and in all honesty, it won't change. People here HAVE to drive to work as there really are no other viable options for the majority of the population.



I could not get to work without my car, short of a 2 hour bus trip.

 

My combined gas mileage between the SRT8 and M3 is barely 20mpg, haha. Luckily I work from home and my furthest drive is 13 miles to the mall. I notice the prices, but doesn't affect my overall spending. What I want to know is how people making $25-35k a year are surviving in these times? You know those people are strapped already, but with gas and food costs going up it has to hurt.

 

The prices do piss me off but they haven't affected what I drive at all. In fact, I just added another V8 that requires premium last week. Every vehicle I own has a big engine, I just have a hard time opting for the smaller engine if a big one is available.

Now if prices go over $10/gallon, I may change my tune. One good thing to come out of this is no more reservations at most of my favorite restaurants. People aren't eating out anymore.

 

If you get the Civic, you can buy a home refuel station for about $4K (but there's a $2K gov't rebate for it). Besides that, there are a multitude of commercial CNG stations all over LA/OC.

Positives:

1. We manufacture just about all of our own CNG, or purchase it from non-middle-east allies (Scandinavia, etc...). No more foreign dependence on oil!

2. It's currently about 50% cheaper than gas.

3. It burns much much cleaner than gas, and could make a significant improvement in our smog & greenhouse gas problems.

4. The ability to fill up at home

Negatives:

1. Very limited range. The Civic GX, which has the longest range of any CNG vehicle produced, can only go about 170 miles between fill-ups

2. Reduced trunk space. The tanks take up about 50% of any vehicle's trunk.

3. Not as convenient to fill up as gasoline. Home station takes a good 8 hours. Commercial stations are very fast, but only available in certain areas.

4. Only commercially available option is Civic right now. You can convert your current vehicle, but it will cost between $6,500 and $12,000 depending on the engine & tank combo. Currently, the major converting companies specialize in Ford 4.6L V8 (F150, Crown Vic, Town Car, etc...) or large Diesels for transit buses.

 

Another thing for the upper middle class (but not super rich) to consider is what do we do if gas goes to $10 or $15 per gallon, as some speculate it will do within 12 months.

If you and your wife drive a combined 24,000 miles per year (which is the average, at least in So Cal), and get an average of 14mpg in your big luxo-mobiles, you consume about 1700 gallons per year. At current prices that is only $7000 per year.

Fast forward to $15 per gallon and you're looking at $25,500 per year. You can't tell me that won't make at least a small difference in the way you live. If you say no it won't make a difference, then you aren't in the upper middle class - you're rich, and this post does not apply to you.

Why not go out and buy a small efficient car to just keep in your stable? It's like a rainy day investment.

 

I think this is the next big trend in autos. That being not to sell your gas guzzler, but to purchase a high mileage commuter. People are still going to need big V8's to tow things and perform moving duties and what not, but will also need a viable solution from getting to and from work.

Personally, I'm currently looking at Honda EG's and EK's (90's hatchbacks), to accompany my current V8. Get 40-50mpg on the highway cruising and only cost 4 figures... Prius mileage with Fiesta prices...... hard to beat.

 

If gas prices were not effecting people on this board there would not be 3-4 different threads started within the past week.

 

It's not affecting my toy car purchases, but it is making me at least notice the mpg numbers for my daily driver. I'll be buying a new dd soon, and I'll look for a car that gets at least 20 mpg.

 

No/no. Just bought a blower for my Viper.

 

id pick up one of these to DD