Four dollars a gallon.

[SchwinnParamount]

It makes a huge difference when you're driving on the highways. More power and a larger car is safer, basically.

Oh come on! The laws of physics aren't any different in Europe than here but you don't see this "big car is safer" rationalization there. You should just admit you are basically hooked on luxury at any price. I tossed my 4-runner years ago when it became painfully obvious that gasoline prices were heading nort FAST. I drive a Hyunda and get 40 mpg on the highway. I don't feel the least bit nervous about being squished by some bozo in a Ford Excursion.

 

[Andrey]

Oh come on! The laws of physics aren't any different in Europe than here but you don't see this "big car is safer" rationalization there. You should just admit you are basically hooked on luxury at any price. I tossed my 4-runner years ago when it became painfully obvious that gasoline prices were heading nort FAST. I drive a Hyunda and get 40 mpg on the highway. I don't feel the least bit nervous about being squished by some bozo in a Ford Excursion.

You don't drive around europe on highways all the time

When you crash at 100kmh and 50 kmh... car sizes matter.

But you're right. Generally the US drives big cars because the owners can afford the gas.

 

[Curt]

Before cars did people buy smaller horses because they ate less fuel?

 

[PBrooks]

Why don't we settle this with a little follow the leader!!! I'll lead you follow!

 

[jd callow]

The thing I find increasingly difficult to understand about the US is why there is not a great deal more pressure put on manufacturers and importers to deliver much better fuel consumption.

As long as the cost of fuel is reasonable or tolerable (1/2 or 1/3 of what is being paid elsewhere) and there are no tax penalties the US market is happy with 15-25mpg cars and 12-20mpg trucks. I think it places a bad light on the US consumer, but then I wonder what europeans would be driving if they were paying US prices for fuel.

 

[Nick Zentena]

You don't drive around europe on highways all the time

55 miles per hour is less then 90km. Or is my math wrong? 90km is the speed limit on country roads in Italy. Highway speed limits are 140 [Or is it 130?]. 110 km on wider non-autostrada. Plus on ramps can be pretty short. That tends to make the need for power higher.

OTOH almost none of the dumb games with people trying to stop you from passing. People move right. Squeeze close to the shoulder . Whatever it takes.

 

[Nick Zentena]

then I wonder what europeans would be driving if they were paying US prices for fuel.

Plenty of SUVs and full size SUVs around rural Italy. Everything you'd see in North America really. The difference is what is under the hood and the transmissions. My cousin has an old Cherokee XJ model with a 2.4 litre diesel. My old XJ had a 4 litre gas engine.

 

[jd callow]

Plenty of SUVs and full size SUVs around rural Italy. Everything you'd see in North America really. The difference is what is under the hood and the transmissions. My cousin has an old Cherokee XJ model with a 2.4 litre diesel. My old XJ had a 4 litre gas engine.

Nick, whats under the hood is what burns the fuel and I think there is a pretty big difference between the two markets.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Well partly. But a big SUV is going to burn more fuel then a lighter car. People here who need an SUV or just think they do still get a SUV. Or a pickup or mini-van.

I wouldn't say people like the fuel costs here but I think to a certain extent people are used to it. So people leaving cars idling. If it wasn't for the government limits on pollution I wonder how bad the fuel mileage would be.

 

[c.d.ewen]

Getting spent oil from restaurants is illegal in NY
PE

Not necessarily true:

The wife is away this week, so it was pizza for dinner (whoo-hoo!). When I stopped in my local place, they insisted I come around back, where they loaded half a dozen 5 gallon jugs of old oil into my truck. Their carting company had not come around lately, and the two 55 gallon drums they store the oil in were full.

The oil in the drums belongs to the carting company, and it would be illegal to take any out of the drums. The loose jugs belong to the guy who bought them - the restaurant owner. I have several places that set aside all of their oil for me.

Charley

 

[jd callow]

When I was in Europe the cars were far smaller, lighter and had far more fuel efficient engines (read less power). My point was: Would Europeans buy different products if the cost of ownership and especially fuel was on par with the USA? They aren't driving 300hp mustangs, Dodge Hemi's, or American full size SUV's. If gas was under 1 euro a litre they still might not, but I wonder would they be driving land cruisers w/ turbo D's or the full blown v8 version the USA gets?

The reason I ask is that there are other more ultruistic reasons to buy a fuel effecient vehicle (even if it is only relativly so) then simply to save money.

 

[Sparky]

When I was in Europe the cars were far smaller, lighter and had far more fuel efficient engines (read less power). My point was: Would Europeans buy different products if the cost of ownership and especially fuel was on par with the USA? They aren't driving 300hp mustangs, Dodge Hemi's, or American full size SUV's. If gas was under 1 euro a litre they still might not, but I wonder would they be driving land cruisers w/ turbo D's or the full blown v8 version the USA gets?

The reason I ask is that there are other more ultruistic reasons to buy a fuel effecient vehicle (even if it is only relativly so) then simply to save money.

Seems there's a strange sort of obsession with 'perception of power' in the US that you just DON'T see EVER in europe (well, rarely) - but it seems intrinsically bound to the car one drives... perhaps europeans are more naturally 'empowered' and hence don't need to do this sort of thing...? Who knows...

 

[Andy K]

It is well known that car/engine size and penis size are inversely proportional. That's why I drive a Peel P50.


.

 

[johnnywalker]

I drive a 1998 Ford Explorer 4x4, which I need, both for work and to get home some days. It is probably worth about $3,000 considering its age and mileage (300,000), and gets about 22 miles per gallon. It is mechanically sound and runs well. A new 4x4 SUV would cost in the order of $40,000 but would burn less gas. It would take me a long time to pay for the extra fuel I'm using by keeping 1998 model.

 

[firecracker]

In Japan we have the same gas price issue, too, but that's aside to my photography habit to some extent.

I live in the area well-connected to tains, and my latest photo venture has been going to Kyoto by local train (less than 2hrs), walk around the city, snap, snap, snap, and hop on the train to come back as a daytrip on weekends. I don't even bother to drive for doing that.

The benefit of NOT driving is, you can be ready to take pictures in every moment, and since you're in a public space, so you're not alone. There's a sense of intimacy in each train ride, which I love, and people chat and have a little fun sometmes.

And if I want to drink beer I can. In Japan (or pretty much anywhere other than the U.S.) public drinking is not illegal. And that does the thing.

 

[firecracker]

Car-pooling is not that popular in Japan. I've never heard of the people here actually doing such a thing to save something. But I guess peple tend to choose smaller cars to save gas, money, etc. So as a result the roads are always clogged, and that's just not healthy at all.

I think when it comes down to some kind of crisis, Americans seem to be a lot more rational and tend to get united, but not the Japanese in Japan who are in my view far more individualistc and do not really practice the idea of sharing.

 

[Andy K]

The benefit of NOT driving is, you can be ready to take pictures in every moment, and since you're in a public space, so you're not alone. There's a sense of intimacy in each train ride, which I love, and people chat and have a little fun sometmes.

You've obviously never been on British public transport! An exerpt from the Rough Guide To England (p11. Understanding the English): '... assuming you're not trying to communicate with a stranger in a public place, which in London at least can be seen as tantamount to physical assault...'

 

[Ole]

Before cars did people buy smaller horses because they ate less fuel?

Yes. Poor people on small farms had smaller horses than the big landowners on the big farms. Smaller, hardier breeds need far less feed, but may be to small to do as much work as is needed on a really big farm.

 

[Antje]

Who drives that slow in TN? I drive across TN every other summer and run about 85 on I-40, I don't pass too many people.

Mike

Hey, that's still only under 140 km/h! Pathetic. That 240 km/h was no typo - drive 140 on a German autobahn and you feel like you actually stand still while you're passed by everybody else. Except for the trucks that drive 80-100 km/h...

Antje

 

[Antje]

When I was in Europe the cars were far smaller, lighter and had far more fuel efficient engines (read less power). My point was: Would Europeans buy different products if the cost of ownership and especially fuel was on par with the USA? They aren't driving 300hp mustangs, Dodge Hemi's, or American full size SUV's. If gas was under 1 euro a litre they still might not, but I wonder would they be driving land cruisers w/ turbo D's or the full blown v8 version the USA gets?

The reason I ask is that there are other more ultruistic reasons to buy a fuel effecient vehicle (even if it is only relativly so) then simply to save money.

Nope. I wouldn't buy anything different. Both cars we have accelerate much faster, go much faster, are far less sluggish and for the most part have a more comfortable interior than any rental I've ever driven in the US. And I wouldn't be able to find a place to park with an SUV.

Antje

 

[arigram]

I am in Crete.
I drive a donkey.

 

[firecracker]

You've obviously never been on British public transport! An exerpt from the Rough Guide To England (p11. Understanding the English): '... assuming you're not trying to communicate with a stranger in a public place, which in London at least can be seen as tantamount to physical assault...'

No. But the cities are different from the countryside, and of course I don't do that in the cities, especially the big ones.

The one I take is a dead-local diesel-fueled old train, and it has two cars at the most! That was two weekends ago, when it snowed rather heavily in the area, I went on that train to see what would happen. It was a fun ride. I had someone talking to me about my film camera. And because of the snow, all the passengers were kind of hyped up and very chatty the whole time.

 

[panastasia]

Well partly. But a big SUV is going to burn more fuel then a lighter car. People here who need an SUV or just think they do still get a SUV. Or a pickup or mini-van.

I wouldn't say people like the fuel costs here but I think to a certain extent people are used to it. So people leaving cars idling. If it wasn't for the government limits on pollution I wonder how bad the fuel mileage would be.

I'll never understand why some people buy an SUV and drive it as if it was a race car. They're not really safe, they're top heavy and roll over around turns. You can't see past them when driving behind one, and that's annoying. The headlight are always in your face, and that's annoying. I'll be glad when the monkey-see-monkey-do fad is over. I think that's why some people opt for the SUV - because they see so many on the road - so they must be good. Some will say it's because they have 4 wheel drive - they skid on the icy road just like any other car.

When I drove in Italy I discovered why so many champion race car drivers are Italian, the roads are race tracks - no road rage - just go with the flow.

Paul

 

[bdial]

I've driven through several winter storms where most of the vehicles off the road are SUV's

 

[PhotoJim]

You don't drive around europe on highways all the time

When you crash at 100kmh and 50 kmh... car sizes matter.

If you crash... car size matters.

However, small vehicles are far more manoeuvrable than big ones, and are more likely to avoid the collision in the first place.

Check out the mortality rates. You're more likely to die driving a Ford F150 than a Volkswagen Jetta.

First priority: avoid the accident. Second priority: survive it. I'll go for priority #1, thanks.