Episode 49: Gas Prices killing you? We can help you max out your MPG!

[chuckles]

Gas is over $4.00 a gallon all over San Francisco, so this episode is all about proven methods to get more MPG from your car, from changing the air filter to giving up on using your brakes.

Watch it here (http://revision3.com/systm/hypermileage).

[chuckles]

We're having some issues with the Xvid and WMV encoding so the WMV and Xvids will be delayed until the situation is remedied.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

-chuckles-

[bani-banan]

All I could hear was complaints about US gas prices.

Hey, we pay roughly $12-13/gallon here (Sweden).

Oh well, it was at least informative.

[crobarian]

$12-13 a gallon, ouch. Sorry to hear that.

BTW, isn't the dog's name at the end (during the credits) Bingo and not Jango? At least that is what I taught my daughter. :D

[smeerkaas]

About 10 bucks a gallon here (The Netherlands)


1.60 euro per liter x 1.60 dollar per euro x 3.8 liters per US gallon.

And then .. add road tax, VAT, duty, VAT over duty (yes really).
And when buying a car, add tax (19%), emissions tax, and 'luxury tax (45%)'.

If I went ahead and did the full math for, let's say, 5 years of TCO on a typical car or truck (gasoline or diesel!), I'd bet the US gas price complaints would sound petty.

Give me a brand and model name for a car available in the US and in Europe, and I'll do the math and scare you silly. And if someone then could do the same for a state, even California, we could compare prices.

Please give me a list price, and typical mileage per year, so I can do a calculation.
Then do the same, with state taxes and such included. I'd be interesting.
I'm guessing that the only factor even remotely similar is insurance.


Bani-Banan: are you sure you are using US gallon and not Imperial?

[nextgenxbox]

$12-13 a gallon, ouch. Sorry to hear that.

BTW, isn't the dog's name at the end (during the credits) Bingo and not Jango? At least that is what I taught my daughter. :D

Haha yeah, who is this so-called JANGO you speak of Patrick!?!? It's BINGO!!! :)

[chuckles]

We're having some issues with the Xvid and WMV encoding so the WMV and Xvids will be delayed until the situation is remedied.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

-chuckles-

All the file formats are now available. Sorry for the delay.

-chuckles-

[patrick-revision3-com]

Haha yeah, who is this so-called JANGO you speak of Patrick!?!? It's BINGO!!! :)


Jango belongs to some friends that live in Oakland... so my wife usually sings, "Our friends in Oakland have a dog and Jengo" etc. etc. to the tune of Bingo... if you're really lucky, you'll get to hear me sing the Speckled Frog song someday. It's even better than my take on the Bouncing Souls version of Born to Lose.

[dosbomber]

At 14:27 the video freezes up, but the audio continues until 14:56, when that cuts out as well.

Anyone else experiencing this, or is it just me?

I've downloaded the file twice, played it in MediaPlayer Classic as well as Windows Media Player 11.. same results.

[maynza]

What all you europeans forget to factor in is that we pay our taxes in other areas and we commute far greater distances than most of you. That said, I am fully aware that if I didn't speed I would save a ton on my gas, but it is so hard to do that when i can get places in half the time.

[nextgenxbox]

w00t 1 of 9 of Patrick's posts is a direct reply to me.

You know you're a geek when that makes you happy. Haha. :)

[winsucker]

1,123 EUR / L (Slovenia)

0,000 EUR / L (me) (H8 cars (they go in the same rank that football in my book..and football is for trolls-and no-i am not an tree-huging hippy, it's just the sickness that i get when i remember my ex schoolmates, talking abut how they will get the car for on and on and on-and the stupid bitc*** that digg them because they don't understand how ivn key works (nothing sexual abut it..know the womens that are good with their computers...i guess:D), so i just don't have one.

Aaaaah-feel so much bather now-that i tell u my life story...now i can go out and play with goblins and orcs..ow-i mean shoot some ppl..deam!..talk with the girlzys and repair their computers, gadgets and other simple things?:confused:

[smeerkaas]

At 14:27 the video freezes up, but the audio continues until 14:56, when that cuts out as well.

Anyone else experiencing this, or is it just me?

The High-Dev .mov did with me. Froze up.

What all you europeans forget to factor in is that we pay our taxes in other areas and we commute far greater distances than most of you.


I didn't forget. Trust me .. you pay al lot less tax, period. That isn't to say you don't have to pay some things extra to be on par with 'Us Europeans'. For instance health insurance. But believe me, tax load is a lot higher over here. At least it is in my little corner of the globe. It's a different social system. There are benifits and drawbacks. It really is a whole 'nother discussion alltogether.

And as for the distance traveled .. perhaps that is true, but it's not that simple. Congestion is a big factor. Time and money spent in traffic jams. Every single day. A gridlocked highway is costing a lot more in both fuel and pollution, and indeed money and time, than having to travel further but being able to juist cruise there without jams. Now, I know this varies from state to state, and from city to city. Obviously. But I'm paying 10 bucks a gallon to sit still in traffic 3+ hours a day burning gasoline. It's ridiculously expensive to own and run a simple little subcompact, nevermind a big diesel truck.

As a car guy .. it's not cool.

Now .. car prices. Not the fuel .. just the car itself. I'll give you an example.

A new Chevy Tahoe. $120.000
1 tank of gas: $250
Road tax: $200 a month (and twice that for a diesel car of the same weight)

A bit more upscale:

2008 Escalade. $200.000. Yes, that's Two Hundred Thousand Dollars.
Not too many of those around. I wonder why ....

Something more modest:

2008 VW Golf TDI: $55.000
1 tank of fuel: $130
Road tax: $160 a month

A $50K car is just a compact over here .. not a luxurious SUV or a 'vette. Think about that.

I could go on, but I'm pretty sure I've scared enough people by now.
And yes this is somewhat of a rant. But just to put things into perspective I thought you should know how expensive cars, fuel, and the taxes levied upon them are here. Maybe $4 per gallon won't sound so bad then.

[victor_c26]

The H.264 version froze up on me too.

Pretty cool that this episode came up when I basically started doing the same thing two weeks ago. I have a '92 Chevy 1500 Cheyenne Pickup. Yeah, heavy truck.

But interestingly enough, Just lightly pressing on the gas pedal and letting the truck gradually accelerate did wonders for my mileage. And when I reach the speed limit, I pretty much just barely press on the gas pedal and let the engine run at the lowest RPM rate possible.

I travel around 31 miles per day, and use up 6.25 gallons per week (use the truck 6 days out of the week).

Yep, you calculated right, I'm getting roughly 31 miles per gallon on a 16 year old Chevy truck.

Little Note: Gas is $3.83 on the gas station just 3 blocks away from my house [in Chicago].

[nextgenxbox]

I really gotta change my driving habits... :) LEAD FOOT!!! haha.

[hippie459mn]

Being as I drive truck and own my semi and the national average price of diesel is like $4.149 a gallon and with a full load for a total weight of just under 80,000 pounds I get just about 6.0-6.2 miles per gallon at 65 mph and if I go up to 70mph I drop almost 1 full mile per gallon so when you see me driving around doing 65 in a 70/75 mph state dont get mad thinking I am holding up traffic cause in a 250 gallon fill up, That extra 1 mpg makes for a huge difference at the pump and its all about the money for me.

Now on my motorcycle, 50ish mpg, who gives a s**t! Hammer down. :D

[molnies]

It was a good episode with some great information... but I got to ask... Is this a joke?

First of all, Bani-Banana must have counted wrong, we pay around $8 per gallon here in Sweden, and we have for several years.

I have two cars, both Chrysler sedans ('00 Stratus and '97 Neon)

Neon: I get 50 MPG on highways and around 40 MPG in the city
Stratus: 40 MPG on highways and around 30 MPG in the city

I checked the Fuel Economy Guide and it says I should get around 15-30 MPG — how is it even possible to be that low?
Am I crazy, or can someone explain why the cars in the US have so low MPG?

[spark-rain-fire]

The major problem is there are no fuel efficient cars in the United States anymore. Why are we struggling to reach 35mpg when 12 years ago there were a good handful of cars that reached 35mpg? Can someone explain to me what happened to the 1.5litre mazda protege (*cough* ford *cough*) or why the nissan sentra no longer gets 40mpg on the highway (ok, 36 according to new epa estimates)

This frustrates the hell out of me, I need to replace my aging nissan sentra but if I do so I'll take a major hit on fuel economy... A good start would be to take a major step forward to 1996 when we had options!



edit: I know there are hybrids that get good fuel estimates, that isn't my argument here -- my argument is that 12 years ago gasoline engines were getting close to the same fuel estimates as new hybrids and no one has said anything, the auto manufactures haven't done a damn thing. GM killed the EV1, bought Hummer meanwhile everyone else was markiting more horses, bigger *safer* cars.... and don't get me started on the SUV phenomenon of the late 90s-today...

[mikec]

The major problem is there are no fuel efficient cars in the United States anymore. Why are we struggling to reach 35mpg when 12 years ago there were a good handful of cars that reached 35mpg? Can someone explain to me what happened to the 1.5litre mazda protege (*cough* ford *cough*) or why the nissan sentra no longer gets 40mpg on the highway (ok, 36 according to new epa estimates)

This frustrates the hell out of me, I need to replace my aging nissan sentra but if I do so I'll take a major hit on fuel economy... A good start would be to take a major step forward to 1996 when we had options!



edit: I know there are hybrids that get good fuel estimates, that isn't my argument here -- my argument is that 12 years ago gasoline engines were getting close to the same fuel estimates as new hybrids and no one has said anything, the auto manufactures haven't done a damn thing. GM killed the EV1, bought Hummer meanwhile everyone else was markiting more horses, bigger *safer* cars.... and don't get me started on the SUV phenomenon of the late 90s-today...

Well, blame the buyers and the executives at the car companies. Nissan for example offers a 3.5L V6 for the Altima. That was considered a small car when it first came out. Who in the world needs a gas sucking engine like that in a relatively small car? My Passat which is bigger gets better mileage then that car. (1.8L turbo 4)

[technojunkie]

I'm having the same problem near the end of the HD H.264 version in both QuickTime Player and VLC.

Back when gas was closer to $1 per gallon I made the decision to live close to work. Driving is a waste of time. This would be an easier choice for more people if the environmentalist wackos wouldn't freak out every time someone tries to build high-density housing in my midsize town but, hey, do what you can. NYC is the Greenest City in America (http://www.walkablestreets.com/manhattan.htm).

Try biking too. Commuting Bike Forum (http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=20). If you can find a route to work that won't get you killed, do it. Maybe even get a Sport Utility Bicycle (http://www.xtracycle.com/).

[kickarse]

A couple of things to add about cars...

First, get a manual even if you don't plan on rebuilding your engine or taking apart your suspension. It will give you the mileage between servicing certain parts.

It's very important to change out your air, fuel and oil filters at the recommended intervals. If a fuel or air filter gets clogged you will starve the engine and it will over compensate. Thus deteriorating your gas mileage but also possibly the o2 sensors and catalytic converter. There are tests to see if you have a clogged cat or a restrictive cat.

Sensors are annoying and can go at any time and there are many on the modern EFI engine. Oh, the CPS or crankshaft position sensor can also go bad and screw things up. Remember to change your belts at the proper times. If you have a stretched serpentine belt it can wreak havoc on your electronics, from just little issues with poor spark to full blown SES light and all the fun codes.

There are a couple of sensors that directly effect your air/fuel mixture the Throttle Position Sensor, Intake Air Control valve, Mass Air Flow sensor or the Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor. Also, making sure that your coil packs (distributor and cap) are in working efficient order, plugs and wires replaced at their proper intervals too.

[mixedspleens]

I liked this ep, I just traded in my old Buick for a '08 MINI and I really am enjoying the 32mpg average driving that I am getting. I didn't replace the Buick because of mileage but its a nice side effect. Something good to keep in mind is whenever your check engine light is on your most chances loosing miles per gallon, alot of them. so fix it or get it fixed, and it will save you cash in the long run

[silverstream]

All I could hear was complaints about US gas prices.

Hey, we pay roughly $12-13/gallon here (Sweden).

Oh well, it was at least informative.

We pay alot but it's not 12 bucks/gallon. According to my calculations we pay about 8 dollars/gallon.
12,5 kr/liter = 12,5*3.8=47,5 kr/gallon = 47,5/6=7,9 dollar/gallon.

[serafina]

we pay around $8 per gallon here in Sweden, and we have for several years.

I think that's the difference here. It's not the high prices we're complaining about, it's the rising prices. In the US, it's quadrupled in the last eight years. It's all relative. We paid ~$1.75/gal in 2001, now it's $4? Plus with prices of everything else rising faster than wages, it's understandable that Americans are upset. Plus there's no sign of slowing down, either. It's rising ~$.10/mo and should be $5/gal by the end of the summer.

On the other hand, my '88 motorcycle gets 60mpg on the freeway without even trying, so it's a bit easier for me to deal with. :D

[bani-banan]

We pay alot but it's not 12 bucks/gallon. According to my calculations we pay about 8 dollars/gallon.
12,5 kr/liter = 12,5*3.8=47,5 kr/gallon = 47,5/6=7,9 dollar/gallon.

I made an inaccurate calculation.
I converted one gallon into ca 4litres.

Gas prices here are roughly 14Sek/l (currently 14.23)

14x3.8=53.2/sek
53.2/5.96 (forex.se)= rougly 9dollars ( 8.92)

So yes, I did a miscalculation.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Food prices have also gotten shittier here.
15% since 95.

[bpalmer]

Hey everyone,

If you liked that episode of Systm, you may be interested in a short film a made about Driving Greener. It covers a lot of those tips, plus more, and goes into more detail about things like the ScanGaugeII and % increases in MPG by trying different things.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1279402/driving_greener/

Thanks Patrick for producing that episode! I've been a fan ever since the Screen Savers days!

[tequila]

I live in Belgium, the situation isn't exactly as bad as in the Netherlands, but it's more or less comparable.
The problem with US cars are the huuuuge petrol engines. I visited the ford website a few minutes ago ... 2.5 or 3.0L engines in basic sedans??? The only cars we see those engines in are BMW 530's, or Audi A6 3.0TDI, etc. those are all in the upper car classes. Seriously, a 2.0L engine (ford focus) ... 110hp? that's just ridiculous.

I drive a Mini Cooper S, granted not the most fuel-economic car, has a 1.6L turbo charged petrol engine ... 164hp. My girlfriend drives a Mini One diesel, 1.4L TDI, uses 4,5 liters of diesel every 100km (52mpg or something??). And i wish i bought one of those instead of the "S". Superb little diesel engine, great torque.

Why is there such a big difference in the use of engines (US vs. EU), in cars that are aimed at the same market segments?

[mikec]

Most Americans don't like turbos for some reason. Possibly reliability issues with some of the early models. Add to that a history of large cars with large engines and you can see the problem. Gasoline has been cheap, relatively here and so many thought it would continue. Add to that marketing by Ford and GM pushing large fuel sucking SUVs over a smaller more efficient sedan or station wagon.

Another issue is that we have more roads. I have weeks where I have to drive 50-60 miles one way, highway, to get to a job site. In some other areas things are worse. People built homes farther away from the big cities because real estate had gone through the roof in the cities and people went out and out.

American emission rules don't help either. In many places diesel is a bad word. If only VW had the turbo diesel Passat with an automatic when I bought my car...

[dosbomber]

In many places diesel is a bad word.

I wish I had a diesel engine... Biodiesel, vegetable oil (mmmmm... smell the french fries), even non-taxed dyed heating oil (don't get caught!).. lots of cleaner fuel options.

I'm not so optimistic about the durability of those O2 sensors.. mine seem to go out fairly often.. even now whenever I kick in overdrive, the sensor turns on the check engine light. :mad: And that's all that's wrong, too. No engine problem, just frequent sensor failures.

(Yes, overdrive.. another lead foot) :p

[smeerkaas]

About the remark why cars arent getting more fuel efficient. They are! It's just that new safety regulations and customer demand for luxury make for heavier cars. Side impact beams, reinforcements, airbags. And electronics. Power everything. Miles of cabling and circuitry. It all adds up.

I'm currently driving a 1500 pound car. Do they even sell those in the States?
1 litre, 54 hp. Oh yeah, lol. It gets me to where I have to go. Until recently I drove an '86 'vette. 350 smallblock V8. A rare sight on our roads, just because it's so expensive to run. I had to sell it. Gas prices were definitely a factor. Road tax and such also. Sigh.

I'd like to see full electric make it big. Hydrogen and Hybrid .. it's all a stop-gap measure. Electric = torque. Torque = kick in the pants.

[charlas]

I WISH I only paid 4$ a gallon.... In the UK it's mental, still, didnt stop me buying a Civic Type R (20's to the uk gallon).....

But I do wish Europe were not raped as bad as we are... considering were actualy closer the the oil after all!

Just for info

Civic Type R GT = 21k GPB ($41,403.785) OTR
Tank of Fuel = £50 ($98.5)
Road Tax / year = £230 ($453.470)
Insurance / year = £350 ($690.06)
Distance between fills = 230miles....
Year milage = 20,000miles

But hey it's a hoot to drive, and the noise it makes when the iVTEC comes in at 5400RPM is mental, so can't drive nicely!

Oh well..... Oh and I pay 40% tax on my earnings as well just to add insult to injury!

Also as a quick side note, I work for an energy company, and to look 'green' whe buy Prius's, and I can tell you they DONT get 40mpg!, and while I'm on it, why do Americans not drive diesel? the new VW Polo BlueMotion is the most fuel efficientt car in Europe....

Oh and I love the quote "this affect fuel efficient vehicles, those that get 30mpg or more" lol, in the UK people would be really annoyed if they bought a standard car (not sporty like the CTR) and ONLY got 30mpg... but then 50% of new vehicles in Europe are diesel, and they mostly get 45+mpg.

[tehcris]

yea gas here is still on the cheap side.....its just that we are not use to the high prices yet.....never seen them...i remember gas at 1.15 a gallon...lol

[bani-banan]

We get "raped" because we get so much more out of our country than the US.

Free healthcare (Though there have popped up a couple of privately owned hospitales. Sort of like 5 star hotels, which requires that you have medical insurance). Kindergarten is soon to be free here in SE. Free schools for all (except privately owned. Some private school however are financed by the municipalities).

But still, if you have your own company you DO get raped in the ass.
My parents pay 51% tax.

[mikec]

B why do Americans not drive diesel? the new VW Polo BlueMotion is the most fuel efficientt car in Europe....



VW sold a Jetta TDI, turbo diesel, something like a 1.6L 140HP engine that according to a buddy who has one gets him 48MPG highway. Great car, great mileage. The problem is that some states, like California, had rules against that car because they saw the amount of pollution per gallon rather then the amount of pollution per mile driven. According to VW's web site the only diesel available this year is a 10 cylinder for their big SUV.

I think last year Honda sold an Accord in Europe that was diesel but not here. For some reason the tree huggers love hybrids despite the batteries.

I think the only diesels sold in the US currently are from Mercedes. Sad.

[charlas]

That's awful, modern diesels are clean, powerful and qiuite!

My last car was a .9PDi (VW's turbo diesel), and it was 190bhp with 320ftlb of torque... great motorway car!

[silverstream]

I made an inaccurate calculation.
I converted one gallon into ca 4litres.

Gas prices here are roughly 14Sek/l (currently 14.23)

14x3.8=53.2/sek
53.2/5.96 (forex.se)= rougly 9dollars ( 8.92)

So yes, I did a miscalculation.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Food prices have also gotten shittier here.
15% since 95.

Miscalculations are easily made. But do you pay more than 14 kr/liter? Cause here (skåne) we pay about 13 kr/l which seems to be quite a big difference.
I have nothing against food prices rising as long as the farmers get more for it. My father is growing wheat and corn (so I'm not exactly unbiased) and up untill last year the prices have been really bad. Now they are a bit better. The problem is that most of the cost for food comes from the big food companies (ICA etc.)

[bani-banan]

Miscalculations are easily made. But do you pay more than 14 kr/liter? Cause here (skåne) we pay about 13 kr/l which seems to be quite a big difference.
I have nothing against food prices rising as long as the farmers get more for it. My father is growing wheat and corn (so I'm not exactly unbiased) and up untill last year the prices have been really bad. Now they are a bit better. The problem is that most of the cost for food comes from the big food companies (ICA etc.)

Yeah. More than 14kr/l. Gasoline prices here and in Gothenburg are getting even worse. Though Stockholm is keeping it steady. Which I find weird.

Here in Västra götaland, we've noticed a significant increase on not just food and booze, but items such as candy and cheese etc. But I agree with you, if they get more money to invest in their facilities, such us hygiene and modern milking things, then I don't have a problem with the prices getting high.
But Only if the farmers see an increase!

But, rice and other imported asian food. I doubt the Asians see a slightly bigger check. I bet they're earning even less money.

*sigh* Enough bitchin' for me. 32h awake and still kickin it!

Oh well... at least we have 24Mbit down and 1Mb up:)
Thank god for Lidl ;)

[mixedspleens]

That's awful, modern diesels are clean, powerful and qiuite!

My last car was a .9PDi (VW's turbo diesel), and it was 190bhp with 320ftlb of torque... great motorway car!

Yeah its criminal that we don't have diesels, but hopefully that will change now that we finally have clean diesel. thats what held it up for so many years: the cars made for european diesel couldn't run on US diesel.

It is taking too long though.

[charlas]

Yeah, my wife has a 2.0ltr PDi Skoda, and that's a great engine, even has variable services, so only needs doing every 18k or so. Great engine, great car.

The US miss out on a LOT of good cars from Europe, that's for sure.

Also directly in line with the show, the modern Diesels use zero fuel when you lift off the throttle while it's still in gear (i.e. coast). Ans the DSG (Dual Shift Gearbox) that VW make is actually better than a manual at fuel usage

[jaberwocky]

This is really interesting and related to the idea of thinking about many costs, not just MPG.CNW Marketing Research Inc. spent two years collecting data on the energy necessary to plan, build, sell, drive and dispose of a vehicle from initial concept to scrappage. This includes such minutia as plant to dealer fuel costs, employee driving distances, electricity usage per pound of material used in each vehicle and literally hundreds of other variables.

To put the data into understandable terms for consumers, it was translated into a “dollars per lifetime mile” figure. That is, the Energy Cost per mile driven.http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/

[oct_dragon74]

Living in West Texas, you see alot more diesel trucks than you do in other parts of the country. Also we don't complain so much about gas prices going up because our economy out here thrives on the oil/gas industry. I actually fear what will happen to our economy as the new fuels become more readily accessible.

[dosbomber]

Anyone ever try adding acetone to their gas tank to improve MPG? Supposedly adding 3oz of pure acetone to 10 gallons of gas will improve your gas mileage, fairly dramatically.

Kipkay says it works, others say not so much, those in the oil industry say "Good God, don't even think about doing that!", but what else would you expect them to say... :rolleyes:

Pure Energy Systems Wiki (http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive) has a lot of info on it.

I'm thinking about trying it. I know acetone has a solvent effect on some plastics, but I've read the plastics used in modern fuel lines aren't those kinds of plastics. Nylon, CPVC, HDPE are among the safe plastics, acrylics are definitely not.

[tequila]

I believe i saw a mythbusters clip once where they busted the acetone additive myth. Not much of a scientific source, but given the fact that there is a lot of discussion about this, i'm not very confident about it.

If it really would work, articles about it would be aplenty. There might be an oil-industry-coverup, but in this day and age of the internets, chances of this not leaking out are very small.

[eurodude]

Well I am really interested how you can maximize you mpg. In the US Gas is, sorry to say, "Dirt-Cheap". In Germany, one Gallon of Gas is at about $9.00
Additives are not really working. On the other hand, regular car check-ups are really helping. And one really important thing I noticed is the oil in the engine.
I heard that if you drive less than 8,000 miles a year, your car engine becomes "dirty" and consumption goes up... But then again, if you drive more... well you get the picture
I hope an alternative will be out soon ;)

[spark-rain-fire]

and while I'm on it, why do Americans not drive diesel? the new VW Polo BlueMotion is the most fuel efficientt car in Europe....


Short answer: Americans are stupid. (I am an American so I can say that, right?)

We seem to think Diesel cars are "dirty" and "less powerful" Heck, at the turn of the century when SUV's became all the craze auto manufactures couldn't sell economy cars. they stopped making them. They had to put more powerful engines in the small cars, and market them as sedans (Mazda protege is a perfect example of this. If you want to have fun laughing at us to to fueleconomy.gov and compare a 1995 mazda protege with a 2003. Then do that with almost any other "economy" car. You'll see that over time they have gotten bigger, and more fuel hungry) I'm pretty certain that Consumers aren't totally to blame.. I think the auto manufactures are in bed with the oil companies and market more powerful cars as "safer" and "faster" Americans were just stupid enough to fall for it.

Sound bitter? I freaking am. I have a 12 year old Nissan sentra and it gets better mileage than most gasoline cars that you can buy today.. The car has it's issues, and it's going to have to go soon.. but as long as gas prices stay like this i'm holding on to it!

UGH!

[smeerkaas]

Listen .. Like I said .. despite the insane gasprices in Europe, I drove a 'vette for 5 years. I know the sweet power that a big V8 delivers. But believe me when I say this: drive a modern European diesel car and you're sold.

Like a BMW 335d. Straight-6 Turbo-Diesel. Almost 300 hp, and 430 lbft!! Those are V8 numbers!

0-60 in 5,5 seconds, and a (electronically limited) top speed of 155 mph.
And here's the kicker: it'll near as makes no difference keep up with a brand new M3, which utilizes a much bigger gas powered V8.

And all the while, getting twice the MPG.

Diesel has come a very long way in the last 10 - 15 years.

Ofcourse there are a plethora of more modest diesels on sale here. Still more than adequate in performance, but much more frugal still.

[tehcris]

by the way the gas here (US) is mixed with so much junk its sad

[victor_c26]

Short answer: Americans are stupid. (I am an American so I can say that, right?)

We seem to think Diesel cars are "dirty" and "less powerful" Heck, at the turn of the century when SUV's became all the craze auto manufactures couldn't sell economy cars. they stopped making them. They had to put more powerful engines in the small cars, and market them as sedans (Mazda protege is a perfect example of this. If you want to have fun laughing at us to to fueleconomy.gov and compare a 1995 mazda protege with a 2003. Then do that with almost any other "economy" car. You'll see that over time they have gotten bigger, and more fuel hungry) I'm pretty certain that Consumers aren't totally to blame.. I think the auto manufactures are in bed with the oil companies and market more powerful cars as "safer" and "faster" Americans were just stupid enough to fall for it.

Sound bitter? I freaking am. I have a 12 year old Nissan sentra and it gets better mileage than most gasoline cars that you can buy today.. The car has it's issues, and it's going to have to go soon.. but as long as gas prices stay like this i'm holding on to it!

UGH!

So could that be the reason why my 92' Chevy Cheyenne Truck gets 30 mpg?

I seriously couldn't believe how long the gas meter lingered above 1 quarter when driving all week on a half tank of gas. Trucks aren't supposed to spend less gas than my friend's tiny Infinity G20.

This is the truck (GIS'd an identical one; don't have a picture of it on hand) that's running 30 mpg:

http://home.comcast.net/~victorx10/chey.jpg

[agamotto]

In interest of clarifying things...

American gas would have to average $7.50/gallon to reach something near parity for those in Europe who have to pay their share of additional road taxes, consumption tax, value tax, etc.... At this price, you might also much better quality of roads like most of Europe as well.

If you think $3.75/gallon is bad... I was paying that driving in Okinawa nearly 30 years ago...

[agamotto]

I don't mind drivers like you. The semi drivers I can't stand are the ones doing over 75 in the right lane... keep to the left and let the saner among us keep our access to the off-ramps.

[agamotto]

Yeah its criminal that we don't have diesels, but hopefully that will change now that we finally have clean diesel. thats what held it up for so many years: the cars made for european diesel couldn't run on US diesel.

It is taking too long though.

Actually, you really don't want diesel consumption to take off here in the US. If we consume more diesel here, what do you think will happen to the price? Our refineries aren't setup to crack oil into majority diesel/gas. The switch alone would cost billions, which would just send the petro companies mad with glee. If you truly want to take a bit of chuff out of the petro companies... buy their stocks. At least with the new price levels here in the States, you will get some of your money back into your retirement.

[agamotto]

I would also like to add, for those with the means, please do get a Prius. I have had mine since Dec. '03, and while gas has increased considerably since, I really don't feel it too badly as I only fill once a month.

[tokenuser]

I would also like to add, for those with the means, please do get a Prius. I have had mine since Dec. '03, and while gas has increased considerably since, I really don't feel it too badly as I only fill once a month.New Prius coming out in '09. Larger size, 25% better milage. I'd wait ... actually, I am.

[shegs]

http://gaspricerelief.net/

I would like to see systm try this... tell us if it works...

[stevemc]

You guys have a good deal for fuel in the US.

We're paying £1.19 ($2.31) per ltr for petrol and £1.22 ($2.37) per ltr for diesel, the gallon cost about £5.00 ($9.70) and its going up daily..

Welcome to the UK !!!

-- Steve Mc

[kjsatz]

http://gaspricerelief.net/

I would like to see systm try this... tell us if it works...

I'd like to see them try it too. Nowhere near April 1 though.