The Price of Gas

[SilentCal]

Have you changed your driving habits with the rising cost of gas?

I try to limit my trips around town. Way to many lights around where I live that you spend a lot of time idling at. The kids are older now and don't mind taking the bus to the mall. I'll still do my summer trips but I do pay attention more now to conserving fuel. Gas in Western Mass is $2.12

 

[riverc0il]

i had a record number of ski days this winter and spent more on gas than lift tickets.... so no

 

[ctenidae]

My most frequent driving event is moving the car for street cleaning, so no, I haven't changed any. My car is relatively efficcient (computer's reading about 27 mpg) so it doesn't bother me too much to go wherever I want, anyway. Fortunately, I walk to work.

 

[MichaelJ]

Not for skiing or hiking or other car-necessary activities; however, I am looking forward to switching to the bicycle for commuting to work (21mi r/t).

 

[awf170]

hasnt changed my driving habits :wink: :wink: (think im getting my permit next week)

 

[ALLSKIING]

I have changed how I drive my work vehicles..since both of them are on the road most of the day. My suv I drive the same way I always drive. :wink:

 

[severine]

No change to me... I live within a mile of work (which is good and isn't...not so great on fuel mileage but at least I don't have to drive far) but all these doctor's appointments that are 40 minutes away are definitely making a difference. I have no choice, though, so I'm just sucking it up. I will admit that I do miss my fuel-efficient convertible right now...

 

[skijay]

Well my snow tires come off on Thursday or Friday and I am replacing them with a set of new tires and downsizing from a 235/65/R16 to a 215/70/R16 which is the same size as my snow tires. Try finding a 235 size tire.

The smaller size should increase my fuel economy slightly. I am contemplating using my roof rack to carry bikes or buy a trailler hitch mount.


I can not complain as I do get between 25 to 28 mpg with a compact SUV.

edit: I have noticed that different brands of gas give me different fuel economy. For some reason I get the lowest mileage with Mobil. I have been using Sunoco but switched to Hess as it is cheaper in Western Mass where I tank up. Hess is giving me the best fuel economy so far.

 

[Vortex]

I have gone to taking 1 car up north sometimes, but I just wine alot about gas no real change yet.

 

[thetrailboss]

I am really, REALLY surprised that there has not been a mutiny over the price of gas :angry: or at the very least some discussion about more efficient/different fuels. Hybrids were hot, but interest seems to have tailed off...really confusing to me. :-?

As for me, our car consistently gets 36-40 mpg highway, so it hasn't hurt us too much. We have skied a lot and the price of gas was taken into consideration when it came to season passes last season...we went with Pat's because they were about 65 miles away and offered a $249 season pass (including March 2004) . Folks said, "why not Sunapee?" and my response was at $259 vs like $600, we skied AND filled our car with gas handily. It's like another 20 miles to Sunapee...

We have been buying the NH Toll Tokens, so that saves some $$$ and we also have been buying our gas at NH Hess stations because we're up there a lot and the prices are more reasonable.

If prices continue to climb, we're going to be hiking a lot more in MA and Southern NH to save $$$ and taking the T to Revere Beach. We do take the T to work everyday.... :wink:

 

[hammer]

I am really, REALLY surprised that there has not been a mutiny over the price of gas :angry: or at the very least some discussion about more efficient/different fuels. Hybrids were hot, but interest seems to have tailed off...really confusing to me. :-?

Not that it would ever happen, but if we taxed gas as much as they do in Europe, I'd bet that it would result in a lot more conservation.

I read that gas prices, adjusted for inflation, are still a lot cheaper than they were in the late 70s, and that they will likely need to climb above $3.00 a gallon before people will really complain...

Most of my driving is back and forth to work, 25 miles each way, in cars that range from 20-24 MPG. I could get more fuel-efficient cars, but reliability and the ability to get through snow-covered roads is a lot more important than saving a few $$ on gas.

As far as gas costs and skiing go, the prices would have to get a lot higher before I would say "nope, can't afford to go skiing, it costs too much to get there." Besides, one of the great things about living near the NH border is that a lot of decent skiing is close by.

 

[dmc]

I've been conserving by changing my driving habits..
I set the cruise control at 74 and just keep it steady.. Get more out of the tank that way..

The guy I carpool with drives a diesle Jetta that gets like 50 mile per gallon.. He drives Monday,Tuesday and Friday and I drive my Subaru the other days..

When I'm home at Hunter I hardly drive.. I walk to a lot of places.. Or catch rides with others..

My main mode of transportation to go skiing was walking cause I rent a house right at the base...

These prices do suck...
What makes me mad is they go up so fast when oil goes up but it takes days to come back down when the oil price comes back down...

I feel sorry for all the giant SUV owners with GWB stickers on thier cars...

 

[BeanoNYC]

I was under the impression that Gas prices go up this time of year because the Oil Refineries are converting from producing Heating Oil to producing Gasoline. This results in a supply/demand issue. This is aggrivated by the "colder/longer" winter. Can anyone confirm this? At 2.25 a gallon this morning I've actually seen an improvement from earlier this week.

 

[cbcbd]

Price here is around $2.30 for 87 octane...

I'm .8 miles from work so I try to walk as much as I can.
In town I rollerblade everywhere - I get extra exercise, it's fun, but it's really hard carrying groceries back home

For long highway trips I rarely go above 70-75mph. I just set the cruise around there and... cruise.

 

[thetrailboss]

Well, my Dad is in the industry and he tells me that there are a number of factors that account for these high prices (at least that is what the sellers tell him...he is the purchasing agent for a Northern New England fuel company):

• War and security (thanks GW).
  Supply and demand, esp. with China on the rise.
  Increased demand thanks to more driving for the summer season (we can get more 'cause people want to drive :wink: ).
  Refineries changing product and the fact that there aren't many refineries anymore and they are expensive to operate (esp. when there are explosions like the one we had a few weeks ago).

Now there has been a movement to "simply drill for more" in Alaska, but that is in conflict because a). there isn't much up there, and b). it doesn't solve the problem of overconsumption...

 

[dmc]

Also the declining dollar is driving oil prices up...

The dollar... GWBs bastard child...

 

[ctenidae]

Oil prices have actually been coming down all week, which is good, but I don't think it'll hold. A lot of worry is getting priced out, but all it will take is an oil-related disaster (and probably not a big one) and we could see the $105 spike Goldman Sachs scared everyone with last week.

 

[thetrailboss]

Also the declining dollar is driving oil prices up...

The dollar... GWBs bastard child...

YES!!!! I knew I was forgetting something...the dollar has slumped in value significantly. The only upside is that it will be cheaper to pay off national debt 'cause the dollar is so cheap right now, but when it comes to buying power, we don't have it.

 

[ctenidae]

A weak dollar can be a good thing, don't forget. It does make imported goods (oil) more expensive here, which could spur the US to be more efficient (excuse me while I stop laughing at the ridiculousness of that comment), and makes our exports cheaper overseas, increasing production here. If BushCo would use the weak dollar to address our trade deficit, that would be fantastic. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening, either.
As much as it would hurt, the Goldman spike on oil could be a good thing, creating an economic incentive to conserve.

 

[Stephen]

Another factor: No domestic oil expansion (thanks liberals)