Who wants to be a Californian? Gas avg. over $2/gal.

Woo hoo! I guess we're all Californians now that the average price of gasoline has climbed above $2 nationwide. I wonder how long this spike is going to last. I'm thankful that I don't have to do much driving these days since I work out of a home office and most everything I have to get to is pretty close.

I remember reading some interesting analysis of the last time we had this gas spike. Overall, people didn't cut down their driving much, but they cut down in other areas like food instead. Hmmm....

Anyone know what sort of effect or non-effect the Bakersfield refineries are supposed to make for California's oil supplies? I drove through the Bakersfield area on my way to and back San Diego a few months back and was surprised to learn that gas was cheaper in LA than it was in a roadstop town just a few miles outside of Bakersfield.

AAA reports say gas is projected to reach $3 a gallon by the end of the year. According to a recent episode of Good Morning America, SUV sales went up 4% last year! They had some gas-saving "tips" like emptying extra weight from your trunk, but how about buying a car that is a little more fuel-efficient?! They also failed to mention real solutions, like carpooling, consolidating small trips, and taking mass transit. Americans are always crying about how much gas costs, yet we pay so little and consume so much. Europeans are now paying nearly $8 a gallon for gas! My 1993 Honda Accord gets better gas mileage than any newer SUVs could ever hope to get. I have little sympathy for people who drive gas guzzlers. Try a hybrid like the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, or the smart

This post has been edited by pamrealtor on Mar 12 2005, 08:35 PM

Huh? SUV Sales went up last year? I thought the trend was going back toward sedan type of cars. Well, there are a few things that might explain a rise in big big cars last year if that is indeed the case. I believe there was a tax law that was expiring at the end of last year that gave you a huge tax break for buying big cars which happened to be classified as work vehicles. Maybe one of our accountants in here can explain that one better.

SUV makers also cut their prices pretty hard and offered interest free loans to get people to take some more SUVs off the lots. I dunno, maybe just maybe people wanted an interest free SUV to go next to their 100% financed home.

Gas Prices Hurting SUV Sales (CNN Money)

oh yeah, i know what law you are talking about. it didn't expire; they only changed the weight limit so it makes it harder to buy a SUV that qualifies. i also recall that sales of the Ford Escape, which is smaller than the Explorer, went up, and sales of the Explorer went down. people wanted to save on gas but not enough that they still wouldn't buy a SUV. i will try to refrain from making any more derogatory comments towards SUVs (for tonight, anyway. )

This post has been edited by pamrealtor on Mar 13 2005, 12:20 AM

I found this site, there are more out there too, it helps me
shop for gas.... the cheapest place I know of by my office is the rotten robbit at 10th & Julian.

http://www.sanjosegasprices.com/

Check this out.

Mr. Roadshow Gas Price Poll

i love Mr. Roadshow!

This post has been edited by pamrealtor on Mar 17 2005, 12:36 AM