gas prices and alternate forms of transportation

[CNCadmin]

The gas in New Jersey 2.66 to 3.00 what are you guys paying. I'm thinking about a new car or motorcycle.

[Rekd]

We're up to 2.80ish for regular and 3+ for diesel. I'm fixing the jeep so we can quit driving the GMC Diesel, and considering getting the bikes going again.

[Ken_Shea]

I'm thinking about a new car or motorcycle.

The depreciation alone would easily pay for the increased fuel cost.


Here are 10 things that can be done to offset fuel cost or actually save money.
1) Set tire pressure to maximum suggested pressure.
2) Slow down
3) Plan trips to the store or wherever to minimize mileage.
4) Keep oil changed at regular intervals and inspect the air filter.
5) Teach your kids what no means.
6) Do you really need all those additional phone add-on's.
7) Check around for better insurance rates for home and car.
8) Winterize your home from drafts.
9) Stop buying just cause it's a good deal.
10) If the wife works see ih she can work any overtime
11) And one more to go: Teach your kids what "NO" means, Oh.. did I already mention that


OK, I'am open for some ideas as well !

[ynneb]

I am presuming that price is per gallon?

We are paying $1.25 per litre. That converts to over $4 per gallon.

Our govenment puts more than 50% Tax in those prices. They just love it when prices are high. More tax for them.

[CNCadmin]

I'd rather buy one of these- http://www.peraves.ch/ndexe.htm OK it I were a millionaire But than again.... if I were a millionaire it would'nt matter much.

[DieGuy]

I'd rather buy one of these- http://www.peraves.ch/ndexe.htm

For $79,500 OMFG, I can buy lots of gas for my Deville at that price.
http://www.peraves.ch/price.htm

Personally I am very lucky and can work from home 90% of the time. The favorite grocer is less than a mile away, a home depot is 4 blocks away, and a major mall, Costco & Walmart is less than 2 miles away. Location, Location, Location. It used to be people lived in a city neighborhood that had everything one needed in walking distance. Rumors are floating around that if the damage in New Orleans refineries are as bad as they think that gas rationing is a reality. I am pretty sure it is not the supply of crude that is going to be an issue but the refining capacity and the pipeline infrastucture is.

[wjbzone]

Filled up 2 day's ago for $2.57/gal in Dayton, Ohio. It is $3.09/gal today.

I restored a salvaged '93 Miata earlier this year. Had 33,000 miles. Spent $2400 plus $800 on parts. Gets about 30 mpg. Runs great. Beats my 12 mpg truck.

I understand electric prices here are going up too. I'm getting ready to add blow-in attic insulation to the home to get up to R49. Have electric ceiling heat.

Bill

[mxtras]

Ok. That's it.

I am quitting work so I can eliminate my commute therefore my need to purchase $3/gal gasoline. I am going to sell my home and all my belongings and pick myself up a used Schwinn...couple of used WalMart bags and some aluminum cans and I am set. I plan to live under a discarded refrigerator box near the industrial section of the city and maybe hang out in front of K-Mart and beg for change, showering once a week or so in the gas station bathroom. I could raid the Good Will drop off hut for winter clothes and blankets. I don't drink, but it sounds like I am going to need to start.

I hope the wife and kids will go for my plan.

The cost of life is going through the fricking roof this year. The prospect of becoming homeless is tempting.

But then I would not be able to cruise the Zone. Oh - wait - the library has internet access. Whew. That was close.

Scott

[JFettig]

2.89 today in fargo ND(where I go to school)
Luckily I dont have to drive much, next spring I will have my motorcycle up here which averages 70MPG


Jon

[Evodyne]

$2.78 in Northwest Indiana. I've been looking into either a natural gas conversion or buying a natural gas ready car outright. Toyota, Honda, GM, and others have 'em. GM sells brand new crate engines natural gas ready. Through Honda you can lease a low to high pressure pump and refuel in your own garage. But I found you can buy these pump units outright. I worked for our power provider and they have fleets of natural gas vehicles. They drive just fine. Very little wear on the engines too. And the best part? The cost of filling up with natural gas is equivilant to gas at just over a dollar a gallon. The only drawback is range (about 200 miles per "fillup"), but I drive less than ten miles per day back and forth. It's looking like a viable alternative.

Evodyne

[alnicov]

Has anybody checked out converting diesel engines to burn vegetable oil? I don't know what's involved but it doesn't sound like it would be too difficult. A friend has done it to his and his girlfriend's Jettas and they get the oil free from local restaurants. Her car gets 60+ mpg.

[fyffe555]

A random brain dump here;

I used to run a cheap 500cc Single and get 85+mpg years ago. Thought about doing the same now intending to save money. Problem is that when you work out your mileage and your current actual yearly gas cost due to increased pricing, the payback including the cost of runing another vehicle isn't worth it yet. Unless you're getting another vehicle anyways... The other bike at the time did 6.5mpg so in that case it was!

Premium Gas hit $3.00 here in West FL. Up almost 100% in les sthan a year. Diesel is less than Premium for the first time in many months - even though it's a byproduct of gas production, but is still $2.68.

Gas prices will increase twice in one day - Even though it's been a week since the tanker came by?

Locally the price increment between grades always seems to be ~10cents. Why? if there's a raw material cost increase wouldn't the gas increase by a percentage?

If you drive a non US manufactured vehicle look at the required fuel rating very carefully. The US measures octane by (R+M)/2. Some manufacturers and older vehicles measured the required octane by various other means and sometimes a lower US grade is actually only 1 or 2 points less than the vehicle is rated for.

The pump price is made up of the vendor price and the tax. UK gas is 99 pence a litre or about $1.78 a litre or $6.77 a us gallon. However the tax rates differ, the UK tax is over 80%. When you remove the tax element and compare vendor prices at the pump gas has actually become a lot more expensive here in the US than elsewhere.

US Oil companies tie prices to OPEC. But over half comes from non OPEC sources, 20% or so from CA and the rest from US fields with different, usually lower production costs - but we are expected to pay gas prices tied to OPEC?

The Oil companies are currently reporting record profits...

LPG is a good idea and works well, it's tax supported in the UK with both a refund on conversion kit and fuel price. LPG vehicles are exempt from Londons 'entry tax'. Specific fuel content is less than gas per gallon but price is cheaper so it's a wash. LPG produces somewhat less performance but also 90% less emmisions than gas in the same vehicle.

Diesel is also tax supported in Europe and the difference in perspective is interesting. Diesel has a higher specific energy content so you get are more mpg. In California the deisel is bad and dirty - that's why hybrids came about - but in europe they're not dirty? Emissions (co2, No etc) are less on a deisel than many gas engines. US deisel is higher in Sulpher an so priduces way more emissions than other deisel fuels. Sulpher removal is not expensive. Deisels do produce soot and the particulate is a problem. This can be addressed if manufacturers wanted to. Dyson - the bagless vacuum man - actually invented the cyclone extractor to remove the particulate from diesel exhausts and had it developed ready to be installed. unit cost would have been ~$100 per vehicle. It wasn't adopted because the cost was too high, extra maintenance and no benefit percieved

Until recently we had a VW beetle 1.9 diesel that got 52mpg. Several European makers do even better, Pug 407 is rated at 57mpg and is still quicker than most in its class. Neighbor down the road has a Pruis that in the same driving cycle actually gets 44mpg - significantly less than the deisel and less than advertised. He's not happy. He had an Insight that did 46mpg. He recently had to have the Prius battery pack replaced, warrentied, at a cost of several thousand bucks. He's definitely Not convinced that the hybrid is as good as claimed.

Biodeisel is an option. Guy round here drives an old 300d Mercedes on old oil from fast food joints. Smells a bit.. Three ways to use it apparently. One is to have seperate switchable tanks for regular and bio, just pour in the filtered cooking oil, start the engine on regular fuel, switch over once running and use the cooling system to heat the fuel. Second is the same but cut the bio with ethanol, third is to process the vegetable oil with Lye and alcohol to esterize(sp?) the fuel which converts to fuel and glycerine. The fuel can be used directly with no modification.

And back to the Bike idea; You can buy a new Royal Enfield 500 single *diesel* made in India! gets some obscene mileage - over 150mpg, but needs ether and a huge kick start to get it running, bits fall off, bulbs break, small children run off screaming and the home guard get called. Then you can take it off the stand and try riding it. It vibrates like hell but the girls might like it..