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Pam
quote:Originally posted by Frosty 4:Just out of curiosity we are now paying $3.19 a gallon for regular gas up to $3.39 for premium here in Illinois(Chicago area).
It Britain we pay through the nose and have done for decades - it's not new! Cos you've had it cheap for dso long you waste it! You have change your habits. That's why we generally drive small cars - mine's just over a 1 litre engine. I would not be able to aford to fill a 2 Litre car!
Can anyone work out out cost of gas for me in comparison to the USA? Pam? (We do pay a lot of tax on it to).
I fear the fuel surcharges may be in part an excuss to make more profit, just like airlines did in the 70's and 80's.
[ 07-06-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]
It may have risen a little sine then or not?
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:Can anyone work out out cost of gas for me in comparison to the USA? Pam? (We do pay a lot of tax on it to).[ 07-06-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]
Malcolm, our gas is priced per US gallon, which is nearly 4 litres. Just figure out the cost of litres in sterling, and convert to dollars, to give us an idea of the price difference.
Right now we're paying an average of $0.75 per litre in the US (prices can vary greatly from region to region.) So I think that's only about 39 p per litre, right?
RIch
It is interesting for me to see that people here in the U.S. are complaing about the fuel prices...
especially if you read articles like this - and there is MUCH MORE room for improvement.
For completeness: 1 US gallon = 3.7854118 liters
mileage: 1 mile per gallon (mpg) = 0.425143706 km per liter or 235.214584125 liter per 100 km
(I sincerely hope that your car has a better mileage )
[ 07-06-2006: Message edited by: Ernst ]
quote:Originally posted by Ernst:Look hereIt is interesting for me to see that people here in the U.S. are complaing about the fuel prices...For completeness: 1 US gallon = 3.7854118 liters[ 07-06-2006: Message edited by: Ernst ]
Wow, so based on this website and making the calculations, our friends in the UK are paying nearly $7 per gallon!
quote:Originally posted by Linerrich:Wow, so based on this website and making the calculations, our friends in the UK are paying nearly $7 per gallon!
Probably. At least it leads to efficent engine design and good mpg.
Anyway diesel engines have been successfull with ships for a very long time.
NB: I have to mention that I'm not paid by a diesel engine manufacterer !
This also seems to be the reason why hybrid cars are such a hype here. I am actually not sure whether this makes that much senses in all cases - in the city with stop and go traffic maybe (only maybe, because I am not sure about the impact of the used batteries...) - on the country - probably not. Nevertheless, let's see when the first diesel hybrid is brought on the market.
P.S.: Diesel is quite good - BUT ONLY with a proper filter system. (or equivalent)
yes the reason diesels aren't more popular has a lot to do with the notoriously bad GM diesels of the 80's. They were mechanically unreliable, loud, clunky, not easy to maintain or start and were sorely lacking in the performance department.
That soured most Americans on diesel engines. Recently, Daimler tried to ressurect diesels here in the states and other than in pick-up trucks, it has not caught on.
The reason most Americans complain about high fuel prices is that in the past two years, gasoline has basically doubled in price. Two summers ago I was paying about $1.50 per gallon and now I pay $3.00.
With the (absurd) premium Honda, Toyota and Ford are charging for their hybrid vehicles, gas would have to reach over $5.00 per gallon for most people to be able to justify the cost, and that would need to be amortized over a five year period.
Plus, Americans are just enamored with BIG cars and trucks. The sharp rise on fuel costs has not hurt the sales of SUV's to any great extent. The V8 powered Ford F-150 remains America's best selling vehicle.
The irony of it all, is when our illustrious and infalable leader made his great "we are addicted to oil speech", he arrived in a caravan of about a dozen gas-guzzling Chevy Suburbans and Cadillacs.
Tim
It is of course difficult to adopt when prices for a basic needs - and in some regions of the U.S. having a car is crucial - doubles in a short time. Nevertheless, it might be that the prices in the U.S. have been too low for a too long time - resulting in a car fleet with a much too high consumption. Europe might be a bit better but this must not be an excuse - also in Europe most cars are overdimensioned.
The hype around the hybrid cars indeed seems to be an exaggerated reaction.
According to South Park I should be pretty safe here in TN.
And Diesel engines are more flexible. There are a few guys here who use fries oil (!) as fuel. It works quite well, except maybe a little smell...
In the UK we pay an annual 'Road Tax'. This is now linked to engine size. The bigger the engine, the lhigher the rate of 'road tax' (within bands). The differential is not that big at present, but it's a start.
The main attraction for me to buy a car with a small engine is simply the cost of 'filling-up'. My car may be only just over 1 Litre, but it has reasonable acceleration, 5 seats and will do 90 mph plus - what more do I want?
quote:Originally posted by Pascal: It's like SUV, what 's the point of having such cars if you never go off road ?
The nearest that most of them get to 'off road' is the supermarket car park.
Many people simply buy them as a fashion statement. In many cases they simply have more money (or credit) than they know what to do with. As fuel increases in price they start to make less and less sense.
quote:Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:The nearest that most of them get to 'off road' is the supermarket car park.Many people simply buy them as a fashion statement. In many cases they simply have more money (or credit) than they know what to do with. As fuel increases in price they start to make less and less sense.
Speaking as someone who owns a small SUV and a sedan I purchased it becuase it is the modern day equivilent of the station wagon....nothing to do with status or fashion. I do agree there are a vast number of people who do buy them for resons that are a great deal more vein....they always look at me funny when I load a pallet of sod or mulch in the back of mine
Here's my way of trying to conserve:Drive the speed limit- good if you don't get blown off the road by all the speeders.
Tire pressures-check them as temperatures can vary the pressures- Ernst maybe able to help on this issue.
ONY BUY ENOUGH GAS THAT YOU THINK YOU NEED!! Don't fill up every time. If more people did this there would be an overstock and prices would come down a bit. The oil companies are making a killing so why feed them more $$.
Fortunately being retired I don't drive the 70 miles to work as I did previously. My wife works(that's how we go on cruises-Ha Ha) but it's a very short drive for her.We do have 2 cars that have V6s but as I stated we drive at reasonable speeds.
At this point the cruise lines seem to have held the pricing steady. I just heard that oil is going for $75.51/barrel here.Can you believe that in Venezuela, they sell gas for 20 cents a gallon- I think the goverment there does this just to p--- us off! Their part of OPEC.Frosty 4
quote:Originally posted by timb:....they always look at me funny when I load a pallet of sod or mulch in the back of mine
Wow, what supermarket do you use?
Further to what was said above I buy garden mulch at a place that sells it in bulk by the cubic metre, and the propietor told me that he had a customer who preferred to pay $50. extra to have stone delivered, rather than take a chance on scratching the back of his truck.
Makes you wonder what the point of having a truck is if you don't actually utilize it for what it was designed for.
quote:Originally posted by timb:Just a home improvement warehouse like Home Depot or Lowes. Do they have the large home improvement stores across the pond or is it still mom and pop hardware stores?
In some parts of Europe there are maybe even more of these stores than in the U.S. - I would generally say that 'things have changed' a lot - 'standard of living' is in some parts of Europe much higher than in the U.S. - all the things found in the U.S. only some years ago are now also available - and in most cases even more refined versions. (...if one does something decades later you inherently get the newer version....)
As to SUVs they are out of favour here [well this area anyway], gone are the 'must be seen in one' days and only those who have a real need, ie 4 kids etc have them. Consideration to a new vehicle is usually given more to fuel consumption than looks. People haven't mentioned LPG in this thread, of which there are a fair number about now.
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