Let's face the music: Gas prices will only go up. Gone are the $2.50 per gal days. Has the infamous "family Sunday drive" gone the way of the buffalo? How have you coped with rising fuel costs? We have some friends that live in Israel where gas prices are supposedly astronomical. The residents there shut their car off when idling, coast downhill, etc...

While the US isn't quite to that extreme, people are being more gas-conscious. A quick poll of gas-saving tips at the office revealed these top results:


1) Combining local trips... saves a bundle!

2) Carpool to the office. (I seem to be popular as the only TL owner!)

3) Ride your bike more often.

4) Buy a hybrid.

5) It's a great reason to delay letting your kid get their driver's license for another year.



What steps have other TL owners taken to reduce our dependency on oil?

 

I sold my Passat and got a TL

 

Biggest thing I do is maintain my car (regular oil changes, check and replace air filter, keep tires properly inflated). Next is maintaining a constant speed. Obviously, I can't always do it, but I do my best. Too bad no one else on the road bothers to try.

 

I go for a long drive once or twice a week just because I feel like driving. Unless gas prices go up to like 10 dollars per gallon, it's not going to stop me from driving.

 

I did a calculation the other day.

On an average week i spend $80 on gas.

52 weeks per year.

Plus trips.

=$4160 spend on gas

 

I don't pay attention. My job gives me the right to deduct my miles. Even at $3.50 per gallon, I about break even with .445 per mile deduction.

Gas is the least of your worries. If fuel prices were the ONLY thing that increased, it wouldn't be a big deal. The real problem is that milk is now $4.00 per gallon because of fuel prices. Energy costs affect EVERYTHING else. Gas isn't that big of a deal.

 

Try driving at the speed limit, especially this ID4 weekend (cops, lots of them).

 

I know what you mean about cops everywhere....Formula One Race here in Indy this weekend....yep...cops EVERYWHERE!

As for saving gas.....not really thought about it. Dont really take any measures whatsoever to save or even worry about it. Probably stupid on my part! BUT....I dont have kids, ect so not really budgeting my fundage that way either...

 

I don't.

 

As long as gasoline at the pump is cheaper than the bottled water inside the refrigerator of the of the gas station's convenience store I don't worry about it.

If the Israelis don't like paying $8/gallon for gasoline, maybe they should tell their government to lower the taxes on it.

 

As long as my car is kept up with it's maintenance, oil changes, tire pressure and a clean cone air filter that is all I can do to save fuel.....now I will start to turn in my beer cans instead of just throwing them away the day I can no longer afford to fill up...........

 

Stopped using A/C...and only open windows 1/2".

Drive @ 60 on the HWY.

 

turning the a/c off only helps when you are stopped/idling. when you are on the road doing 60, your car is virtually using no gas to power the ac. theres plenty of wind blowing, it doesnt need to work as hard to cool the air.

 

[QUOTE=shbaker

5) It's a great reason to delay letting your kid get their driver's license for another year.
[/QUOTE]


reason # 5 was a killer hill to get over to get my license lol

 

Drive in tiptronic mode & cruise.

 

Got a Jeep with the 5.7 Hemi and gave the TL to my wife.. TL gets much better mileage now.

 

A/C and keep RPM low

 

I agree. I find it almost funny how people complain about gas prices. Even with all the gas price hikes, the average price of a gallon of gas has increased much more slowly than that of inflation. It's just the change in price for something that we buy every day that annoys us. We have it good here. Gas is still relatively cheap. Things that used to be unbelievably expensive like computers and internet access are now within reach of most people.

I'm not sure where milk has reached $4.00 a gallon. I'm in Chicago and I've never seen that price - not even at the 7-Eleven down the street. Then again, I'm not buying fourteen gallons of milk twice a month either.

I don't like shelling out more money for gas, but it's important to keep things in perspective. We complain about things that are a bargain like the price of gas and postage stamps and think nothing of shelling out hundreds for other things we don't need.

"$200 for a concert ticket (box office price) Are you out of your *$%#&@$ mind??"

And RIMS! Boy did Chris Rock hit the nail on the head with that remark. Not that I have a problem with that - I've dressed my Miata to the nines - but if you're complaining about how you can't afford to gas up your wheels, you should really consider rolling on stocks. And maybe quit smoking while you're at it.

Then there's Bill Maher. $3.50 a gallon is too much to pay to go 30 miles, but a five spot to the valet to go 10 feet is okay.

 

WTF? Wait, you cry about $3.50 for a GALLON of gasoline but you're willing to pay $2.00 for a cold bottle of spring water? The water bottle is what 8 fluid ounces?

A-Train

 

Fuck It! REALLY! weather we care or dont care about prices, that will do jack shit to do anything to change the price. so, fuck it!

 

Dont Drive

 

There are other reasons for TL owners to conserve gas other than gas prices: reduction of dependency on oil, reduction of pollution, global warming, jealousy of those with gasoline corporation stocks...
I'm not an extreme environmentalist since I didn't even think about a Prius or any 4-cylinder other than the TSX since I value performance and comfort over fuel efficiency.
However, one of the few objective reasons for me to choose the TL was that the fuel efficiency of the TL was higher, and tailpipe emissions were lower, than every other vehicle V6 or V8 I considered (G35, RX-8, CTS, GTO).
I also try to combine multiple stops on trips, generally accelerate gently like a grandma (except when the on-ramps beckon) and try to stay above 45 mph or at least stay in motion. I always have driven that way, except in race, SCCA autocross and on-ramp situations, even when gas was $1 per gallon. Recycling is good since production of new materials uses more petroleum-based energy; Minimizing electricity use in the home and office also reduces amount of oil used to generate electrical power.

Excuse me, they're calling me from the Prius forum now...

 

I read about people getting 18-20 MPG in the city and the best I've been able to get is 16. Those of you getting more, do you never use the acceleration at all? I'm no hotrod, but it has been 16 mpg consistently for about a year on my 2005 TL auto.

 

The management and shareholders of the Toyota Motor Corporation appreciate your interest in the Prius...



CLICK HERE South Park Episode 1002 Part 1

There are 1.2 billion people in China and 1 billion in India, all of whom want to be warm in the winter, cool in the summer and drive an SUV as much as anyone else, so anything anyone here or in the rest of the G8 does isn't going to have much of an effect on the price of oil or gasoline, global waming or the price of Halliburton stock.

 

I used to not care about filling up but recently I've decided to try and cut back on how much I drive. Makes a huge difference. I dont really like a/c so I never use it. Slowing down around town made a huge difference...I've gone from getting about 250 miles to the tank to over 300. Very little freeway driving involved.

 

My solution to saving gas is that I telecommute at least once a week. Helps with the how frequent I have to fill up and helps during the smoggy season here in Georgia. Plus I seem to pick the day that it rains here and that helps not just on saving gas, but also the chance I'll get in a wreck.

 

I beg to differ - inflation hasn't reached 100% increase over the span of the last 3 or 4 yrs....not even close, But gas prices have

 

* Buzzer Sound *

Consider the following:

Addicted to Oil

http://times.discovery.com/convergen...gy/energy.html

Play the videos

How long will it take to break our addiction to oil?

http://dsc.discovery.com/beyond/play...bclid=86183180


And play all four videos

Panel Discussion

http://dsc.discovery.com/beyond/play...clid=138214387

 

Humans shouldnt be drinking cow milk anyways.

 

Who Killed the Electric Car?

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/index.html

Play the video (you need to click on Real or Windows Play and choose the size) in the Program Resources on the URL above.

 

I ride my Suzuki Boulevard M50 as much as possible.

Joe

 

Could you tell me mileage you're getting? I just bought a 2005 TL w/ < 7,000 miles. I do drive all city miles ;-( and I'm only getting 15.5 mpg.

 

^ Do a search and you will find a crazy amount of information.. you just have to sift through some of it.

One of them

Right now... I am at 27 mpg but that's b/c I have been doing a lot of highway driving w/ CC on. But w/ a mixture of driving.. usually its a 21/22 mpg. I find myself getting excited each time my mpg bumps up a number.... i know.. i'm a loser.

 

same here. if you want to save gas buy a compact. If I had an exotic that got 13 mpg at best, i would just be cruising around more than ever

 

I get similar mileage in the city. There's no way around it- if you have traffic lights every 300 feet, the car is idling half the time. and then to top it off, you have to accelerate from 0-30 every minute, which kills gas, no matter how slowly you accelerate. What I do now in the city is I look far ahead and anticipate the next few traffic lights. If I see that it will turn red before I get there (this could be several hundred feet away) I let go of the gas completely, even if i'm going 15-20 mph and ppl start piling up behind me, I don't care. After a few seconds, they realize that there's no point in going faster because we're approaching a red light.