Gas prices going even higher???

[BuckNaked]

No need for the snotty remarks or eye rolling. I don't normally care what others drive. But yesterday when gas was almost $2.50, I was pissed. It's gone up almost a dollar since Feb.

So you were pissed at the person in the Hummer because gas has gone up almost a dollar since February?

If I were you, I'd be happy that I was living someplace that had gas for $1.50 as recently as February. We haven't seen prices that low here in nearly 2 years.

 

[toto2]

I don't want to get into the middle of a SUV discussion, but this reminds me of Ariana Huffington and a huge push she had a year or two ago saying that we needed to all drive hybrids to help with oil prices and shortages. She went to the extent of suggesting that people who drove larger vehicles were stupid, or Un-American. She was asked if lessening energy consumption was so important to her, why did she live in like a 6,000 sq ft home that had to be heated and cooled? Why did she take private jets so often when she traveled? She totally ignored these questions and continued to rant about people driving cars that were to big. At the end of the day we can have a long and heated discussion about the need for SUV's but the real discussion should be about total lifestyle. How efficient is you heating and cooling equipment at your house? Do you recycle? How conciensense are you of where you set your thermostat in your home? How well is you home insulated? What products do you buy and how many hydrocarbons does it take to manufacture those items? The whole energy price discussion is about a lot more than just how much gas your vehicle uses.

I agree with you. There a lot of things to look at and consider. And it is confusing. And like Charade is saying , SUV's are an easy target because they are so present on our road.

I think too that too often , we feel we dont have power over those issues : Such and such takes private plane , such company pollutes alot more than O do etc : but I feel we have to start the trend , try to do the things you state in your post. We have to start by making the choicers that we feel comfortable with. Ans we have to stop ridiculizing those that try harder than we do ! Any person or group that tries to protect or help the environement should be applaude. None of them , just like us individualy are perfect , but they have at heart the bettre of our environnemt ( and try to find ways for us to make better choices)

 

[Planogirl]

We often have severe air pollution in our area. We don't have all that many factories or coal powered plants. I think that most of it is due to too many inefficient gas-guzzling automobiles. However, I blame the car makers not the drivers for this problem. I'm convinced that car makers already know how to make vehicles more efficient and cleaner but choose not to due to the cost involved.

As for what someone drives not being the business of others, I agree up to a point. Fuel consumption and pollution is however EVERYONE'S business and constantly proclaiming that it's all about "ME" isn't helping matters.

 

[LoraJ]

We often have severe air pollution in our area. We don't have all that many factories or coal powered plants. I think that most of it is due to too many inefficient gas-guzzling automobiles. However, I blame the car makers not the drivers for this problem. I'm convinced that car makers already know how to make vehicles more efficient and cleaner but choose not to due to the cost involved.

As for what someone drives not being the business of others, I agree up to a point. Fuel consumption and pollution is however EVERYONE'S business and constantly proclaiming that it's all about "ME" isn't helping matters.

Exactly!!!

 

[toto2]

Exactly. Why does anyone have to explain what they chose to drive? I don't hear anyone here accusing someone of wasting fuel heating a larger home. We purchase our vehicles based on our WANTS. Sure we could drive a puny little economy car but we don't WANT one of those.

If you dont want people to judge you on the vehicule you want , dont ridicule the choice of others !

 

[Charade]

No need for the snotty remarks or eye rolling. I don't normally care what others drive. I don't care what you spend your money on. It's your money and your free to do with it whatever you see fit. But yesterday when gas was almost $2.50, I was pissed. It's gone up almost a dollar since Feb.

In case you forgot what you posted...

Originally Posted by Pooh Girl 71
I'm not going to flame you because I completely agree. I had to fill up this afternoon and gas is $2.47 a gallon! It was $2.33 on Friday. I was really pissed to see this Hummer in front of me. I'm not even going to say what I want to say about that car and its kind. It's obscene.

 

[LoraJ]

I think Hummers are Obscene (and extremly ugly) too. And it's my right to think that.

 

[chadfromdallas]

As for what someone drives not being the business of others, I agree up to a point. Fuel consumption and pollution is however EVERYONE'S business and constantly proclaiming that it's all about "ME" isn't helping matters.

They don't care. They just want their roomy SUV

 

[Charade]

I think Hummers are Obscene (and extremly ugly) too. And it's my right to think that.

Is it just the fact that it gets crappy mileage that you think is obscene or do you have disdain for the driver for buying one as well? Be honest.

If your answer is yes (to the second part of my question), I'd like to know why and do you harbor such feelings toward other things (and the) people buy with their money.

 

[Planogirl]

I personally dislike Hummers for their poor gas mileage and for parking right next to my little car so often! I can't see past them and I'm tired of almost getting hit when I try to back out.

Charade, is that acceptable? (You sound awfully analytical or something today.)

 

[Charade]

I personally dislike Hummers for their poor gas mileage and for parking right next to my little car so often! I can't see past them and I'm tired of almost getting hit when I try to back out.

Oh I hate not being able to see when backing out either if something larger than my car is parked next to me but I don't equate that with being obscene.

Charade, is that acceptable? (You sound awfully analytical or something today.)

You don't need to prove anything to me all I was doing was trying to find out the depth of your feelings toward Hummers (and possibly their drivers).

If (in your case) it's just that they are just too big to be in regular parking spots, that is your right to think so. But we all know that a lot of people who don't like SUVs don't just like them because they are a visual obsticle because there are many other vehicles on the roard (and parking spaces) that are just as big or bigger. A lot of people don't like the drivers of SUVs as well. I don't hear nearly as much talk about high top conversion vans, cargo vans, UPS truck, mini vans, tractor trailers, etc being "obscene" as we do about SUVs. The SUV holds the disctintion of being the most contemptible vehicle on the road. As are their drivers.

 

[Hopetobee]

I don't hate SUVs, but I do FEAR them. In my hometown SUVs outnumber cars and small trucks, and , unfortunately they have become a "status' symbol in my community. Lots of women buy them to feel safer, and thats ok, but from my perspective, sitting in a car and looking through the rear windshield and seeing a Large SUV riding my tail (and many times the driver is on the cell phone) they put fear in my gut!

You might say "well, that's your problem". Now, I know there are car accidents all the time, but I'll have more chance of surviving if hit by another car than an SUV.

 

[skiwee1]

If you dont want people to judge you on the vehicule you want , dont ridicule the choice of others !

I don't ridicule the choice of others.

 

[Planogirl]

Charade, SUV's are way more common in our area than any of the other vehicles you mentioned. The larger ones are everywhere! It seems to be a status thing here.

Mini Vans are fairly common but on the small side. Tractor trailers are definitely necessary if we're going to talk about that and have to be tolerated. But I rarely see conversion vans, UPS trucks and so on so I fail to see that they're the same.

As for hating SUV drivers, I may not agree with their choices but I certainly don't hate them. Ultimately, it's their decision and not mine as to what vehicle they should drive. Plus, like I said already, I blame automakers not drivers for most of the problems.

Well, except for the evil Hummer drivers.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't hate SUVs, but I do FEAR them. In my hometown SUVs outnumber cars and small trucks, and , unfortunately they have become a "status' symbol in my community. Lots of women buy them to feel safer, and thats ok, but from my perspective, sitting in a car and looking through the rear windshield and seeing a Large SUV riding my tail (and many times the driver is on the cell phone) they put fear in my gut!

You might say "well, that's your problem". Now, I know there are car accidents all the time, but I'll have more chance of surviving if hit by another car than an SUV.

Be careful. Someone might tell you that's it's all your fault for choosing to drive a car.

 

[MrsKreamer]

I don't hate SUVs, but I do FEAR them. In my hometown SUVs outnumber cars and small trucks, and , unfortunately they have become a "status' symbol in my community. Lots of women buy them to feel safer, and thats ok, but from my perspective, sitting in a car and looking through the rear windshield and seeing a Large SUV riding my tail (and many times the driver is on the cell phone) they put fear in my gut!

You might say "well, that's your problem". Now, I know there are car accidents all the time, but I'll have more chance of surviving if hit by another car than an SUV.

Not really. It depends on a lot of factors. The type of car you drive. If you drive a heavy car(Lincoln, Cadilac) then you will probably fair better then the SUV. If you drive a small compact car then any other car that hits you will do serious damage. My mom drive a corolla in the early 90s. She was hit by a small pickup(2 passenger, very light) her car was completely totaled, it just sort of fell apart.

 

[LoraJ]

Is it just the fact that it gets crappy mileage that you think is obscene or do you have disdain for the driver for buying one as well? Be honest.

If your answer is yes (to the second part of my question), I'd like to know why and do you harbor such feelings toward other things (and the) people buy with their money.

I dislike them for the same reason as Planogirl. I dislike most large SUV's for that reason. Poor gas mileage, can't see around, etc. In the winter, some drivers of the vehicles think they are invincible and go speeing around in the snow and ice. I've seen many of them lose control of their vehicles while driving like that.

And you know what, I do have some disdain towards those who buy Hummers and other large SUV's as status symbols. I have yet to see anyone toting their family around in a Hummer. And they are buying these gas guzzlers when we have a shortage. I find that a bit selfish. They are creating more of a demand for gas than my car that gets 36mpg on avg. And what gets me is, they don't care. They can afford it, so why should it bother me? Right now I can afford it too, but not sure how I will feel when gas is $5 a gallon.

 

[McDISer]

I was justifying my self justto say that , like you say , I dont need that big a house , I choose one that i liked , at a price i could afford , and that since I dont like paying a lot of money to the electricity company , and I feel that If I use energy wisely , I contribute to a better environement , I do things to use less energy. It is my choice.

I am all right to any choices people make : it is what they make with these choices that I sometime have problems with. If today , on augustb 15th 2005 , you buy a big SUV ( I know the pster has a small SUV) , you almost forfeit your right to complain about gas prices , because you made a concious choice to buy a vehicule that uses a lot of gas. But it is a choice and It is none of my business.

I dont agree with this: half of the vehicule bought in Nort America are SUVs, and while there are many factors in the fact that the prices are rising as we saw on another thread about gas ( I am amaze at all the knowledge of our co-disher ! gas providers are still there for the profit , and I am sure one of the component of these prices increase is : See they are willing to pay for it , so we are going to charge for it !

So lets say we all decide to get rid of our SUV's and drive more economical cars. Is this going to change the price of gas-heck no! We may be more concious of the usuage we are preserving-but the oil companies will find out they are not making what they expected-so they raise their prices again.

Also another poster stated if we are people that recycle, use our resources wisely. I would just like to say, that I kept our furnace at 60 last year in the winter to keep heating costs down and what did I get in my gas bill-a notice that my rates are going up. (it was a warmer than average winter last year and the heating company did not make it's quota for profits, so rates will be going up). So I literally froze my nose off last winter for what?

 

[Charade]

You might say "well, that's your problem". Now, I know there are car accidents all the time, but I'll have more chance of surviving if hit by another car than an SUV.

So would you prefer that everyone drive around in exactly the same size vehicle? Of course that's impossible. But...

say you're driving in one of these,

and get hit by one of these,

what do you think your chances are?

 

[LoraJ]

The accident I was in, we got hit by one of those. We survived. Had it been a larger SUV though, and just a foot to the right, the driver of the cab I was in would have been gone.

For the record, I am not a fan of those big old gas guzzlers either.