people from driving bigger cars? Also, is it just that the UK includes $4 more tax per gallon (equivalent) or is there something else which drives up the prices to be so much higher than in the states?

My wife and just drive less. If I had the Model S today, we'd most likely drive down to Portland. But without, we'll just stay local.

 

[dpeilow]

It was recently reported that people are driving less and more slowly. I've seen some evidence of that on the motorway (in fact there are now some people driving dangerously slow IMHO - if you are forcing trucks to go around you it's too slow). So in some ways if this is happening then the taxes are doing their job. Nevertheless it's taken fuel prices to reach this level and a recession to have an effect. There is also evidence that ownership is stratifying - there are no shortages of big BMWs and Mercs on the road.

 

[FalconNinetyD]

Sold the (14 MPG) Audi S4 last week. Debating on selling the (17 MPG) Toyota Tacoma when the Model S arrives. If I keep it, it probably won't see more than 2,000 miles per year. My wife's (95 MPG) Volt is here to stay.

I can wait for my Tesla to arrive, then I think I'll root for gas prices to go up, as it will lead to faster adoption of EV's. It pained me to put $78 into my Tacoma last week, and I only drive about 5,000 miles a year in my gassers. I can't fathom how the Escalade/Navigator/Expedition/insert-12 MPG-vehicle-here owner who drives 12,000 - 15,000 miles a year justifies having those vehicles.

 

[dsm363]

I understand some people need large SUVs or pickup trucks for work but for people just driving back and forth to work in an urban environment, they're not ideal cars. If they were purchased after the last major price spike in gas (2008), they knew that prices like this were possible and shouldn't be a shock. I'm not saying everyone can or should buy EVs but consciously buying a car with 12mpg efficiency when a 20mpg truck would have done the job as well knowing gas price spikes were possible shows that they understood the risk and were willing to take it.

 

[VolkerP]

....:biggrin:

 

[jerry33]

I understand some people need large SUVs or pickup trucks for work but for people just driving back and forth to work in an urban environment, they're not ideal cars. If they were purchased after the last major price spike in gas (2008), they knew that prices like this were possible and shouldn't be a shock. I'm not saying everyone can or should buy EVs but consciously buying a car with 12mpg efficiency when a 20mpg truck would have done the job as well knowing gas price spikes were possible shows that they understood the risk and were willing to take it.

The rational is: I need a truck for weekends/hunting/other and it's cheaper to buy gas than a second car.

 

[dsm363]

The rational is: I need a truck for weekends/hunting/other and it's cheaper to buy gas than a second car.

That may be true with some people but according to this at least and other things I've read, less than 10% of people take their SUVs or trucks off road. Even then, people often chose the Dodge 3500 when the 1500 would work fine. These are choices they make and if gas hits $6/gallon then they have to understand that.

 

[vfx]

Prices climbed by almost 46 cents in Sacramento in a week, most of it almost overnight.

Citing a possible "illegal short squeeze," Feinstein called for not only an FTC investigation, but also better monitoring of the gasoline and oil markets and also the creation of a "permanent gasoline and oil market oversight unit."

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2012/10/08/feinstein-regulators-gas-prices-investig.html

Politically motivated timing?

 

[jerry33]

That may be true with some people but according to this at least and other things I've read, less than 10% of people take their SUVs or trucks off road. Even then, people often chose the Dodge 3500 when the 1500 would work fine. These are choices they make and if gas hits $6/gallon then they have to understand that.

That's right, but the guy that goes hunting really doesn't go off-road. And the other guy that has a truck because twice a year he hauls a 4x8 uses that for justification. And yes, people tend to purchase the biggest one they can afford. I guess we can't really call the pot black with all the people purchasing the Performance Model S

 

[ElSupreme]

Besides a good roof rack will do about 90% of what your average suburban truck driver will ever do with their truck. Refrigerator, and washer/dryer, moving are the only specifics that come to mind. Couches and mattresses fit fine on my roof. And other light furniture you could lift up there.

And my college roommate of about 4 years had a pickup truck, those are the only times my roof rack wouldn't have worked.

 

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