Confirmed: Higher gas prices are coming - what are YOU doing?
By dxfanatic69
@dxfanatic69 (378)
United States
October 20, 2007 4:32pm CST
Well, I heard via NPR radio that gas prices are going up due to a number of factors such as the weak American dollar (did you know, by the way, that right now the American dollar is equal to that of the Canadian dollar?!), China's oil use going up by 11%, the price of crude oil/barrel rising (which is just stupid), and a lot of other reasons.
So, what are you all doing to ease your wallet assaults?
I, unfortunately, drive a 11/12 MPG 12-year old Jeep Cherokee, and I'm a poor college student - so for now I'm screwed tight like Paris Hilton (cheap laugh/)...
I really am looking to get, soon, a small Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris or equivalent...but I'm 6 foot 2 inches tall!!
I don't want to be like a dog in a cage!
I won't get into the endless political discussion about the obvious here but, anyway...
It just seems that I'm driving so much nowadays - to college, to my radio station gig, to numerous errands, and starting in about 6-7 months, like an extra 75-100 miles a week to my job and to my second radio station gig...
(I live in Houston, TX BTW; to say we are spread out is an understatement)
I'm trying to get a part-time job as an at-home telephone customer service rep...or something like that. Wish me luck.
So, yeah. What are you all doing? Are you frustrated? Do you want to punch a pillow?;)
5 people like this
10 responses
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
20 Oct 07
As of today Sunday Oct 20 the Canadian dollar is worth $1.0355 against the American Dollar. WE can buy gas here in Canada for.90/litre which loosely translated is $3.60 /gal. So don't be feeling so bad. Its still more than a dollar cheaper in the States than it is in Canada. I drive a Toyota Matrix which gets 36 miles/gal, hiway. I'm 6 ft. tall and its a very comfortable drive. I'm not frustrated at all. I saw this oil crunch coming in 2005 when I bought the Car. I'll be driving 2000+ miles from Toronto Ontario to Alamo Texas next week and its gonna cost me right around $160.00 for gas.
Now see if you can hitchhike any cheaper!
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
22 Oct 07
Holy damn.
Wait, are you talking about Alamo, Texas - as in right next to the Mexican border? If so, damn, you'll basically be going from the tip-top of the states to the way-bottom! Granted, you drive a Matrix and you get a respectable 36MPG but still, that's gotta put a lot on your car, and yourself!
Have you checked about the airline rates?
Cause that is WAY too much driving for me (and I've driven everywhere, with the longest being from Houston, TX to Washington DC/NYC)
1 person likes this
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
22 Oct 07
We live in Alamo 5 months of the yr, and take some stuff along. The car is a small minivan and we enjoy the trip. We stay over 4 nights in Motels and the total cost is less than one air ticket. Besides we need a car in Alamo while we are there. My wife and I take turns driving and its Part of the Holiday fun.
1 person likes this
@StrawberryKisses (2833)
• Canada
20 Oct 07
Actually the american dollar is LESS than canadian. My work is not even accepting it now because of this. and I amnot complaining about the gas because it is going down here in canada. Last weeks it was 1.02 a litre and this week it's .95 a litre some plsces it's only .93 a litre. I hope your dollar can get back up there otherwise from what I hear you all may go into a depression and take us with you which would suck.
1 person likes this
@StrawberryKisses (2833)
• Canada
23 Oct 07
Yea it depends where you are in canada. Northern is Usually more than southern canada.
Last I heard the us dollar was at .95 to our 1.00
1 person likes this
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
22 Oct 07
Hmmm, well at "press time", the conversion was $1.00 USD to 0.97/0.98 Canadian...
Anyway, wow, I guess gas prices (well, obviously) fluctuate between Canadian regions...if you go up a little bit, you'll read about the other MyLot user from Canada who is frustrated with the price over in her area...
1 person likes this
@kgwat70 (13388)
• United States
21 Oct 07
It is ridiculous how gas prices keep going up and down. It should not be that way and we need to stop relying on foreign countries for gas and oil. We need to start using our own resources so that we do not have to pay just ridiculous costs. I bought a Honda Fit over the summer and it gets good gas mileage. It is a nice and quiet ride. Once I am done working on a project for my company, I probably will start taking the bus to work again.
1 person likes this
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
22 Oct 07
Really?
How do you like your Fit?
I'm looking into a smaller car and that is one of my current choices...I'm 6 foot 2 inches tall - what do you think?
Plus, I get annoyed with having to sit*down* when I get in. (currently own a semi-high-up Jeep 4-door)
I wish I could take the bus, but Metro service doesn't reach the 'burbs, dam-it! (Just thought of a new business idea!!) lol
1 person likes this
@talisman (1300)
• United States
20 Oct 07
Obviously, I hate when gas prices go up. My husband and I have a newspaper route that's 60 miles a day of start and stop driving, which reduces the gas mileage of a car to about a little more than half. However, we have a Geo Metro (technically, it's a Pontiac Firefly, but the Firefly, Chevy Metro, Suzuki Sprint, and I believe a few other cars, as well, are all Geo's and that's the most recognized name). The Geo gets around 45 MPG (about 25-30 on the route), so we save a lot of money using it. If you ever need a good gas saver, I highly recommend the Geo. Another thing we do to save gas, although it's something we always do whether or not gas prices are high, is plan things together when going out. For example, we'll go to the grocery store, pharmacy, post office, and DMV all in one trip, instead of separate ones.
Seeing the gas prices keep going up and up each day is frustrating, but it's doable. We keep the tank full because it seems to get better gas mileage that way (it's the opposite for some vehicles) and just hope that they go down again.
1 person likes this
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
22 Oct 07
First off, a newspaper route sounds way-fun...I wanna do that sometime, lol.
But, yeah, you're lucky in that you have a tiny Geo - I remember those little things...of course they get great gas mileage!
Hmmm...regarding keeping your tank full because it seems to get better gas mileage - does it, really? I heard of one story that this woman would always fill up her tank once it reached 1/4 of it being empty...I thought, wow, that doesn't really help...but maybe I'm wrong.
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
29 Oct 07
Darn!! Higher gas prices are going to mean higher cab fares and bus fares, and higher costs for the products we buy every day, because of what it will cost to have those products shipped to their final destination.
1 person likes this
@cherryee (53)
• China
21 Oct 07
Since every resources in the world are limited, while the wants of human beings are unlimited. Then, scarcities take place.
Gas plays an very important role in people's life. No doubt that its price will keep going up because it's also limited. We can not increase the amount of it at a short time, but at least we can protect it in a saving way. We do not want to see the next generation goes out of gas and live a different life without it.
Besides, I think the rising price of gas is also a market signal for some countries who want to cash in on the gas.
1 person likes this
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
22 Oct 07
Exactly, it is limited.
By 2050, it is projected that we will be out of gas completely.
And that is at our CURRENT rates...now, with China's oil use going up by about 11%, we are shortening the amount of time by a LONG shot.
1 person likes this
@kareng (56673)
• United States
1 Nov 07
I'm trying to stay home as much as possible and cut out unnecessary trips. However, we have a vacation planned in November and I'm not looking forward to the high cost of gasoline! It went up 10 cents a gallon overnight here earlier this week. Arrrgggfffff. It's bad when you have a long drive to work. Both my husband and I have about a 20 mile drive to work and then back again. Really cuts into the paycheck.
@ctrymuziklvr (11057)
• United States
20 Oct 07
All I can say is I'm very happy that I don't drive. The prices are getting ridiculous. It seems they just went down a few cents and now their going back up? I'll stick to my busses!
1 person likes this
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
20 Oct 07
Can I go into that quickly?
lol
Here in Houston, we don't have underground trains because we're so close to sea level, and our ground shifts a lot every X years, and when we get a hurricane.
Then, our bus service (Metro) doesn't come to the 'burbs, where I live!
And we don't even come close to the amount of cabs that places like NYC does...(most cars downtown-downtown are actual...cars...not cabs)
Plus, anyway, there was a recent cabfare increase here in H-Town
1 person likes this
@buliangxianren (425)
• China
21 Oct 07
the price of gas is high.and i think it will be there. what we have to do is drive the car less and improve the car.we have to find some others to place the gas.although there are others ,the technique is not developed enough .so we can do is to save tha gas or to earn more money.
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
22 Oct 07
The techniques HAVE been developed, but they still have a few flaws and things here and there that are problematic.
For example, the whole deal with Ethanol:
1. Car makers are not coming up with enough Ethanol-only cars fast enough
2. Gas/oil branches are not giving us enough Ethanol-only pumps (for obvious reasons)
3. Ethanol is proving to not be as cheaper as originally thought
4. Ethanol, argued by some groups/sides/people, could be more harmful to the environment than gasoline
It's still an 'iffy system that needs drastic help.
1 person likes this
@Countrymom (371)
• United States
21 Oct 07
Gas prices have fluctuated as long as I can remember! I am sure you don't have any details on the "gas wars" in the 70's but I remember them well and the long long lines people endured just to get a tank of gas. It was ridiculous! The price gouging according to holidays (ever notice that on Labor day and Memorial day the prices are suddenly higher?) is even more ridiculous. I lived in Houston for 3 years when I was first married and I know well how spread out it is! Budget your trips well and pre plan cautiously! Make each trip count and get all of your errands out in an orderly fashion. I am thankful that I now live in a small town of less than 2000 people where I can walk nearly everywhere because everywhere in our town is within a mile of my home! My kids walk, bicycle and we save car trips for very cold days but sometimes those are kind of fun to play in the snow and walk along reminiscing about our childhood when we would build snowmen But you can;t do that in Houston! LOL
1 person likes this
@dxfanatic69 (378)
• United States
22 Oct 07
Damn right you can't do that in Houston...the last time that it snowed here was a few years ago, and stupidly, I was over in San Anton'.
Anyway, yeah, it's good to agree with a fellow Houstonian - I'm over in Clear Lake to be exact, and soon I'll have to go all the way to the Rice U/West Univ. Place area on a weekly basis!
Oh, and believe me, I've read about the 70's gas wars from the History textbooks...I saw a sign that limited gas to 5 gallons per customer! Crazy!
While I enjoy the classic getaway to a small town, despite gas prices (thanks to green-eyed gas and oil companies, and the government), I could never leave the big city. I love it too much.
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