With $4 gas nicely entrenched now in the US — and higher fear premiums brought on by recent Iranian missile tests — driving around is starting to suck. (Well, at least the filling-up part.)
Ah well, just get a gas guzzler with a guarantee of $2.99 gas and you're all set, right? Probably not, according to Consumer Reports. Three years of $2.99 gas might be nice, but (a) it's only for three years; (b) you stand to get better deals with other options, like a cash-back option; (c) you might not even be able to get gas to fill up a guzzler if a supply crunch hits for whatever reason. What's more, trading it in might be a problem.
OK, scratch the guzzler with subsidized gas. How about a Smart Fortwo? It's gotta be better, right? Well, it does get about twice the gas mileage as a Chrysler minivan, but at 1800 lbs (or a ton with driver) it gets tossed all over the place, despite what the manufacturer might tell you. A friend at work recounted a story of a friend who had his Fortwo substantially sucked toward a passing semi due to the partial vacuum. Not fun. I spoke with a gentleman a few months ago who had just bought a Fortwo and he admitted that “bridges were interesting.”
OK, what about a motorcycle? They can get 50+ MPG, right? A local motorcycle driver's education course recently opened up twice the normal number of available spots, so it's clear that this is becoming another option. Getting caught riding these in the rain sucks, though, and you have very little protection if a semi gets mad at you.
OK, how about a hybrid? Well, they're great in cities but not much better than gas-only cars on the open road. The batteries are heavy and take up a lot of room. The solar panels on newer models don't appear to be doing much more than powering the air conditioner.
So the safe vehicles are becoming onerously expensive to operate, the gas-sippers leave a bit to be desired in safety, and the new technology isn't really breakthrough. My 2004 Corolla appears to be a good tradeoff — mid- to high-30 MPG and reliable with a solid feel — but even this will get to be an expensive vehicle to operate as time goes on.
Gas credit cards can help a bit but the savings will never solve the larger problems of scarce oil. None of these options will.
Fahrschmerz is here and it will be getting worse. The best options will be to travel less and to move close to work, but we'll continue to travel and commute long distances to work until we're forced otherwise, either by bankruptcy or rationing. On the off-chance that we actually get things together and conserve heavily on a national scale, this will merely subsidize the costs for other countries and allow them to satisfy their own demand more cheaply.
Maybe paying $15 for gas now is a good start, because it will be there soon enough, and vehicular transportation will be bad in just about any method.
Or at least cut out the soda when you gas up. (Thanks to Greener Pastures for including that article last week.)
I ride a Honda Big Ruckus. All the time. My truck doesn't move for weeks at a time. Anyway, motorcycles are plenty safe as long as you know what you're doing, and are paying attention. More people should ride motorcycles, it makes you a much, much better driver.
And regarding semis… one, don't ride the interstates. They're no fun anyway. Two, don't piss them off, and you won't have a problem. Three, if you do piss them off, just get away from them.
Take a look at this about my recent experience with a truck driver: http://totalruckus.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=189…
For short distance travel, motorcycles will do. Another suggestion would be carpool. I'm so lucky I have neighbors who work in the same building as I am, we have a scheduled carpool every week. Really saves a lot of gas money!
I see Smart Cars driving around LA, but only on city streets, never on the freeway. I think they're best for tooling around town, but at $15K, I want more than that itty bitty thing.
I see lots of suggestions to live closer to work, but that requires living in a place where the jobs are centralized. In places like LA, where we have multiple "centers", both spouses would have to work at the same center to live near one. Right now my husband live roughly between our jobs, but moving closer to one would double the other's commute. Yuck!
I started part-time biking to work (15 miles one way). That more or less offsets the increased gas prices, and is way more fun than sitting in traffic!
Ah wait! Has anyone check on one of these?–> http://www.myersmotors.com/
Its another electric car but it looks promising.
I'm about to pick up an old school cadillac and *try* and sell my 2005 SUV. Gas will suck even more (w/ premium and all), but I'll save $400 a month when all is said and done!
Maybe the "right" vehicle is a classic you've always wanted? might be a bit more work than newer ones, but having no car payments can't be bad 😉