Gas Prices Soar And Americans Are Still Proud Of Their V8's When are Americans going to get rid of their gas guzzlers?

[amist 0]

Just to let you know, if you have never been to america you wouldn't know that we do not have an even compairable version to europe's train system, and therefore we have to DRIVE. Also if people want to drive their huge SUV's around go ahead and let them. I really do not think that europeans are any more money concious than the rest of the world...

[possible123 0]

< snip >I wish it could use E85 but I don't have the money to add the technology. Car companies should include E85 technology with the base price of a vehicle so everyone would use less gas. But money money money!

Didn't anybody tell you? A study has shown that E85 is about 27% less efficient ( I saw it on CNN ) than normal gasoline.
In the process of creating ethanol, you still need to use gasoline ( tractors, shipping, etc. ). E85 may not be
what it's cracked up to be.

I do agree that America, especially the part where I live, doesn't have the public transportation system of Europe.
Using a bicycle to go places is a joke where I live, especially in the Winter months.

Hydrogen fuel cell is too far off in the future to make a difference. I think that we need electric cars. Electric cars
should be able to make a difference as other technologies that can be employed by power plants ( solar, wind, etc. )
can be used to fuel cars more efficiently.

[tonydatiger 0]

Just to let you know, if you have never been to america you wouldn't know that we do not have an even compairable version to europe's train system, and therefore we have to DRIVE.
Also if people want to drive their huge SUV's around go ahead and let them. I really do not think that europeans are any more money concious than the rest of the world...

lol well hello there, I reside in the U.S. and I well know how mediocre our public transportation is. Starting with our railroads, the heart of a country, they're practically in ruins. Don't let me get started on buses here in South Florida. Yet who's fault is that? The people including lobbyists of the General Motors and others who wanted monopoly of American transportation. Railroads were the primary system of transcontinental transport, but then motor companies pushed the "open road" on Americans and destroyed one of the most important industries: railroads. For example, the Florida East Coast railroad, owned by Henry Flagler, a Rockefeller associate, had one of the most fascinating railroad systems here in Florida (back then) Flagler not only brought railroads, but brought the hotel industry and other things. He practically built South Florida, with a line that reached all the way to Key West (very important city at the time, only deep water port closest to sugar-rich Cuba). After a hurricane, lines were replaced with roads, and the FEC eventually just became a cargo line. Sad isn't it?

And its not just the motor companies' fault. Here in South Florida we have a tri-county passenger rail system that operates a very convenient schedule. I love it! Its probably a system envied by many areas in the SE. BUT, ask around here, "Ma'am/sir, do you ride Tri-Rail to work/school/anywhere?"....and most of the time...you'll get the response "what's that?"

So who's fault really is it?

I look around our roads and see H2's...Suburbans...Excrusions...F350's...
And I ask...
Do you really need to drive that piece of trash around the city? Do you really need 2 miles per gallon?

I guess those are the baby boomers...wasting thousands on gas and saving: NONE.

Are we not money concious or just plain stupid?

[sweetcat 0]

well ive notist the big SUV's and trucks around here and the gas prices are really high (thats why i keep my mustang as just a show vehical) i have a chrisler cerrus XL its a 4 cilinder and its pritty good on gas cince i got the TORNADO air intake accessory installed in the car but i think people are just too aregent to get a smaller vehicle with a smaller engen in it but im happy with what i got hehe

[altenergy 0]

If the prices are so high, we should stop looking for more mpg's, but looking for different fuels.It makes no sense to pump an empty hole.

[kevlar557 0]

I have a VW passat with a 4 banger, and I get 35mpg highway. I'm proud of my 4. My passat gets as good of gas milage as the Ford Excape Hybrid. If car manufacturers pull their heads out of their behinds, we will have cars that don't depend on oil as heavily.

[TripleH13 0]

If people want to continue driving v8's it's gonna be a time soon when you will have to have an alternative to gas. Gas prices are getting higher and higher by the day and I can only imagine what they will be like in a few years.

[Sean Foster 0]

I live in the mountains where Pickups and SUV's are the norm and it really makes me laugh when I go down to the city for groceries and see big trucks/SUV's with 28" spinners and lowered with no practical suspension. What's the point?! I use my truck for what it was intended, and when I don't need it, I use my 1990 Honda Civic (36MPG). I guess some people have money burning a hole in their pockets!

[amalfitravels 0]

I live in the Philippines where Gas prices are really high in relation to the average family income and people seem to think that when you have those v8 engine automobile even the old ones, your really rich cause you can afford to use them, well i think its really a bad concept. Because there really is no high mountains or any thing of that kind around here, they just use them for the pure arrogance of using them. Well mostly only celebrities and super rich people use them around here.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

I live in the Philippines where Gas prices are really high in relation to the average family income and people seem to think that when you have those v8 engine automobile even the old ones, your really rich cause you can afford to use them, well i think its really a bad concept. Because there really is no high mountains or any thing of that kind around here, they just use them for the pure arrogance of using them. Well mostly only celebrities and super rich people use them around here.

Yeah, people in America need to lay off with the complaining (and yes, I'm American). I have many friends from Europe who have posted their costs which translate to around $8-13 USD a gallon depending on where you are. Yet we complain here about it being $2.49 USD a gallon.

Everything in America inflates in value on a yearly basis (an average of 3.5% per year). Gas never followed that inflation. Had it gone up just like *everything else* we would be at around $7.80 or so a gallon right now. So we're *lucky* it is still as low as it is.



As for my car -- I drive a Miata. Not as much because of gas mileage (granted, I love getting 38 residential/46 highway) but because of the size. It turns extremely quick and it's small enough to fit in tight places/park almost anywhere. Nothing beats them when you're in traffic and can slip between any two cars on the road!

[Harlot 2]

I live in the Philippines where Gas prices are really high in relation to the average family income and people seem to think that when you have those v8 engine automobile even the old ones, your really rich cause you can afford to use them, well i think its really a bad concept. Because there really is no high mountains or any thing of that kind around here, they just use them for the pure arrogance of using them. Well mostly only celebrities and super rich people use them around here.

Yeah, people love to show off and make it appear as if they have more money than they truly do. Where I live, to show off they buy expensive rims and most of the time the rims are worth more than the car. Some people are culture shocked when they see people buying rims that cost more than the car itself. In fact, there are some people who pay a monthly bill for their car rims and then drive around bumps on the road so that they won't damage the rims.

As for gas, I don't think its a big problem in the United States. The people who are hit the hardest are those who living under the poverty line. But I don't understand why people try to show off. My uncle was actually jacked of his car yesterday at gun point. He had the big rims and nice paint on it. Its really dangerous in some parts of town to have an expensive car or expensive equipment on a car. They left him standing on the side of the road, but he was lucky because a lot of people are shot down and their car is just taken.

[missy2205 0]

No one will really change to a fuel efficient car if they are already drivign a high powered V8 as most people drive V8 cars because they like showing off. or because they love drivign high powered cars. People who drive high powered cars normally because they can afford to play with petrol and fuel doing stop start in busy traffic.So Many people actually dont even equate prices of fuel with the cost of living. Many people like when bread goes up will only realise that the price has been raised when they pour a full tank or a gallon in the can and then say what. This is wierd last time I filled this gallon / tank i paid 10 dollars and today it 14. Wow price has gone up i didnt realise that. ANd they wont be like I dint realise that now I have to cut down on journeys. They will just realise they spending more on petrol thats it.I mean when you buy a car you buy a car on budget, you calculate if the engine consumption is what ou require. You wont buy a v8 if you can afford to run the engine and pay the insurance and road tax for it. You may be complaining while you pay but you will be able to afford it. Normally those who then decide to cut down their milage only do so for few days as the reality sets in then its back to just as much mileage as before.

Edited July 29, 2010 by missy2205 (see edit history)

[Harlot 2]

The truth is that people will eventually drop the V8s and drive around and those little "toy looking" cars that everyone today seem to despise in American (except for the far-left environmentalist). If there is truly a shortage of oil or if we are head towards a shortage of oil, than necessity will force people to drive less and develop more oil efficient cars. The same goes for every other natural resource. Some even believe that a limitation of natural resources will eventually drive the world into communism. If there is a great limitation of natural resources, there would be no room for the rich to have anymore than the poor and when resources are limited the poor revolt. Currently in the U.S., there are such vast resources compared to other nations that the U.S. does not have to worry about such and plus there is a middle class in existence to create balance.

[Bikerman 2]

The truth is that people will eventually drop the V8s and drive around and those little "toy looking" cars that everyone today seem to despise in American (except for the far-left environmentalist). If there is truly a shortage of oil or if we are head towards a shortage of oil, than necessity will force people to drive less and develop more oil efficient cars. The same goes for every other natural resource. Some even believe that a limitation of natural resources will eventually drive the world into communism. If there is a great limitation of natural resources, there would be no room for the rich to have anymore than the poor and when resources are limited the poor revolt. Currently in the U.S., there are such vast resources compared to other nations that the U.S. does not have to worry about such and plus there is a middle class in existence to create balance.

What natural resources would those be? The US doesn't have more oil left than other countries - it is about 10-15 on the world list of reserves, depending on which measure you use. It hasn't got more money than other countries - it hasn't got any money at all, those dollar bills all have an invisible message on them - 銀行. (Bank of China).
I can't think of any major mineral or natural resource that the US has superabundance of (ie much greater that any other country) but I might be wrong - it might have most of the world's something or other, I just can't think of anything off-hand.

You are right about the American car buying habits - even recent cost increases in petrol haven't significantly shifted buying habits. When it gets towards the prices we pay then there will be a very quick movement, trust me :-)

Any limitation on available resources doesn't lead to a fairer society - just the opposite. The markets drive up the price until only the wealthy can afford what little is left. The US remains able to consume vast amounts because it is happy to live beyond its means, and because it has been top dog for over half a century and citizens have got used to a lifestyle not found in other countries (not necessarily better but certainly 'bigger').

The Marxist analysis is a bit out of date (ie the reason that the inevitable communist revolution didn't happen in most of Europe is because of the unforeseen emergence of a powerful middle class). I cannot see Americans going for a socialist revolution, even if the President got on the balcony, mocked the hungry and said 'let them eat BigMacs'. Many Americans regard Obama as a socialist, so any taste of real socialism would scare them senseless. (I moderate a largely US forum and I always get an interesting reaction when they ask my politics and I tell them I'm an anarcho-syndicalist/socialist :-)