I must admit I have not driven much since Katrina and rising gas prices, but today I drove to the cottage. So far as I could tell no-one in the Ottawa area has changed their driving habits. Speeding, rapid accelerations, excessive braking etc. etc. Simple things that reduce gas usage. I wonder what the price of gas needs to be before people come to their senses. Some months ago, we had a short discussion on this, and someone wrote that the thing that mattered to them was "the feel of the car". I must admit that when I read this, I did not understand. I have been driving for 60+ years, and have never experienced "the feel of the car". A car to me is merely a necessity, maybe an evil necessity, to get people and things from point A to point B. I wonder if Fred's forecast of US $15 per gallon will persuade people that the important thing in car travel is getting to one's destination with the minimum of cost, not the maximum of convenience. (sigh)
-- Jim Cripwell. A volante tribe of bards on earth are found,/ who, while the flattering zephyrs round them play,/ on "coignes of vantage" build their nests of clay;/ how quickly from that aery hold unbound,/ dust for oblivion!/ To the solid ground/ of nature trusts the mind that builds for aye. Wordsworth.
Jim, unfortunately for Americans, it seems convenience always wins out, despite what people *say* they want to do for the environment, what they really mean is that *someone else* should do it. (Generalization, don't flame me). Examples for types of cars: I have a 4-door Saturn that still gets 36 mpg highway. We are considering a hybrid when it needs to be replaced. My husband and I drive into work together almost every day (few exceptions). My boss and his wife had 2 kids and one car (one of the smaller Hondas, if I recall) until 1.5 years ago. Now they have two smaller Honda SUVs, but only because baby #3 turned out to be #3 AND 4 (twins), and no car in America has room for 2 adults and 4 car seats, so they were pretty much forced to get small SUV or minivan. At the same time, I have other friends who, upon finding out they were pregnant with #1, IMMEDIATELY rushed out and bought gas-guzzling (compared to other cars) SUVs or minivans to replace their more fuel-efficient cars. For only ONE baby! Said they needed the space for the baby's stuff - hmm, my folks managed both my brother and I with small cars our whole life, including a Plymouth Horizon (small 4-door hatchback) that got 40 mpg highway. I'm sorry, but one baby does not require a huge vehicle.
In addition, and I wish I could find the article again, my coworker showed me a clip on the internet last week where a government official spent a large amount of time talking about energy conservation, the fuel shortage, yada yada, and the press showed him leaving the building and getting into the SUV with the poorest fuel rating (12 mpg, if I recall). Couldn't get much more hypocritical. Some people have justifiable reasons for buying vehicles with poorer fuel economy (ie. need truck to carry tools for construction job, or example above where family has four kids all required by gov't to be in car seats). But most of us have no excuse. My husband and I do have a pickup, which he uses for work on occasion and to haul bigger stuff like construction materials, but we drive the car I'd say at least 90% of the time.
If all of us would even do just a little bit, it'd add up. I personally want to see more in the way of hybrid/alternative energy vehicles. If I have a choice and can at all afford it, I'll buy it! But I can't buy it if it isn't manufactured, and unless you're in a big city, public transportation doesn't exist, so in the meantime, I've just tried to go for the most fuel efficient that can meet my minimum transportation needs - which in '97 when I last bought a vehicle was a 4 door with 36 mpg, standard transmission.
Just my two cents, which I am fully aware is not the opinion of everyone!
Your points are well taken. I admit, right now I *do* own an SUV, but a smaller one that gets 16/20 (not great, but better than 12 mpg). I do because I am the primary transportation of children to and from activities, as well as working, and I hate to drive in the snow. My dh got me this vehicle so I would feel safer when I need to drive in bad weather.
That said, we do everything we can to cut down on car trips. DD walks to my office, we carpool to swim practice and I stay there until it's over. I told my DS that, since his baseball games will be held about a mile from our house, we may be walking to them.
It can't be with the amount of guzzling SUVs I see around lol However, I think some of them are feeling a bit ill now. I am filling my tank for $30 and the SUV owner on the other side of the pump is up nearly to $100 - I couldn't resist a snicker. Add to that - my tank is going to go further and they will be back for another $100 sooner hahaha.
Finally, a crunch has come that may end the stupidity. Nobody needs these stupid SUVs unless they live in very remote areas. Kids ? A valid excuse - I think not. We raised three kids to adulthood without a van or SUV and very comfortably too. The whole need for vans and SUVs was Detroit/Madison Avenue driven.
IIHO the only way to curb the present profiteering scourge is to ration fuel and I'm all for it even though my alloted portion will only be 1/3 of what the fat cats will get.
Yesterday gas hit $5.46 a gallon here and I wasted? a gallon of the stuff by going to pick up some supplies with my car because the supplier wanted $55 to deliver the stuff. I figure that after the next thunder storm or on the occasion of Greenspan passing a bit of wind, petrol will hit $7. The thing that has always puzzeled me, Am I buying Arab gas or Alberta gas???
Yesterday traffic was three times what it usually is in the middle of the afternoon which made me wonder, Why aren't these people at work?? The answer is simple if you think about it. LOL
Fred
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't backstitch to emailjust stitchit. If you are on thin ice you might as well dance!
Well, that I have to disagree with a bit. If you have to fit three carseats across the back seat, your fuel-efficient options are mighty limited. Around here, kids have to be in carseats until they're 8 years old, and from the time the oldest is 8-13/14ish you've still got to keep them in the back seat squished between two carseats. That said, there's still no excuse for those who have two kids or less. And even if you have more kids, you can pick the most fuel-efficient vehicle that has the requisite number of carseat-compatible seats. But to compare the situation with a generation ago when we didn't put kids in carseats, or sometimes even seatbelts, isn't reasonable. When I was younger, we put SEVEN people in an old VW Bug--with two kids in the "way back." Yeah, that was fuel efficient, but not what I'd call safe! And, of course, even if I were willing to call it safe, it would be illegal ;-)
We are paying $1.399 per litre and we KNOW our oil comes from Venezuela ??? It's the oil companies, gotta keep that bottom line running up for the stock holders yah know.
Well sorry - although my kids are now in their 40s they all sat in the back seat and were amongst the first to be belted in. I thought seat belts were invented for mothers!
Yes, I know some kids were hanging out the back window in station wagons, or flopping around in trucks, but mine were not.
No matter what is said, I am afraid I cannot see the mentality that says "I have a baby, I must have a van" and it is very prevalent. Also, in fairness, I see far too many seniors driving vans. That is even worse, as explained to me by one friend "We are glad Dad and Mum got a van, they are so much safer now their driving is iffy" - well hello ?? Take their damn keys away from them !
I lived through the days of four kids and a German Shepherd in a VW bug too -- and don't want to do it again.
I drive a small SUV -- a Suzuki -- and get over 20 mpg. I need it because I pick up my grandchildren from school every day, and because it's what we use to haul things when we're working on the house, etc., rather than renting a pickup or having things delivered. I love it. It drives like a car, and carries 7 people. I have two school aged grandchildren, and a younger one in day care, so the space is very useful.
That said, my son-in-law drives an Expedition, and I have no idea how he affords the fuel for that.
But did you have them in car seats until they were
8 years old, thus making it likely that you'd have to fit three car seats across the back seat (since you can't put them in the front seat)? Have you measured how large a back seat you have to have to get three carseats across?
I didn't say that, nor did I endorse it. I said those with three children who are too young to be out of carseats or in the front seat are difficult to accommodate in fuel efficient vehicles, given current offerings. Even if you stick with a car, you'll be in a larger (and less fuel-efficient) car. Of course there are plenty of folks who don't need vans or SUVs. I simply disagreed with the notion that there's no problem driving a fuel-efficient small car with three kids.
Our Honda CRV gets 28 mpg highway at the speed limit. Much safer in the snow for that 175-mile round trip to work in the winter. And allows us to haul things we need. Also much easier for me to get in and out of.
We have always done so.
Or ride bikes. Hubby and I have been riding bikes for exercise the past two months. I could barely do 20 minutes at first, but we're up to six miles, now. One night we did 8. I about dropped dead, but we made it. :-)
I've been riding that mile to the grocery store! Have a basket that holds two bags of groceries. :-) Seems like life is turning full circle. When my daughter was a baby, I only had a bike for transportation. So, groceries in the front basket, and daughter on a seat over the rear tire. :-)
Well just pressure your Federalie MP to dredge the North West Passage from Acadia Land to Albertie or maybe just a good highway to your local Hibernia Service station.
I'd be happy to pay $1.399 per litre ($6.36 a gallon) if I knew it had to come from Venezuela but I'm only a days drive from where my gasoline comes from. The sooner the fuel bubble breaks the better, then maybe the Feds will be forced to legislate what is good for the country and not just the fat cats.
Fred
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't backstitch to emailjust stitchit. If you are on thin ice you might as well dance!
I was only addressing the issue of children. Of course there are other valid reasons for specialized transportation. When it comes to simple numbers of children, however, two children does not a burning need for a Hummer make.
Yep. A friend of mine had an accident and had to replace her car. She got her heart set on an SUV "they're safer". I tried to reason with her that she did not NEED an SUV. Her response was that a couple times a year, she buys some furniture at WalMart or a yard sale that won't fit in her car. Oh, no, she couldn't possibly spend $19/day to rent a U-Haul a couple times a year. That was too much money. But she could spend a lot more than that on a car payment every month.
A couple months later, gas prices went up significantly. Her job occasionally required her to travel ~40 miles one way to their other office, for which she was reimbursed a set rate for mileage. With the gas guzzler, it was costing her out of her own pocket to make the trip, and since the firm's job ads specified "economy car", they weren't going to pay her the extra.
With gas prices now, she's really hurting financially, but still will not admit that she should have listened to the people who told her that hauling twice a year does not justify driving an SUV the other 363 days.
Well, of course, Jim, think how much fuel and pollution you`d save if you gave up the luxury of travelling to the cottage and sold it!
Too many people here have second/holiday homes, making it hard for young people to be able to purchase a home in their own area. It`s causing quite a problem.
Nice to see you join in the discussion, Dianne. However my main point in starting the thread has been lost, and I would be interested in what you think. What I have observed here in Ottawa, on very limited evidence, is that people's driving habits have not changed after the rise in gas prices. One cannot change the car you own quickly, and you may not want to, but you can change your driving habits overnight. I was musing as to what price of gas was required before this might happen. Any ideas?
-- Jim Cripwell. A volante tribe of bards on earth are found,/ who, while the flattering zephyrs round them play,/ on "coignes of vantage" build their nests of clay;/ how quickly from that aery hold unbound,/ dust for oblivion!/ To the solid ground/ of nature trusts the mind that builds for aye. Wordsworth.
PEI has a gas price regulation in place. An accountant on our local group has done the maths and year after year, in the end they pay more than us. We get the spikes but they get some steady highs which are more damaging I guess.
All that could be done is for the governments, provincial and federal, to cap the taxes on the price hikes - I have written but they don't bother to answer.
I am one who appreciates the feel of my car. My car is a not especially new Chev Cavalier convertible, with a V6 engine that is no longer available. I describe the car as "nimble"--the combination of a relatively small car with a relatively large engine, allowing it to respond quickly and move with agility. I love having an immediate response as soon as I touch the accelerator.
The antithesis of what I love about my car would be a fully loaded Buick my DH owned once. It rode like a recliner chair--rolling sedately without a bump or quiver down the highway, stodgy and very comfortable. He loved it. Now he has a station wagon, and loves that too. When I drive it, I feel like I have been swallowed by a white whale. He seldom drives the speed limit, never mind above it.
I enjoy driving fast--so I take the Parkway, where the speed limit is 70 km/h, with no traffice lights, rather than the main through street (speed limit 50 km/h, lots of traffic lights) when I head downtown. I think is a reasonable approach. Life is about enjoying the journey.
I am explaining all this in hopes of giving you a sense of what loving your car means to me--others will feel differently, choose different qualities in a car, and drive differently.. . Dawne
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