Out of curiosity – is anyone out there feeling a big financial pinch? Yesterday, I filled up my Honda CRV and it was close to $60.00. Luckily, a tank of gas can last a couple of weeks (I typically take the bus to work) but just to get out to a couple of photo locales is no longer just a few dollars of disposable income. My utility bills have increased (even though I am consuming less kilowatts, water and natural gas), my groceries cost a lot more, and my rent is going up in a couple of months. This summer, I'm planning to spend a week car camping, hiking and shooting in and around Olympic National Park - but now I am not so sure. Compared to many, I live a very modest, sometimes frugal lifestyle – yet my checking account has a distinct and resonant echo. Please don’t take this the wrong way, I am not whining. I consider myself fortunate; I have a job, make a semi-respectable wage and live in a descent neighborhood. Yet living within my modest means – is becoming more difficult. And I am wondering how you all are doing? Has the state of your checking accounts affected the time/efforts/money you spend on photography as well?
The main thing I have done to help combat the rising gas prices is sell my camper (goodbye comfort) and F-150 (goodbye lousy gas mileage) and downsize to a Honda CRV. I do find myself spending alot more time shooting close to home which is forcing me to look for subject matter I may have overlooked in the past....a good thing, IMO. I also am doing alot more tabletop macro work than I have ever done in the past.
After a few 100 buck fill-ups, I started thinking about parting with my old, V-8 Chevy van. It's a trusty beast and long paid off, but it only gets about 12 miles a gallon overall. With my last fill-up costing $3.96/gallon I was thinking that it might be time for the van to go. But the ensuing number crunching didn't show the savings I expected. I looked at a used vehicle costing a net of $15,000 that would get about 30 miles/gallon for me. At 12k miles a year, that would result in a savings of 600 gallons of gas, which at $5/gallon would be $3,000 a year savings. Nothing to sneeze at, but at that rate it would take five years to break even.
I feel your pain Will. A trip to a nearby (3 hours away) wildlife refuge used to cost me about $125 for a weekend (all expenses included, the vast majority of that being gasoline). That same trip today costs me over $300, just a year later, and getting more expensive every day! It's pretty darn scary.
Well, our two cars take 86 litres each, so that ends up at $ 172.00 NZ or $ 134.00 US for EACH car. Long range tanks, so they go a long way, but man does it give you fright when its empty and you pull up and say "Fill it up mate"
All the best Will and apparently the UK is one of the worst for gas prices, so maybe I shouldn't moan too much M8t
90% of my shooting is within 100 feet of my front door so my photography hasn't been pinched too much. However we are going on a long road trip this summer to Minnesota and then on to Colorado. I'm figuring 3000+ miles which will be between 8 and 9 fill-ups at about $60 per fill-up (My Acura drinks premium too). We can afford it and part is paid for by my company but it does give one pause. A lot of well intended government policies are showing some ugly effects of unintended consequences. So it goes. >=))>
I would like to offer a different perspective to John Mike's post;
Your van is paid for, but at $4 a gallon is costing you $334 a month in gas (not to mention the upkeep an older vehicle requires). A vehicle that can get 35 MPG or better - like a Honda Fit - would cost $114 a month in gas. That would leave $220 a month to finance the $15k Fit after you put 25% down on the purchase. The way I look at it, after the down payment it's not costing you any more per month than what you are paying in gas alone right now to make an investment in reducing our dependence on oil and greatly reducing your personal vehicle emissions at the same time.
Another point to keep in mind - the way you drive has a tremendous effect on fuel efficiency - up to 20%. I used to "keep up with traffic" in my Subaru Forester, often going 75 to 80 MPH on the highway doing so. Driving like that, I got 22 MPG. Over the last few months (since I've become totally peeved about the cost of gas), I now drive much more conservatively, never exceeding the speed limit by more than 5 MPH and going easy on the go-pedal. Net result is I now get over 27 MPG. At 4 bucks a gallon, that 20% savings adds up fast!
We used to keep our home heating thermostat at 68 degrees and we would typically use about 1000 gallons a year of #2 fuel oil. Last year the limit was lowered to 62 degrees and we used under 700 gallons. This coming winter, we will drop it down to 60 degrees.
Driving at 75 MPH now feels reckless and keeping our home at 68 degrees in the winter now feels stifling. Conservation is not so bad afterall!
I have made good money so far this year doing a freelance job but I'm always worried about money. My car used to cost $12 to fill up 8 - 9 gallons or so a few years ago, but now costs around $30. I'm trying to start an IRA account soon. Then I think about any potential trips and it scares me. The IRA is more appealing to me right now. I will likely only be traveling out of my region if it is on someone else's dime in the meantime. My photography pays for itself but even then I'd rather just re-invest the money toward retirement.
Mark - If I decide to go the ONP - i hope you don't mind if i drop a line and pick your brain for a bit. If so the first beer over a campfire is on me...
Danny - instead of saying fill it up mate.... I'd consider saying here's my wallet mate. $174! maybe I should just shut-up...
Jim - you're closing comment "Driving at 75 MPH now feels reckless and keeping our home at 68 degrees in the winter now feels stifling. Conservation is not so bad afterall!' Rings so true here as well. I also had the therostat down to 62 deg. this winter and when the ambient temps outside were in the 40s i thought the house felt hot - after coming in from a morning walk with the dog. And 75 mph sure does feel scary...
And Richard - I share your concern. Since my relo, I haven't put a penny aside for the future and that thought scares the stuffing outta me. I wish you the best. and I love your work!
I live in Ohio, but love to photograph the Pacific Northwest (as well as the Southwest) much more than the Midwest. I usually average at least one trip a year, and generally camp and/or backpack. In the last two years, however, the cost of flying to Seattle has doubled, and rental vehicles are way up. As for gas, well... I've already cancelled my plans for this summer, and I am beginning to think my annual trips out west are over. My plan was to retire from my office job in a few years, and travel even more by car. Looks like this plan needs recalculating. I am pretty frustrated and depressed about the whole situation.
We've compromised with longer stays at each destination, and hence fewer stops in a given time span. While our Tundra only gets 20 mpg highway, it consumes zero gallons per day when parked. Rather than taking off and driving for 5 days and hitting lots of locations, we more likely to drive it and park it for 5 days, then make the return drive. We're seeing less, but we're actually spending less than we did when we weren't so concerned about fuel prices.
We've got our home so well set up that our year round average consumption of heating oil is only 100 gallons per month including hot water and heating a large house. At $2/gal that was only a couple hundred a month. But at $4.65/gal for the last fillup, we're looking at $465 a month for heat. That takes a bight outa life!
Unfortunately, I am looking at going up from my Corolla to an F-150, or smaller SUV. Ground clearance, being able to tow/fit ProPanels for shows and being able to trust it for looong road trips. I am not really looking forward to the gas bills. On the bright side, I'll be keeping my Corolla until it finally competely dies. It is paid for, still gets decent mileage (31+ mpg in a combination of my highway/city commute), and costs me maybe $1,500 a year in maintenence.
Posted by Kent Staubus on May 29, 2008 at 11:36 PM
I have been cutting back on long "fun" drives, and luckily have a lot of cool places to photo within 30 miles of where I live. So far food prices etc. have had no effect on us, and we still pay cash for my oldest son's college. Keep in mind we have no credit cards, no car loans, no home loan, etc. You can live pretty cheap in the Midwest. I drive several hundred miles every day on my job, but fortunately company pays for it. I do a lot of my photography on those daily drives which helps me a lot. I recently sold my K2500 truck that got 12 mpg and replaced it with a Chevy S10 which gets 20 mpg. We're replacing our other two vehicles that get around 25 mpg with something that gets more mileage, such as either a Chevy Malibu or Avalon. I'm still driving my 92 Camry on my job. It has 501,000 miles on it now and still gets 29 mpg. The speed limit here actually is 75 mph, and I normally drive 80 mph if there's no snow on the road. I'd get run over if I drove much slower than 70 mph, and since I drive so many miles I can't dawdle. I was going to go spend Memorial Day out in the Badlands, taking photos at night, but just didn't want to spend the money. I'm not so much impacted by costs yet as I am really ticked off about the gas prices. I was going to mention who I blame, but that would turn the thread political, LOL!
I have to admit, I am also cutting back on the long drive to get to places, choosing to work more on my macro and some long lense practice in the ever shrinking wetlands not far from home.
I think this may prove to be a good thing by exploring new ways to be creative and looking at things in a slightly different way.
Even more expensive to fill up my CRV here in UK. More expensive by the week, I paid £1.179/litre last weekend for 4star petrol (gas), diesel (derv) is even more expensive. If my arithmetic is correct that is equivelant to about $9/US Gallon!
Mark B
London UK
I will be looking at a solar domestic hot water system for our home. The systems have come a long way and are now very dependable and durable. Even at this lattitude on Long Isalnd, a solar system can supply 100% of the hot water needs for a family of 4 during the summer. Since it's only Donna and I, we could get a substantial portion of our hot water needs even in the winter, replacing 200 to 300 gallons of oil each year. That in combination with keeping the heating thermostat lower, we should get below 500 gallons a year.
For auxillary heating, "pellet" stoves are worth a look. "Pellets" are made of the sawdust that is a waste product of wood product manufacturing that would otherwise go into a landfill. This is another option I'm considering as well.
What really interests me are the new "plug-in hybrids" that will be available in the next few years. Toyota will be offering a plug-in version of the Prius in either 2009 or 2010. With a photovoltaic array on the roof of the house, a portion of the recharging could be via solar, depending on the size of the array. For short local trips, an electric car could be run 100% fossil-fuel-free. Subaru will be offering an electric in 2 to 3 years, and hopefully Chevy will finally get their Volt electric on the market too. Of course, if you're into high-performance cars and have an extra $100k laying around, you could buy a Tesla now.
I dream of a Tesla in the garage and a wind turbine in the backyard to keep it "fueled." Even for us die-hard, life-long high-performance car enthusiasts, there is hope for the future!
Henry David Thoreau told us to simplify but we didn't do it. Now events are forcing this on us. as Jim says maybe not a bad thing.
Gas in Europe is ~ $8.00 a gallon I recently read -- and has been for a long time. In Amsterdam lawyers, Doctors and business execs ride bikes to work. Why can't we?
Thoreau also wrote that travel is unnecessary to experience Nature. The ocean in a drop - staying closer to home might help you get in touch -- with family, friends, Nature and yourself.
My Subaru has 128,000 miles on it and I'll keep it till it drops...but I think I'll adopt Jim's driving style and see if i can improve mileage. I might even enjoy trips more if everything doesn't rush by in a blur.
Honda Fit -- aptly named, might be a good compromise instead of the premium priced hybrids.
Hang in there and let us know how you are doing from time to time.
Frank
P.S. I know some of the reasons we don't ride bikes to work -- we have created a sprawling civilization. People used to think noting of driving 60 miles each way to work. Now we are rethinking that. We need to redesign and rebuild our society and that process is already under way. So why not be a leader in this trend?
I was considering replacing my Camry with a used Forester, but now that Jim mentioned it only gets about 22 mpg when driven at 80 mph (the standard speed here,) I'll pass. I'll likely buy a used Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe. My two friends that have one say they get 33-36 mpg out of them on the same roads I drive. That's about a 5 mpg improvement over my Camry which doesn't sound like much. However, I drive about 55,000 miles a year (one year hit 78,000) so that translates into a significant savings overall. While I don't pay for the gas used on my job, which is most of it, I have to assume that if gas gets high enough my employer will consider lay offs of some kind. I want to be the most cost efficient guy when the accountants start looking at that. I fully expect the current prices to ebb fairly soon. They go up and down every year.
I gotta toss cycling back into the equation. It won't work for everyone and certainly not for us in our 70 mile round trip commutes on mountain roads, especially in winter. But it could work for lots more folks in more urban or suburban areas.
Our daughter and her family live outside Honolulu, and the combo of AWFUL commuter traffic and gas prices forced a serious look at alternatives for our son-in-law's commute. You would never know it without careful searching for info, the details are so poorly published over there, but he found that it's possible to commute virtually his whole route on bike paths out of traffic. Now he's commuting 22 miles one way on his bike morning and evening. It takes just over an hour, and is in fact faster than going by car. And he's in the kind of physical condition now that we all aspire to.
"In Amsterdam lawyers, Doctors and business execs ride bikes to work. Why can't we?"
In my neck of the woods, everyone I work with lives 10+ miles away and many live in excess of 20 miles from where they work. I used to be one of them, but I moved within 3 miles (as the crow flies) from the shop and my wife is about 5 from hers. I will be hoofing it back and forth this summer so long as the weather is good.
Lot's of good comments here. Pretty much everyone I talk to is feeling the pinch and cutting back, which I think is a good thing overall. We consume way too much as a culture.
On traveling: I've cut down tremendously and started looking locally for photo opportunities. In the process I've had to change my subject focus somewhat, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, as someone else noted. When I do travel, I try to make it for a multiday period to maximize the return on investment. The good news is that my trips normally involve canoeing or backpacking, which are self-powered exercises and generally low cost. IBTW - my vehicle is a Jeep Cherokee, built in 2001 (one of the last!) with the 4.0L straight 6. It gets about 22 mpg on average. It is as small as I can go and carry family and toys! A tank last about two weeks on average, barring longer trips to camping/photo locals, such as the Catskills or Adirondacks.
On biking: I gave up cars for about 5 years during the late seventies and built a very good bicycle. I used to commute 15 miles to work. I was in VERY good shape! I used to joke that I got about 15 miles to the cheeseburger! I still have that bike and began riding it again for local trips. I commute via train some 50 miles into NYC, so the bike is not a viable option for that. I will be riding it more.
Gas prices are getting higher and higher even here in Italy...nowadays in Italy a liter of gas costs 1.50 Euros, that is equivalent to $ 8.93 per gallon!
Well my 4x4 takes 100 litres to fill up, in Australia that's around $160.00 or $150.00US or $7.30 a gallon.
And you guys think you have it bad
Bonus to me is I have a company car fully paid for and my wife live two minutes from her work so the 4x4 only gets used on trips now. Not that we go on many.
I was considering replacing my Camry with a used Forester, but now that Jim mentioned it only gets about 22 mpg when driven at 80 mph (the standard speed here,) I'll pass.
What makes a Subaru so awesome in snow, mud, sand, etc. - it's excellent full time AWD system - also reduces its fuel efficiency. The extra weight the system adds to a vehicle and the extra drag it places on the engine results in reduced fuel efficiency.
A few notes about my particular Forester;
1. It's the "XT" model with the 240 HP, turbocharged/intercooled/16-valve engine. Letting the engine go into boost (over 3000 RPMs and under heavy throttle) is plenty of fun but makes it drink gas like a V8. I suspect that you could get 24 to 25 MPG at 80 MPH as long as you keep it out of boost. When I'm driving like that, I'm usually not - those 65 MPH to 80 MPH+ bursts of acceleration passing slower traffic are intoxicating.
2. Due to the price of premium gas (required for the turbo engine), I rarely drive it that hard anymore and as a result, get much better gas mileage.
3. Something that may be of interst to you; Subaru AWD + Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires = snowmobile.
The Subaru is a great car, especially if you have need for AWD capability. If not, there are many other cars that are more fuel efficient, if not as capable.
Take the bike racks, roof-top cargo carriers off of the vehicle and store your gear inside to reduce drag.
Get smaller wheels/tires, if possible. The larger the wheel/tire, the greater the inertia and friction your engine must overcome, which uses more fuel.
I have had to reduce my driving, too. Fortunately my commute is only eight minutes on semi-rural roads. When I go on road trips, I have adopted a minimalist approach to cargo: This has helped. Now, I have to convince my new bride to do the same.
-PB
Posted by Dan Baumbach on May 31, 2008 at 10:39 AM
After having a 5 mile commute to the neighboring town, I took a job in San Francisco last September. I wasn't going to take our 5 speed Honda on those hills and my 1995 Pathfinder which only gets 17 mpg was getting old so we traded the Honda in for a Prius. I'm amazed. It's a wonderful car. With the rear seats down, the bed is longer than the Pathfinder with the rear seats down. It's surprisingly peppy and handles very well. With a commute of both freeway and city traffic, I'm getting 46 miles to the gallon. And, that's with driving 65-70 on the freeways. The speed limit on US 101 where I am is 55.
I've taken the car into the sierras twice and when it snowed on us in Yosemite, I put chains on the front wheels and it rode like a champ.
Prius is the way to go! I believe in 2010 it will be available as a plug-in version. Not much sense plugging in if the grid is powered by fossil fuels, but if there's wind, hydro-electric or even nuclear in the mix it's worth it. Of course, a backyard wind turbine is even better!
Long trips in a car is getting expensive, and air fares are poised to go up even more. There is an alternative though. Trains can be great! There's no long wait at the station, there's no chance you're going to have your body cavities searched , and there is a ton of room on them. There are some trains that travel exclusively from national park to national park and allow time at each. In fact, most of our most famous national parks were developed by the railroads to haul passengers to! There's some excellent train rides in Canada. There's one through the Canadian Rockies that is world famous. My favorite vacation of all time wasn't one of the trips to Hawaii, but rather the trips from Winnipeg to Churchill MB on the train. It was cheap too! Thank you, Canadian tax payers for greatly subsidizing this American family's vacation! Anyway, do keep some of these multi day train rides in mind. The run through China to Tibet on the new high altitude railroad is now on my list, as is a trip on the railroads in northern Sweeden/Norway. Closer to home, do check out some of the special excursion trains in the West.
Jim--
Really, I generally don't need 4wd where I live. The Camry got me home every night, despite my deliberately choosing to work the towns in the center of the biggest blizzards. If drifts start getting too deep I have a Chevy S10 4WD truck with lots of clearance.
I gotta laugh about the Prius after my recent 10-week drive through the Southwest. I can't tell you how many times I was passed by Prius's on the freeways, and I was generally about 5mph over the limit. I have to guess that their mileage wasn't all that notable at 80-90mph.
Another insight. Prius was one of the most common cars I saw being cited for speeding. Multiple court trips and higher insurance rates must really cut into their economics!
Not a reflection on the cars by any means, but there seems to be a subset of drivers intent on "proving" the Prius outside the realm of great mileage.
Prior to one traffic stop, a guy in a blue Prius must have been doing 90 or so as he hurtled by. A few bends down the road he was standing outside the car wildly waving his arms and shouting as a patrolman looked on, nodding and smiling as he wrote the ticket. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation.
>> I gotta laugh about the Prius after my recent 10-week drive through the Southwest. I can't tell you how many times I was passed by Prius's on the freeways, and I was generally about 5mph over the limit. I have to guess that their mileage wasn't all that notable at 80-90mph.
<<
The Prius has a realtime readout of your current gas mileage. I checked it out on a straightaway at about 80 and it was still above 30mpg. For the area where I live I tend to drive fast and moderately aggressively and overall I'm still getting astounding gas mileage.
Me too, Dan. Mine actually gets better mileage driving uphill, air conditioner blasting, doing 75 mpg on the interstate coming up out of Phoenix to Flagstaff in the summer than it does in the winter with the heater on driving downhill to Page. Go figure. The only thing that bothers me is that it balks when I try to fill it with gas. Pump always shuts off early even when I have the nozzle notched at the lowest setting.
Unfortunately I end up taking my p/u most places for pictures since the Prius doesn't do unpaved roads. It's 1993 vintage and only gets 1/3 the mileage the Prius does. If Toyota had a hybrid Taco I might be first in line.
Well its going to hurt everyone at some point. And although I would love to drive an electric vehicle, heck back in 1990 me and 15 other engineering students designed and built a solar powered race car that we raced from Orlando Folorida to Detroit Michigan over an 11 day rally race and we did it with only our on board solar array and a battery reserve, the reality for me right now pulling a trailer packed with show equipment totaling about 2000 pounds every weekend somewhere here in California with maximum distance of 600 miles, an electric vehicle is just not going to cut it for me.
But there are many things we can do. Slowing down for one. I can increase my fuel efficeincy by about 20% by just driving 55 mph vs. 65 mph (based on RPMs of the engine running at 2000 rpm at 65mph and 1700 rpms at 55 mph) on my 4Runner. Reducing spped from 65 mph to 55 mph has very little impact on driving times. Over a 20 mile distance, my typical driving distance to a show, the increase in time by driving 55 mph is only 3 extra minutes! And even on long distance trips, say 200 miles, its only an extra 30 minutes! Most cars have a cruise control, just put it on cruise, crank up some tunes on the radio and just enjoy the ride.
Now also you can get this pretty remarkable fuel additive called Ca 40g check it out HERE. It also can increase fuel efficiency by 10% to 20%.
So instead of getting 15 mpg pulling my trailer and 19 mpg without my trailer, I can now get 20 mpg pulling my trailer and 26 mpg without pulling my trailer. Not stellar mileage but a heck of a lot better.
My first drive up to the Michigan UP along I-75. The speed limit through there is 70. 75 is the practical minimal speed. So I am driving along in the right lane, without another car in sight. Up comes flying another car, gets right behind my bumper for a bit, and then decides to pass, giving me the finger for apparently driving too slow. I have serious doubts her age was less than the speed limit...
Bought a Honda Civic Hybrid at end of February. Drove about 83 miles on the interstate today. The door to door mpg was 53.0 averaging 62 mph. Gas cost is no loner an issue for me.
So long F350 dually dieselcrew cal and Bigfoot truck camper. She is a beauty, but will be seeling her soon. Any interetsed parties?
On a long trip, the only extra cost with the hybrid vs. the F350 / camper is the cost of meals.
Discussion
41 repliesGo to Olympic NP...I may see you out there.
All the best Will and apparently the UK is one of the worst for gas prices, so maybe I shouldn't moan too much M8t
Danny.
I would like to offer a different perspective to John Mike's post;
Your van is paid for, but at $4 a gallon is costing you $334 a month in gas (not to mention the upkeep an older vehicle requires). A vehicle that can get 35 MPG or better - like a Honda Fit - would cost $114 a month in gas. That would leave $220 a month to finance the $15k Fit after you put 25% down on the purchase. The way I look at it, after the down payment it's not costing you any more per month than what you are paying in gas alone right now to make an investment in reducing our dependence on oil and greatly reducing your personal vehicle emissions at the same time.
Another point to keep in mind - the way you drive has a tremendous effect on fuel efficiency - up to 20%. I used to "keep up with traffic" in my Subaru Forester, often going 75 to 80 MPH on the highway doing so. Driving like that, I got 22 MPG. Over the last few months (since I've become totally peeved about the cost of gas), I now drive much more conservatively, never exceeding the speed limit by more than 5 MPH and going easy on the go-pedal. Net result is I now get over 27 MPG. At 4 bucks a gallon, that 20% savings adds up fast!
We used to keep our home heating thermostat at 68 degrees and we would typically use about 1000 gallons a year of #2 fuel oil. Last year the limit was lowered to 62 degrees and we used under 700 gallons. This coming winter, we will drop it down to 60 degrees.
Driving at 75 MPH now feels reckless and keeping our home at 68 degrees in the winter now feels stifling. Conservation is not so bad afterall!
Danny - instead of saying fill it up mate.... I'd consider saying here's my wallet mate. $174! maybe I should just shut-up...
Jim - you're closing comment "Driving at 75 MPH now feels reckless and keeping our home at 68 degrees in the winter now feels stifling. Conservation is not so bad afterall!' Rings so true here as well. I also had the therostat down to 62 deg. this winter and when the ambient temps outside were in the 40s i thought the house felt hot - after coming in from a morning walk with the dog. And 75 mph sure does feel scary...
And Richard - I share your concern. Since my relo, I haven't put a penny aside for the future and that thought scares the stuffing outta me. I wish you the best. and I love your work!
Ah... commiseration... what a wonderful thing
We've got our home so well set up that our year round average consumption of heating oil is only 100 gallons per month including hot water and heating a large house. At $2/gal that was only a couple hundred a month. But at $4.65/gal for the last fillup, we're looking at $465 a month for heat. That takes a bight outa life!
Kent in SD
I think this may prove to be a good thing by exploring new ways to be creative and looking at things in a slightly different way.
All in the name of frugality.
-Susan
You all should re read Jim's post. Makes sense. Hes 100% right on!
JG
Mark B
London UK
For auxillary heating, "pellet" stoves are worth a look. "Pellets" are made of the sawdust that is a waste product of wood product manufacturing that would otherwise go into a landfill. This is another option I'm considering as well.
What really interests me are the new "plug-in hybrids" that will be available in the next few years. Toyota will be offering a plug-in version of the Prius in either 2009 or 2010. With a photovoltaic array on the roof of the house, a portion of the recharging could be via solar, depending on the size of the array. For short local trips, an electric car could be run 100% fossil-fuel-free. Subaru will be offering an electric in 2 to 3 years, and hopefully Chevy will finally get their Volt electric on the market too. Of course, if you're into high-performance cars and have an extra $100k laying around, you could buy a Tesla now.
I dream of a Tesla in the garage and a wind turbine in the backyard to keep it "fueled." Even for us die-hard, life-long high-performance car enthusiasts, there is hope for the future!
Some thoughts:
Henry David Thoreau told us to simplify but we didn't do it. Now events are forcing this on us. as Jim says maybe not a bad thing.
Gas in Europe is ~ $8.00 a gallon I recently read -- and has been for a long time. In Amsterdam lawyers, Doctors and business execs ride bikes to work. Why can't we?
Thoreau also wrote that travel is unnecessary to experience Nature. The ocean in a drop - staying closer to home might help you get in touch -- with family, friends, Nature and yourself.
My Subaru has 128,000 miles on it and I'll keep it till it drops...but I think I'll adopt Jim's driving style and see if i can improve mileage. I might even enjoy trips more if everything doesn't rush by in a blur.
Honda Fit -- aptly named, might be a good compromise instead of the premium priced hybrids.
Hang in there and let us know how you are doing from time to time.
Frank
P.S. I know some of the reasons we don't ride bikes to work -- we have created a sprawling civilization. People used to think noting of driving 60 miles each way to work. Now we are rethinking that. We need to redesign and rebuild our society and that process is already under way. So why not be a leader in this trend?
Kent in SD
Kent in SD
Our daughter and her family live outside Honolulu, and the combo of AWFUL commuter traffic and gas prices forced a serious look at alternatives for our son-in-law's commute. You would never know it without careful searching for info, the details are so poorly published over there, but he found that it's possible to commute virtually his whole route on bike paths out of traffic. Now he's commuting 22 miles one way on his bike morning and evening. It takes just over an hour, and is in fact faster than going by car. And he's in the kind of physical condition now that we all aspire to.
In my neck of the woods, everyone I work with lives 10+ miles away and many live in excess of 20 miles from where they work. I used to be one of them, but I moved within 3 miles (as the crow flies) from the shop and my wife is about 5 from hers. I will be hoofing it back and forth this summer so long as the weather is good.
On traveling: I've cut down tremendously and started looking locally for photo opportunities. In the process I've had to change my subject focus somewhat, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, as someone else noted. When I do travel, I try to make it for a multiday period to maximize the return on investment. The good news is that my trips normally involve canoeing or backpacking, which are self-powered exercises and generally low cost. IBTW - my vehicle is a Jeep Cherokee, built in 2001 (one of the last!) with the 4.0L straight 6. It gets about 22 mpg on average. It is as small as I can go and carry family and toys! A tank last about two weeks on average, barring longer trips to camping/photo locals, such as the Catskills or Adirondacks.
On biking: I gave up cars for about 5 years during the late seventies and built a very good bicycle. I used to commute 15 miles to work. I was in VERY good shape! I used to joke that I got about 15 miles to the cheeseburger! I still have that bike and began riding it again for local trips. I commute via train some 50 miles into NYC, so the bike is not a viable option for that. I will be riding it more.
And you guys think you have it bad
Bonus to me is I have a company car fully paid for and my wife live two minutes from her work so the 4x4 only gets used on trips now. Not that we go on many.
A few notes about my particular Forester;
1. It's the "XT" model with the 240 HP, turbocharged/intercooled/16-valve engine. Letting the engine go into boost (over 3000 RPMs and under heavy throttle) is plenty of fun but makes it drink gas like a V8. I suspect that you could get 24 to 25 MPG at 80 MPH as long as you keep it out of boost. When I'm driving like that, I'm usually not - those 65 MPH to 80 MPH+ bursts of acceleration passing slower traffic are intoxicating.
2. Due to the price of premium gas (required for the turbo engine), I rarely drive it that hard anymore and as a result, get much better gas mileage.
3. Something that may be of interst to you; Subaru AWD + Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires = snowmobile.
The Subaru is a great car, especially if you have need for AWD capability. If not, there are many other cars that are more fuel efficient, if not as capable.
Buy your fuel early in the day. Gasoline is sold by volume. When the fuel is cold it is more dense, so you get more for your money.
Change oil regularly. Sludgy oil reduces engine efficiency.
Maintain proper tire inflation.
Take the bike racks, roof-top cargo carriers off of the vehicle and store your gear inside to reduce drag.
Get smaller wheels/tires, if possible. The larger the wheel/tire, the greater the inertia and friction your engine must overcome, which uses more fuel.
I have had to reduce my driving, too. Fortunately my commute is only eight minutes on semi-rural roads. When I go on road trips, I have adopted a minimalist approach to cargo: This has helped. Now, I have to convince my new bride to do the same.
-PB
I've taken the car into the sierras twice and when it snowed on us in Yosemite, I put chains on the front wheels and it rode like a champ.
I can't reccommend a car more.
- Dan.
Jim--
Really, I generally don't need 4wd where I live. The Camry got me home every night, despite my deliberately choosing to work the towns in the center of the biggest blizzards. If drifts start getting too deep I have a Chevy S10 4WD truck with lots of clearance.
Kent in SD
Another insight. Prius was one of the most common cars I saw being cited for speeding. Multiple court trips and higher insurance rates must really cut into their economics!
Not a reflection on the cars by any means, but there seems to be a subset of drivers intent on "proving" the Prius outside the realm of great mileage.
What's the point of buying a hybrid and then driving it in the least efficient manner?
Maybe we should create hybrid people instead...10% ego and 90% common sense, rather than the reverse.
-PB
There I am motoring along at 60 MPH in a 240HP turbocharged Subaru and some guy in a battery-powered car goes blasting past me!
Prior to one traffic stop, a guy in a blue Prius must have been doing 90 or so as he hurtled by. A few bends down the road he was standing outside the car wildly waving his arms and shouting as a patrolman looked on, nodding and smiling as he wrote the ticket. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation.
Exactly, not only that--time is priceless when you dont have much free time.
It's also dangerous to drive 60 when everyone around you is driving 85.
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The Prius has a realtime readout of your current gas mileage. I checked it out on a straightaway at about 80 and it was still above 30mpg. For the area where I live I tend to drive fast and moderately aggressively and overall I'm still getting astounding gas mileage.
- Dan.
Unfortunately I end up taking my p/u most places for pictures since the Prius doesn't do unpaved roads. It's 1993 vintage and only gets 1/3 the mileage the Prius does. If Toyota had a hybrid Taco I might be first in line.
But there are many things we can do. Slowing down for one. I can increase my fuel efficeincy by about 20% by just driving 55 mph vs. 65 mph (based on RPMs of the engine running at 2000 rpm at 65mph and 1700 rpms at 55 mph) on my 4Runner. Reducing spped from 65 mph to 55 mph has very little impact on driving times. Over a 20 mile distance, my typical driving distance to a show, the increase in time by driving 55 mph is only 3 extra minutes! And even on long distance trips, say 200 miles, its only an extra 30 minutes! Most cars have a cruise control, just put it on cruise, crank up some tunes on the radio and just enjoy the ride.
Now also you can get this pretty remarkable fuel additive called Ca 40g check it out HERE. It also can increase fuel efficiency by 10% to 20%.
So instead of getting 15 mpg pulling my trailer and 19 mpg without my trailer, I can now get 20 mpg pulling my trailer and 26 mpg without pulling my trailer. Not stellar mileage but a heck of a lot better.
My first drive up to the Michigan UP along I-75. The speed limit through there is 70. 75 is the practical minimal speed. So I am driving along in the right lane, without another car in sight. Up comes flying another car, gets right behind my bumper for a bit, and then decides to pass, giving me the finger for apparently driving too slow. I have serious doubts her age was less than the speed limit...
So long F350 dually dieselcrew cal and Bigfoot truck camper. She is a beauty, but will be seeling her soon. Any interetsed parties?
On a long trip, the only extra cost with the hybrid vs. the F350 / camper is the cost of meals.