[averkif]

God forbid Angelenos would have to do so.
Massive Protests would ensue. (Sponsored by McDonalds of course)
I used to bike it 10 miles to downtown each day, but the murderous behavior of our lovely car drivers forced me to choose life with unbroken legs over Green.

Cell phones + SUV's (tanks) got me off my motorcycle. Fortunately, I have a route to work and back that minimizes exposure to idiots.

[gIWnXYkw]

Cell phones + SUV's (tanks) got me off my motorcycle. Fortunately, I have a route to work and back that minimizes exposure to idiots.

Some might say that all three subjects are synonymous.

[WapSaibiar]

At around a quid a litre, it is still cheaper than the primary fuel for humans: lucozade

[qQVXpYM6]

If everybody makes the calculation in term of cost of commuting to the dojo per year, it will be easier to compare. My 150€/year are a lot to me, but what is the average cost?

[Tainlyferfara]

Around $180.00 per month.

[Poeetiol]

Gas in Ontario tends to hover in the $1.02 to $1.06 a litre range right now........my truck seems to be doing a great job keeping Shell Canada in bussiness. I was almost faint when we saw gas at 98.5 cents a litre Sunday in Collingwood!!! Yay......fetch the jerry cans, coffee cups....o hell cup your hands and fill plastic baggies too at that price! And to think when gas hit .60 cents years ago we freaked out. .....anyone remeber the mid to late 90's when it was in the .48 to .55 cent range? Think I may invest in a wagon and become Amish.......

[LeviBrawn]

I mean when something is in higher demand, they can sell it for cheaper. That is why Sweden is generally more expensive than the UK and why the US is cheaper than the UK

Regrettably, while certainly ceteris paribus this would make sense in a Supply and Demand model, this is not the case in real life. The gasoline industry, due to dwindling supply and regional political instability (which lends itself to higher transaction costs due to requisite security and the like), is experiencing DRASTIC diseconomies of scale - requiring a higher price per gallon in order to cover marginal costs. This is greater impacted given that the oil cartels create a very monoplistic competition in the gasoline market, such that prices will be higher as their demand function is greater disparate from the market demand, and mapping a proper revenue point per gallon to find proper equilibrium (such that you're exercising allocative and productive efficiency) will produce a higher product of Price and Quantity Demanded.

Yay, economics major.

Last time I was at the pump, it was $3.35 per gallon for Unleaded. This was pretty cheap for the area. It was an Arco, which I've noticed has much cheaper prices as a chain.

[VUzgOhgv]

Apparently, although here in the Uk petrol and diesel are about £1 per litre to the customer it actually only costs 34 pence per litre to get it out of the ground, get it to a refinery, refine it, transport it in a tanker, store it in secure chambers in the petrol stations, and pay the wages of everyone involved.

Gordon 'robbing Scottish Tosser' Brown takes the remainder for sitting on his fat arse sliding down the opinion polls.

Bush may have his faults but they are nothing compared to Brown's.

[Vitoethiche]

Here in Winnipeg gas has been hovering around $1.08 to $1.15 CAD per litre, IIRC. I don't find it overly expensive as I don't do much driving other than to the dojo, work, groceries, and the occasional get-together (which all happen to be in the same general area). I'd love to bike more, but with a typical Prairie winter coming in I don't think it's feasible.

Public transportation isn't really an option for me, either, as I would have to spend about 4 or 5 hours on the bus or waiting for transfers to/from work every day (for a 1/2 hour drive or 45 min. bike ride). Plus, fares are $2.50 or $2.75 (can't remember) per trip, and transfers are only good for an hour. My wife and I work in the same general area for now, so carpooling works pretty well . . . overall, I'd say I spend about 50 - 60 dollars CAD on gas every two weeks all told.

I tend not to get worked up over gas prices. . . it's a rising cost of living, just like everything else. If anything, higher gas prices might actually get people to think about using finite resources more wisely.

[kennyguitar]

I'd love to bike more, but with a typical Prairie winter coming in I don't think it's feasible.

We have guys that bike all winter, no matter how cold. I think they're nutbars, but it can be done.

[bWxNFI3c]

We have guys that bike all winter, no matter how cold. I think they're nutbars, but it can be done.

Yep . . . have them here, too. I suppose as long as you have the right gear you'll do fine, but once that front wheel starts to slip, there's no hope of saving it.

[VIDEOHITE]

...but once that front wheel starts to slip, there's no hope of saving it. That is soo true, thats why I just bought a studed front tire for my bike, should keep me safe when going to school and to keiko. It's probably worth more then the rest of my bike but it's a good investment considering we have snow 5-6 months a year.

[Rapiddude]

Apparently, although here in the Uk petrol and diesel are about £1 per litre to the customer it actually only costs 34 pence per litre to get it out of the ground, get it to a refinery, refine it, transport it in a tanker, store it in secure chambers in the petrol stations, and pay the wages of everyone involved.

Gordon 'robbing Scottish Tosser' Brown takes the remainder for sitting on his fat arse sliding down the opinion polls.

Bush may have his faults but they are nothing compared to Brown's.

I think it was Maggie's lot that started the big tax thing on petrol with some sort of calculation based on "what can we screw the electorate for". But Brown's an arsehole anyway. Luckily his popularity rating is somewhere just below Attila the Hun so he should go on the next election. Should have gone for an early vote when his popularity was high - tough shit Gordon. Can't wait for Cameron to get in so we can all hug a hoodie.

Anyway, back to the gas thing. Don't forget cars in the US only do about 10 gallons to the mile whereas here we get about 30-40 to the gallon (remember those anyone in the UK?). Still, our petrol is too frigging expensive due to the high tax we poor sods have to pay. We'll all have to save up and buy a can of petrol and pour it over Gordon.

Sorry, bad day at work today!

[MadMark]

Anyway, back to the gas thing. Don't forget cars in the US only do about 10 gallons to the mile whereas here we get about 30-40 to the gallon (remember those anyone in the UK?).

I'd really like to know from which fairie land this magical 40 MPG car originates.

My car gets 38 mpg if I drive like a proverbial "little ol' lady from Pasadena" and if I make the most of coasting downhills.

If you have a Hybrid, no need to answer this question as crackpottery is not what I'm looking for here.

[BakerBonce]

I'd really like to know from which fairie land this magical 40 MPG car originates.
(In reality)
My car gets 38 mpg if I drive like a proverbial "little ol' lady from Pasadena" and if I make the most of coasting downhills.

If you have a Hybrid, no need to answer this question as crackpottery is not what I'm looking for here.

I can get about 40 mpg in my normal non-hybrid Vectra normally. Honestly, we have cars here in fairie land (otherwise known as Europe - well there are gnomes in Zurich, Switzerland apparently) that can do up to 60 mpg.

[Bxbhtjnr]

we have cars here in fairie land (otherwise known as Europe - well there are gnomes in Zurich, Switzerland apparently) that can do up to 60 mpg.

Enough of this stuff about Chevy cars!


..Gnomes you say?

[BuyCheapest]

Enough of this stuff about Chevy cars!


..Gnomes you say?

They really do exist! It says so on the internet so it must be true!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomes_of_Zurich

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gnomesofzurich.asp

and my favourite

http://www.ifi.unizh.ch/CL/rinaldi/gnomes.html

[ådrrraj]

If you have a Hybrid, no need to answer this question as crackpottery is not what I'm looking for here.

Why do you think hybrids are crackpottery?

I recall C&D did a test of some economy cars and the little Toyota (Echo, maybe?) was well into the 40s on the highway.

[flueftArete]

Why do you think hybrids are crackpottery?

I recall C&D did a test of some economy cars and the little Toyota (Echo, maybe?) was well into the 40s on the highway.

Mainly because from my understanding:

1. To get that awesome mileage, the driver has to do most of the driving on the highway, in a long enough and open enough area to engage the battery drive. In urban areas, the stop and go nature of the city traffic Consumer Reports had found; the miliage was nearer to normal economy cars of the same class due to the gasoline engine being primary. Also, certain driving habits had to be modified, which is not unexpected, but not for everyone.
So it looks like if you live in the country or drive long stretches, yes, the miliage is there, but not for us City folk.

2. The battery issue, which there is much debate back and forth.
It has been reported that when exhausted, it will essentially result in a 100 pound pile of pollution.
Of course Toyota states that the battery will last the life of the car. (cough) and have a comprehensive recycling program. Judging by the fact that most of North America's E-waste seems to end up in Asia, I'm not very confident in that plan.

My view is that I'm much more looking forward to Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars.

The crackpottery comes from the fact that many Hybrid Car owners here in California can be almost religious in their fervor regarding expounding the virtues of Hybrid ownership, and simply put, the facts don't seem to substantiate all of the claims it puts forth at this time.

[adverwork]

Mainly because from my understanding:

Sensible stuff.

My my aren't we a bit serious here?
You do know that gasoline in Europe is way much expensive than in the US and that every US car guzzles gas like an Abrams M1 Main Battle Tank. On top of the high price of gasoline (with tax) we have to pay through the nose for owning a car let alone drive it.
And when you park your car you have to pay again. You even have to pay in many cities just to park your car in your neighborhood. To add insult to injury you even have to pay to park at shopping malls where you want to spend your money. I don't think you guys have a bum deal over there. But enough of this.
Who are you and what have you done with Kenzan?