Libertine: On the Prowl

Vidi, vici, veni -- I saw, I conquered, I came. _______________________________________________________________

One Thing I'm Thankful For

Gas prices continue to rise in my area and there seemingly is no end in sight, as the US is expected to hit an unprecedented four dollars a gallon this summer.

I know British and European readers will think Americans are whining (whinging?) over nothing, considering that they've always had high gas prices. However, one must remember that the US does not have a national health care system and 47 million of us have no health insurance, with millions more becoming underinsured, as more companies are either cutting out health insurance altogether or offering inferior plans where one pays more and gets less.

But I am grateful for one thing.

I'm glad I'm driving this:

Instead of this:

It probably costs more to fill the tank of one of these behemoths once than I spend in groceries in a month.

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07:12, 2008-Apr-28 .. Posted by texican

I know what you mean. I drive a little POS '90 Camry, but it still gets over 30 mpg. Still, I almost cried last week when it cost me over $40 to fill it up.

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07:13, 2008-Apr-28 .. Posted by thebigp

One of the things that UK readers need to remember is that the reason their fuel prices are so high is because the UK does not import oil from other countries. All they have is what they pump out of the North Sea.

Of course that makes them less sensitive to oil volatility in the Middle East.

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07:20, 2008-Apr-28 .. Posted by texican

Also, they don't realize that (right or wrong) most of our towns and cities are laid out with an emphasis on our ability to drive all over. There aren't very many places where you can just walk or bike everywhere.

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07:21, 2008-Apr-28 .. Posted by littleMissConfused

We have been trying to decide if it is worth getting a smaller car. We need to keep the pick up truck because we do haul a lot of stuff with it. The mini van could get replaced. both are paid for so there is no loan payment. If we traded in for something smaller...then we have loan payments... defeats the purpose of saving money.

For now I'm stuck with gas guzzlers. At least the mini van gets 21 MPG, but it still costs about $60.00 to fill the tank. That lasts me about 2 1/2 weeks. The truck only gets about 12 MPG. Hubby has to fill the tank at least once a week at $60.00 a pop.

I think it is time we switch vehicles. I just hate driving his truck. It sits up so high that I can barley climb into the thing. I feel like I should carry a step stool in the back just so I can get in!

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02:09, 2008-Apr-29 .. Posted by lisalisabobisa

I'll bet you are right about that. When I bought my new car I went for something ECONOMICAL......

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07:06, 2008-Apr-29 .. Posted by Rubicon

Well unfortunately or not I have/drive a newer SUV...a Ford Explorer, and it does guzzle gas. I can't remember the last time I actually saw a full tank in it! But I can't really at this point justify trading it in...even while paying $3.69 at the pump, of course financial concerns play a part as well.

I saw on the news this morning one of the oil/gas analogiest talking about how we might expect in the next two years $10.00 a gallon! At the rate things are going according to him......YIKES!!!

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07:25, 2008-May-1 .. Posted by Aielman

It probably costs more to fill the tank of one of these behemoths once than I spend in groceries in a month.

About $95 to fill the Expedition if it's really empty.

On the other hand, I shudder to think of trying to put 2 kids, a wheelchair, a pair of crutches, 4 backpacks, 2 lunch boxes and a large woman who needs to prop her cast up in your car.

I'll pay for the extra gas.

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03:06, 2008-May-2 .. Posted by sladewilson

Dude, I'm in the process of getting a bike. I can't deal with gas prices anymore - insanity....

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10:23, 2008-May-10 .. Posted by grimfairy

Gas is now $3.75 in Philly. I own a V6 SUV and it guzzles about $60 to fill it up completely. At this point, I will have to strap my dog down with a leash and put on some roller blades so she can get me to work!