Surging gas prices threaten to derail economic recovery - Polidicks

[QUOTE=dbk21894;34819204]I go through a tank of gas a week. I have a 17 gallon tank. I get 14MPG. I only drive to and from school. They do not offer transportation to my house to and from school. I only take premium. My life is expensive.[/QUOTE] Buy a different car, how the hell can you put up with 14mpg? My car does 45!

[QUOTE=BoSoZoku;34820026]14mpg? Gee what are you driving a Veyron?[/QUOTE] 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300CE [QUOTE=Bones85;34820320]Ride a bicycle, get a more fuel efficient car, car pool, or walk.[/QUOTE] I can't ride a bike. I drive 15 miles to get to school. I then drive 5 miles to get to my next class. I have 10 minutes to get there from the time I leave my home school. I then drive home, which is now 20 miles back. I can't afford a newer, fuel efficient car. I can't car pool. I'm the only one who lives where I do. I can't walk 40 miles.

[QUOTE=assassin_Raptor;34820903]In the United States its sometimes just impossible to walk, or ride bikes unless you live in a city as most of America is rural and your school, where you shop could be 5-10 miles away. You could car pool but than you have to find people willing and that could be hard. And as for buying a more efficient car, thats a nice idea, but who has the money to drop on a new car that gets the 25+ MPG.[/QUOTE] True, I live in a suburban environment and I see sidewalks just start and end out of nowhere it makes it pretty much impossible to bike around

Well, I can see positive things coming from this Higher gas prices = Less people going by their car everywhere = Less pollution

[QUOTE=Bones85;34818592]There ARE alternatives, but there seems to be an issue with Americans utilizing them. Notice how many people in other countries use public transportation, scooters, bicycles, etc. compared to how many Americans do. The fact is that most Americans want to drive vehicles everywhere and bitch about gas prices at the same time.[/QUOTE] Public transportation is very lacking in most American states; buses are primarily in the cities only, or for state to state travel. Since everything is spread out so much, it'd take me at [I]least[/I] an hour and thirty minutes just to reach my college which is a 15 minute drive away - riding a bike on US-19, which has no sidewalks in some areas, before sunrise, in a state full of old people driving land yacht Cadillacs. [editline]22nd February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Demache;34821739]Its not difficult, as much as time consuming. And in rural areas, you still need a car. Sometimes you have to drive 40+ miles to a city to get or do something that isn't possible in a nearby town. Granted, that's not an everyday thing. And that's where buying a fuel efficient car comes in.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately, most fuel efficient cars are either death traps (Geo Metro, Honda CR-X HF), or way out of price range of someone that would [I]need[/I] the fuel efficiency (hybrids, newer cars with more efficient engines).

Any American who is pro-pipeline keystone needs to be thrown into a tar pond in Alberta. [editline]22nd February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Saber15;34824518]Public transportation is very lacking in most American states; buses are primarily in the cities only, or for state to state travel. Since everything is spread out so much, it'd take me at [I]least[/I] an hour and thirty minutes just to reach my college which is a 15 minute drive away - riding a bike on US-19, which has no sidewalks in some areas, before sunrise, in a state full of old people driving land yacht Cadillacs. [editline]22nd February 2012[/editline] Unfortunately, most fuel efficient cars are either death traps (Geo Metro, Honda CR-X HF), or way out of price range of someone that would [I]need[/I] the fuel efficiency (hybrids, newer cars with more efficient engines).[/QUOTE] [B]You're not supposed to ride bikes on the sidewalk law breaking citizen![/B]

[QUOTE=Demache;34818374]Its mainly because we do a lot more driving (because there is no alternative), and we obviously have a higher amount of fuel hungry vehicles. If you drive a gas guzzling SUV everyday for work that barely makes 18 MPG that has a 25 gallon tank, your really going to take a hit. You guys still pay more even after that fact most likely, but the gap is narrowed.[/QUOTE] I'd kill for my car to get 18 MPG, right now its sitting at about 10 MPG. :( It's a worthy sacrifice though.

[QUOTE=UseLets;34824575]Any American who is pro-pipeline keystone needs to be thrown into a tar pond in Alberta. [editline]22nd February 2012[/editline] [B]You're not supposed to ride bikes on the sidewalk law breaking citizen![/B][/QUOTE] This is very much correct. Which is ironic, considering in many areas, its extremely unsafe to bike in the street, due to people driving excess of 40 MPH and your not given much space. I would feel safer biking on the highway. Even though people go 65+, you at least have a shoulder.

[QUOTE=assassin_Raptor;34820903]Technically the worst case is that a lot of crops get destroyed, half of the states the pipeline would run through dont even have that dense of a population. Like Oklahoma, pretty much just farms. Also people act like these pipes are made of paper or some shit and could spill at any time, but its made of steel, and even if it did leak there would be valves placed every so often that could just be turned and boom off goes the supply.[/QUOTE] A) Did you actually read the paper? B) Do you have even a faint knowledge of materials science? C) Can you present a rebuttal to the paper based on the above? I'm pretty willing to bet your answer to all three is "no", which means you probably shouldn't opine.

[QUOTE=assassin_Raptor;34820903]Oklahoma, pretty much just farms[/QUOTE] Yes, and Wisconsin is pretty much just cheese.

[QUOTE=Megafan;34826121]Yes, and Wisconsin is pretty much just cheese.[/QUOTE]Ever since Sheogorath bought a home there anyway.

I am really glad I just bought a little Saturn that gets 40 mpg on the highway. Driving my 5.2L 4bbl Chrysler every day was murder, I was getting 12 mpg and burning $40 a week just going to work.

[QUOTE=dbk21894;34819204]I go through a tank of gas a week. I have a 17 gallon tank. I get 14MPG. I only drive to and from school. They do not offer transportation to my house to and from school. I only take premium. My life is expensive.[/QUOTE] Why would you ever buy premium gas, it serves almost no purpose at this point. Unless you're fueling something that actually needs the higher octane value (Like an actual racecar, or something with significant amounts of horsepower like a Koenigsegg Agera), there is literally no point. You even can run Porsches and other similar specced cars on regular gas just fine.

[QUOTE=Demache;34825974]This is very much correct. Which is ironic, considering in many areas, its extremely unsafe to bike in the street, due to people driving excess of 40 MPH and your not given much space. I would feel safer biking on the highway. Even though people go 65+, you at least have a shoulder.[/QUOTE] Arent there bike lanes in the US? Most highways here do.

[QUOTE=UseLets;34826703]Arent there bike lanes in the US? Most highways here do.[/QUOTE] If there are, they don't exist around here. The sidewalks and shoulders are your bike lanes.

[QUOTE=UseLets;34826703]Arent there bike lanes in the US? Most highways here do.[/QUOTE] In suburban areas, yes, but inside our ancient cities you only have the sidewalk option (unless you're crazy and actually want to share the road).

[QUOTE=ice445;34826803]In suburban areas, yes, but inside our ancient cities you only have the sidewalk option (unless you're crazy and actually want to share the road).[/QUOTE] Crazy? How is sharing the road as a biker crazy.

[QUOTE=UseLets;34826835]Crazy? How is sharing the road as a biker crazy.[/QUOTE] I tried using the road once, I almost got hit in the back of the head by a Van's mirror who was going 50mph on a 40. That's why.

[QUOTE=ice445;34826858]I tried using the road once, I almost got hit in the back of the head by a Van's mirror who was going 50mph on a 40. That's why.[/QUOTE] Wrong side of the road.

This is why we can't have nice things.

[QUOTE=UseLets;34827268]Wrong side of the road.[/QUOTE] No, it wasn't. There just isn't a bike lane and people don't pay attention.

[QUOTE=UseLets;34827268]Wrong side of the road.[/QUOTE] Back of the head implies the the van was going in the same direction as he was. If it was the wrong direction it would have been the face, not the back of the head.

Can't forget about those oil companies making 500 billion dollars in profits a year.

[QUOTE=ice445;34826635]Why would you ever buy premium gas, it serves almost no purpose at this point. Unless you're fueling something that actually needs the higher octane value (Like an actual racecar, or something with significant amounts of horsepower like a Koenigsegg Agera), there is literally no point. You even can run Porsches and other similar specced cars on regular gas just fine.[/QUOTE] Some people prefer quality over quantity. Others, like myself, don't have a choice. My engine is old and has high compression, it doesn't play nice with anything less than premium. Infact it needs higher grade fuel but I can't get that anymore. My only other option is to tune the engine down and I'm not going to dishonor my car like that.

[QUOTE=Bones85;34818592]There ARE alternatives, but there seems to be an issue with Americans utilizing them. Notice how many people in other countries use public transportation, scooters, bicycles, etc. compared to how many Americans do. The fact is that most Americans want to drive vehicles everywhere and bitch about gas prices at the same time.[/QUOTE] Err the fact is that most european countries that suffer from high gas prices feature cities that are close enough together, and heavily focus on public transportation. Most of the time the prices are artifically inflated by the nation to encourage people to use public trans/trains/etc, which are all very viable since much of the population is within easy reach of such animenties. You can travel to one end of germany to the other easily within a day by just hopping on the train. US isn't nearly the same. To take a bus to uni everyday would take over an hour and a half, if not more, and I already get up at 6:30am in the morning to catch my morning classes by driving. The size of our country, and how spaced apart everything is makes mass public transportation on a national level completely absurd. The European method only works in major cities and urban centers, which is only a small fraction of the US real estate and population compaired to Europe. Cities like Chicago for example have a very good public transportation system, and many people DO in fact in those cities stick to the busses, bikes, and train systems. Fact is though, the US population as a whole are not located in such areas (i'd say most of them live in the suburban area, 20-40 miles or so away from downtown).

[QUOTE=Axznma;34828881]Some people prefer quality over quantity. Others, like myself, don't have a choice. My engine is old and has high compression, it doesn't play nice with anything less than premium. Infact it needs higher grade fuel but I can't get that anymore. My only other option is to tune the engine down and I'm not going to dishonor my car like that.[/QUOTE] As long as you have a legitimate reason for it and know your car actually needs it instead of the "My manufacturer told me to" or some other such reason, it's fine.

[QUOTE=UseLets;34826703]Arent there bike lanes in the US? Most highways here do.[/QUOTE] Bike lanes are EXTREMELY rare, you usually only see them downtown cities/wealthy suburban areas. I see more recreational biking paths than actual bike lanes where I live.

Australia: European prices, American distances yay. [editline]23rd February 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=JeanLuc761;34818845]Because the -actual- cost is also affected by what vehicle you're driving and how far you go. As said earlier, everything is much more spread out in the USA, so people have to drive a lot more. [B]Remember, Texas alone covers the majority of Europe's landmass.[/B] So yeah, our fuel may be cheaper, but we use more of it so it helps balance out.[/QUOTE] If you mean that Western Europe covers [B]seven[/B] times more land than texas, then you're right.

[QUOTE=Glaber;34828572]Back of the head implies the the van was going in the same direction as he was. If it was the wrong direction it would have been the face, not the back of the head.[/QUOTE] Isn't it better to go on the side of the road facing vehicles, so they can clearly see you and you have better reaction time based on vision. [editline]22nd February 2012[/editline] Its only $1.18/l here which is about $4.46/gal. Is this high for Americans? Its low compared to 1.30-50 it was throughout 2011

[QUOTE=UseLets;34828985]Isn't it better to go on the side of the road facing vehicles, so they can clearly see you and you have better reaction time based on vision. [editline]22nd February 2012[/editline] Its only $1.18/l here which is about $4.46/gal. Is this high for Americans? Its low compared to 1.30-50 it was throughout 2011[/QUOTE] No, you're "supposed" to go with the flow of traffic, not against it. That's the unwritten rule of riding on the road. Although I honestly would rather go the wrong way so at least I can see if someone is going to hit me or not.