Sadly, both new and used vehicles are shockingly more expensive in recent months. I opted for older model turbo-diesel vehicles which get 40+ miles/gallon. Accruing the second 150k miles on those vehicles costs far less than payments and energy costs for a new vehicle, conventional or electric. One of them is blissfully "power nothing". …
Sadly, both new and used vehicles are shockingly more expensive in recent months. I opted for older model turbo-diesel vehicles which get 40+ miles/gallon. Accruing the second 150k miles on those vehicles costs far less than payments and energy costs for a new vehicle, conventional or electric. One of them is blissfully "power nothing". You can't get a vehicle less than 15 years old that isn't tricked out with every manner of superfluous electronic gadgetry which can't be repaired by your local independent shop. Electric makes all the sense in the world from an environmental perspective, but the economics of new vehicle ownership are definitely not in our favor yet, even if electricity costs less than pumping fuel. At 60+ years of age, I could easily be over the rainbow bridge before recouping the capital cost of switching.
We are so, so, so lucky to have moved away from the U.S. where you had to drive everywhere. We walk now. Have no car. Do take trains and buses for traveling. Frank Lloyd Wright had a vision. I wish it had been embraced, but the oil companies tore up the cable car tracks in LA and made the city and country dependent upon cars and gas.
Yes, not my generation but in the 1930's, my Mother could take the "Red Line" from South Pasadena down to Long Beach to sing for a Big Band. A few of the old "Red Line" Right-of-Ways still exist. Another Red Line went out to Santa Monica.
It wasn't just the oil companies. The automotive companies were a driving force in buying up the land and tearing out rail lines to force the change to driving. Oil followed. Same thing happened in Denver. 50 years later, the movement began to rebuild those same rail lines, and expand into the metro and suburban area. I grew up primarily in Chicago area, where public transportation flourished. I was astounded when i moved to Denver in the late '70s to find that the local rail lines had been closed down. Short term selfish greed, repackaged and branded as a benefit.
I'm realizing we can use our car much less. Can walk to a small local grocery for a lot, and then only have to hit the larger store maybe once every 10-12 days. Fortunately, we have a Honda that gets great mileage, so that helps.
I love traveling in Europe, especially Portugal and Spain. The buses and trains are so easy, accessible and take you everywhere. Plus you can walk on the Camino trails for safe walking, too. My parents lived in LA area when the street car tracks were ripped out. The smog and traffic were not considered. I lived in California suburban areas with poor public transportation, also. And high speed trains are often voted down. The auto manufacturers had a great lobby and influence on our transportation choices.
We lived in LA and near San Diego. My grandfather worked in the oil fields near Long Beach. From childhood to adulthood I watched the changes in the air each time I went back. My mother said they use to ride bikes through orange groves from Long Beach to Culver City. Once Upon a Time SoCal was so beautiful. I miss friends and family, but would never go back.
I get about 50 miles/gallon in my hybrid. I decided to top it off before Texas does it’s faux shortage like it always does in a crisis. $25 for not quite 5 gallons. Yikes!
Well Denise..as we all pretty-much know (tho not "all" of us exactly, but U-Kno). People in EU and UK pay by the 'liter'.....hmmm, since we-uns ain't onto 'metric' ..yet..., "we-uns" don't have a clue as to what a liter (whatevahh) amounts to. And evan (<<nascar spellink) more-bettahh.., most folks couldn't give the proverbial "rats arse" about it..move on..., jayssusss!! Oh.. you want the answer (a few of you do..hahaha), there are 3.785 liters in one US Gallon. The cost per "liter" in US$ amounts to1.96 cents per liter. MY MY MY!.., that smells like $7.41 per US Gallon... whoaa!
Had to laugh about your comment. Having driven rental cars in Europe, mostly France & Italy, numerous times over several decades, it has always amused me to hear Americans gripe about the price of gas in the U.S.
I just went upstairs and got my photo of an Agip (gas station) sign along the Autostrada, taken about 2006 or 2007: 1.305 euro/litre. Multiplied by four that comes out to 5.22 euro for 4 liters. My guesstimate of exchange rate of 1.25 euro/1 dollar means we would have paid the equivalent of $6.52/4 liters, not even a full U.S. gallon of unleaded gas.
BTW, I have the photo because I have a little stuffed Agip 6-legged dog (Really. I looked it up!) like the one on the Agip station signs, picked up as a student in the early 1960s.
Thanks for your note Judith. Always good to see that "the Mad Russian" moniker doesn't turn folks off. Hah.., and the six legged dog.. a pal of the 4-wheeled man (in 1953). Thank you again for providing me yet another treat for my mind to play with. This site helps greatly.
My 2012 hybrid Prius is great in mountain areas or nonstop freeway driving. At least 50 mph and often significantly higher. Short trips not so much. It has 83,000 miles and runs like new. Fingers crossed. Gas today in Northern California rural town on the way up to Lake Tahoe: $5.24 gallon - credit card.
Wow! That mileage sounds like a record. Especially with original hybrid battery. You’re lucky. Hope you still have an energy efficient car. Gas is sky high already. I saw a FB picture from a community outside of Sacramento with gas for $6.71 gal. I know people who bought small van/motorhomes during the Pandemic. They will have big bills. But we’re lucky. We aren’t being bombed in America and I’ll pay and reduce my driving so we can make life better for the Ukrainians.
I laughed at the "rainbow bridge" addition! We are pretty back woods here in Indiana...so electric vehicles will probably be common in our area after I cross over the "rainbow bridge" for sure!
Same for me at 77. My 2014 Outback doesn't get the estimated in-town mileage but I drive so little in the past 2 years that costs haven't been onerous, esp. compared to costs relating to replacing it.
Sadly, both new and used vehicles are shockingly more expensive in recent months. I opted for older model turbo-diesel vehicles which get 40+ miles/gallon. Accruing the second 150k miles on those vehicles costs far less than payments and energy costs for a new vehicle, conventional or electric. One of them is blissfully "power nothing". You can't get a vehicle less than 15 years old that isn't tricked out with every manner of superfluous electronic gadgetry which can't be repaired by your local independent shop. Electric makes all the sense in the world from an environmental perspective, but the economics of new vehicle ownership are definitely not in our favor yet, even if electricity costs less than pumping fuel. At 60+ years of age, I could easily be over the rainbow bridge before recouping the capital cost of switching.
We are so, so, so lucky to have moved away from the U.S. where you had to drive everywhere. We walk now. Have no car. Do take trains and buses for traveling. Frank Lloyd Wright had a vision. I wish it had been embraced, but the oil companies tore up the cable car tracks in LA and made the city and country dependent upon cars and gas.
Yes, not my generation but in the 1930's, my Mother could take the "Red Line" from South Pasadena down to Long Beach to sing for a Big Band. A few of the old "Red Line" Right-of-Ways still exist. Another Red Line went out to Santa Monica.
And my grand parents when they were teenagers.
It wasn't just the oil companies. The automotive companies were a driving force in buying up the land and tearing out rail lines to force the change to driving. Oil followed. Same thing happened in Denver. 50 years later, the movement began to rebuild those same rail lines, and expand into the metro and suburban area. I grew up primarily in Chicago area, where public transportation flourished. I was astounded when i moved to Denver in the late '70s to find that the local rail lines had been closed down. Short term selfish greed, repackaged and branded as a benefit.
I'm realizing we can use our car much less. Can walk to a small local grocery for a lot, and then only have to hit the larger store maybe once every 10-12 days. Fortunately, we have a Honda that gets great mileage, so that helps.
"Carpool for Ukraine!" Divide the cost of gas by the number of people in the car. That's what we are really paying per gallon.
Also important is the speed at which you drive. Nobody is talking about "Drive 55."
My 2010 Honda CRV is worth it’s weight in gold! Good gas mileage and has only about 40,000 miles on it. No way am I buying a new car!
Our Honda is 2015 with bells and whistles, as well as great gas mileage. 50K miles. Wouldn't trade it for the world.
Where did you move? I see the building in Ukraine that have been hit and think that living in high rise homes would not be safe!
Jacques Fresco also had a vision… https://g.co/kgs/9y2C6v
I love traveling in Europe, especially Portugal and Spain. The buses and trains are so easy, accessible and take you everywhere. Plus you can walk on the Camino trails for safe walking, too. My parents lived in LA area when the street car tracks were ripped out. The smog and traffic were not considered. I lived in California suburban areas with poor public transportation, also. And high speed trains are often voted down. The auto manufacturers had a great lobby and influence on our transportation choices.
We lived in LA and near San Diego. My grandfather worked in the oil fields near Long Beach. From childhood to adulthood I watched the changes in the air each time I went back. My mother said they use to ride bikes through orange groves from Long Beach to Culver City. Once Upon a Time SoCal was so beautiful. I miss friends and family, but would never go back.
Where is this Shangri-la?
My L.A. husband would second that motion, and he’s still angry about it at the age of 94!
I'm not sure about the recouping theory. I'm getting 76 miles/gallon on my hybrid.
I get about 50 miles/gallon in my hybrid. I decided to top it off before Texas does it’s faux shortage like it always does in a crisis. $25 for not quite 5 gallons. Yikes!
Well Denise..as we all pretty-much know (tho not "all" of us exactly, but U-Kno). People in EU and UK pay by the 'liter'.....hmmm, since we-uns ain't onto 'metric' ..yet..., "we-uns" don't have a clue as to what a liter (whatevahh) amounts to. And evan (<<nascar spellink) more-bettahh.., most folks couldn't give the proverbial "rats arse" about it..move on..., jayssusss!! Oh.. you want the answer (a few of you do..hahaha), there are 3.785 liters in one US Gallon. The cost per "liter" in US$ amounts to1.96 cents per liter. MY MY MY!.., that smells like $7.41 per US Gallon... whoaa!
Had to laugh about your comment. Having driven rental cars in Europe, mostly France & Italy, numerous times over several decades, it has always amused me to hear Americans gripe about the price of gas in the U.S.
I just went upstairs and got my photo of an Agip (gas station) sign along the Autostrada, taken about 2006 or 2007: 1.305 euro/litre. Multiplied by four that comes out to 5.22 euro for 4 liters. My guesstimate of exchange rate of 1.25 euro/1 dollar means we would have paid the equivalent of $6.52/4 liters, not even a full U.S. gallon of unleaded gas.
BTW, I have the photo because I have a little stuffed Agip 6-legged dog (Really. I looked it up!) like the one on the Agip station signs, picked up as a student in the early 1960s.
Thanks for your note Judith. Always good to see that "the Mad Russian" moniker doesn't turn folks off. Hah.., and the six legged dog.. a pal of the 4-wheeled man (in 1953). Thank you again for providing me yet another treat for my mind to play with. This site helps greatly.
My 2012 hybrid Prius is great in mountain areas or nonstop freeway driving. At least 50 mph and often significantly higher. Short trips not so much. It has 83,000 miles and runs like new. Fingers crossed. Gas today in Northern California rural town on the way up to Lake Tahoe: $5.24 gallon - credit card.
My last Prius had 360,000 miles on it, ran great, and got about 53 mpg. The battery never needed replacing.
I'll be at the pump in a couple days. Who knows what the gas will be then in SF Bay Area!
Wow! That mileage sounds like a record. Especially with original hybrid battery. You’re lucky. Hope you still have an energy efficient car. Gas is sky high already. I saw a FB picture from a community outside of Sacramento with gas for $6.71 gal. I know people who bought small van/motorhomes during the Pandemic. They will have big bills. But we’re lucky. We aren’t being bombed in America and I’ll pay and reduce my driving so we can make life better for the Ukrainians.
I laughed at the "rainbow bridge" addition! We are pretty back woods here in Indiana...so electric vehicles will probably be common in our area after I cross over the "rainbow bridge" for sure!
Same for me at 77. My 2014 Outback doesn't get the estimated in-town mileage but I drive so little in the past 2 years that costs haven't been onerous, esp. compared to costs relating to replacing it.