sauceman

Your Tornado air is doing zip for you.

sauceman

My trip to the Outer Banks led me to reflect and observe people around me and how they reacted to the latest gas price hike.

Many people love to complain, yet the way they act shows they haven't learned a single thing. Many, when they saw the Smart, told me they were sure the Smart would never be sold in the US, because "they" (who the hell???) wouldn't let them buy anything else than their big ass trucks so that they would guzzle gas. (I swear I've been told this every day out there, I couldn't believe it!)

These people would be from Washinton, Syracuse, you name it. They all had big Expeditions or the likes of it without even a hitch on their trucks and many of them would let their vehicles idle on the ferry for 45 minutes while it was sunny and 75F outside.

I think the problem of consumption habits is so bad it's to the point where many people just won't get it at all, and will pay big bucks for their waste.

jpt

Gas is cheap. It's true that smarts probably won't get be sold in America any time soon but of course you know the real reason: people would rather buy a GMT900 (er, well, maybe not) or an Accord because at $4 a gallon = $0.16 a mile is not expensive enough to warrant any sacrifices in drivability for most people. Honestly, I think the only reason 90% of people even notice gas prices is because the signs are so big.

sauceman

It's not about the Smart, that just illustrates the situation. There's quite a margin between an Expedition and a Smart. You're talking 8mpg vs 70mpg. Just getting an Accord down from one of those trucks would represent quite a wonderful revolution in the minds of many.

Then again, I don't mean to get by as an idealist when saying that, just that I'm amazed to see how some people are completely unrealistic when they evaluate their needs and then they go on and complain how they have to cope with high gas prices. It wouldn't be nearly as tough if they were just a little more reasonnable and had better habits (like not letting your vehicle idle on the ferry for 45 minutes during great weather conditions)

jpt

You're right, but the point this illustrates to me is not that people are stupid, but that $3.50 a gallon for gas is not really as much of a burden as people make it out to be. (That is, like almost everything in life, it's bad enough to bitch about, but not bad enough to give something else up to change.)

Alin10123

haha yea, i just hit the $50 to fill up the whole tank too. The driving season hasn't even started yet. It's going to get much worse.
I remember back in the day which wasn't that long ago when i first got my 2000 4runner and i filled her up. I remember when i thought that $20 was a lot. Sheesh!

ninjamyst

i dunno...gas prices suck but if you can afford a $30k car, the increase probably won't affect you that much. If people just reevaluate where their money are going, I am sure they can easily save the difference. Cut down on your coffee every morning, don't eat out as much, use coupons for grocery....there are tons of things you can do to save money to offset the higher gas prices.