Anyone else refuse to buy a gas fueled car?

[DawnCt1]

Yeah, because our economy is so great already?? .

Apparently Wall St. thinks its just fine. www.abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1710150. Lets not forget that homeownership, particularly for minorities is at an all time high and an unemployment rate below 5% is considered full employment. How are European friends doing?

 

[Towncrier]

I would love a hybrid...

Did you know that a car with a standard (stick shift) transmission can beat most hybrids in normal driving conditions? And that the batteries in a hybrid are going to create a real mess for the environment when people have to start replacing them in a few years. I'm not sure what the solution is, but hybrid automobiles may not make as big a difference as you might think.

Biodiesel and E-85 may be the easiest fuel for the US to convert the infrastructure to support.

 

[DawnCt1]

Did you know that a car with a standard (stick shift) transmission can beat most hybrids in normal driving conditions? And that the batteries in a hybrid are going to create a real mess for the environment when people have to start replacing them in a few years. I'm not sure what the solution is, but hybrid automobiles may not make as big a difference as you might think.

I have heard that the waste disposal fee for the batteries could easily be in the range of $3000. Not what people expect when they change batteries or get rid of the car.

 

[Planogirl]

Stats may show that the economy is supposedly so great but many of us who live in the real world might question that.

Anyway, I think that waiting until gas supplies run out to come up with a decent alternative is awfully short-sighted. Plus the government has to be involved in this issue since a part of their responsibility is to deal with infrastructure. JMO.

 

[DLBDS]

No it was modified to run on plain ole garbage. Didn't you see the 2nd movie!

Yeah, you be right. I stand corrected!

 

[DLBDS]

Fuel is not going to get cheaper -- it's nobody's fault that you are spending $50 a week on gas. You have an SUV but don't like paying $50 a week....sorry but you can't have your cake and eat it too! It's best to just cut down on your gas usage or buy a fuel efficient car if you are tired of paying for gasoline. Gasoline as a fuel is source is not going to go away overnight or for a LONG time.

For hydrogen powered cars --- wouldn't you just need water? Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen....??

Fuel prices haven't affected me much. I take the bus and walk everywhere I need to go.

We bought our SUV (Tahoe) way back in '96. Back then it only cost about $25 to fill it up! There was no talk about gas prices going through the roof back then. Who would have guessed?! I HAVE cut down on my gas usage in a HUGE way for the last 2-3 YEARS. The only driving I do is taking my daughter to school.....11 miles away (x4 trips=44 miles per day!!). I coordinate errands (grocery, bank, library, Wally World, whatever) around school dropoffs/pickups. In the summer, when school is out, I don't go ANYWHERE during the week (again, I work from home). Errands are done on the weekends. I've done all that I can to eliminate needless driving. Buying a new car, such as a hybrid (which I'm not a fan of), would not be economical. It's cheaper to buy the gas than buy a new car. But, DH is planning on a new purchase in the near future (2 years). Somehow, I don't think this issue is going to be resolved in 2 years. IMHO, I think the problem will have escalated by then. As for the suggestion, I can't take my DD9 to school on a moped. The knowledge/science is here. Why doesn't someone come along and develop their own line of no-gas (SU) vehicles and market them? I guarantee they would sell like hotcakes. UGH!!

 

[Nancy]

Fuel is not going to get cheaper -- it's nobody's fault that you are spending $50 a week on gas. You have an SUV but don't like paying $50 a week....sorry but you can't have your cake and eat it too! It's best to just cut down on your gas usage or buy a fuel efficient car if you are tired of paying for gasoline. Gasoline as a fuel is source is not going to go away overnight or for a LONG time.

For hydrogen powered cars --- wouldn't you just need water? Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen....??

Fuel prices haven't affected me much. I take the bus and walk everywhere I need to go.

I have a mini van and use about $20.00 a week. When I look back and see that back when I got out of highschool gas was about 65 cents a gallon, my first car cost less than 3,000.00, cigarettes were under $1.00 per pack....and compare that to what I pay for those things now (except for the cigarettes, I quit those when I had to pay 1.05 for a pack) I don't think gas prices are all that ridiculous. Prices go up...whether it is gas, electricity, or groceries, houses, etc.

 

[DaisyD]

I will continue to buy gas fueled cars til they come up with something more convenient and one that moves quicker then a snails pace. Gas prices don't bother me in the least.

 

[RitaZ.]

I have heard that the waste disposal fee for the batteries could easily be in the range of $3000. Not what people expect when they change batteries or get rid of the car.

That's the funny thing about hybrids. When we were shopping for our new vehicle, we test drove two hybrids (different makes). I asked the salesmen how much it would cost to replace the battery. They claimed not to know the cost and kept telling me that I wouldn't have to worry about that because I would probably get rid of the car before the battery needed to be replaced. I never even considered a disposal fee.

I test drove a Highlander Hybrid, it was over $40k. Also looked at the Escape Hybrid which was almost $40k. The people that are most affected by the increasing gas prices can't afford to pay those prices.