$4 Gas is Coming, How's Your Driving?

$4/gallon gasoline is already here in San Francisco and we'll probably be seeing it here in the South Bay pretty soon too. The last time I posted a poll on this, hardly anyone said they changed their driving habits. With prolonged $3 gas and the price now hitting the $4 barrier with the more expensive summer blend coming out again, has anything changed?

Are you kidding, I think everyone is getting killed with gas.

I just changed cars and almost doubled my mpg. I still plan all my trips by keeping a list of places to visit depending on the direction I am going for work. Gas significantly impacts the remodeling business. We can put 100 miles a day in. And sometimes I am paying for two vehicles a day.

I have also emptied my vehicles only carrying what I need each trip. I used to carry everything: tools, sports equipment and returns etc...

Lastly, always keep track of your tire pressure and it really doesn't pay to fill up and pay for carrying around more gas than you need. I am almost always around the cheap gas. Definitely don't go to San Francisco without enough gas to get back, but if you are staying local there are cheap gas stations almost everywhere in San Jose: Monterrey Highway, Mc Kee Rd, Branham, Camden, Almaden, etc....

Luckily, I have most of what I need very close. Bank, hardware, gorcery, pet food, and all the restaurants I need.

QUOTE (techvbjoe @ Apr 15 2008, 08:12 AM)

I am almost always around the cheap gas. Definitely don't go to San Francisco without enough gas to get back, but if you are staying local there are cheap gas stations almost everywhere in San Jose: Monterrey Highway, Mc Kee Rd, Branham, Camden, Almaden,  etc....

LOL. You call $3.60 gas cheap? Of course, it's all relative.

Shel, if you read Roadshow regularly, he's always talking about how people have changed their driving habits to consume less gas. Not everyone, but enough people to notice a difference. And gas consumption in CA has gone down over the past year or two.

Maybe you don't notice it here as much but Americans have to choose between food or something else. The price of gas and food are at all-time highs. This is due largely in part to the ethanol scam. This is a very interesting article.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...25975-2,00.html
It explains how in the rush to supply ethanol, land is being misused and actually creating more carbon. Since so much land is being used to produce ethanol, that leaves less land to produce food for eating. Most people don't stop to think that most of their food and other products are shipped from all over the world, and this contributes to the rising cost of food. I've read several articles about this lately.

This post has been edited by mobyfan on Apr 15 2008, 11:33 AM

Right now I think $3.71 (Arco) is cheap because everyone else is $3.89. I put $80 in gas last week and I live in San Jose, commute nowhere. It is hurting. All the best.

This post has been edited by techvbjoe on Apr 20 2008, 11:05 AM

I just found 2 great sites on how to increase the MPG of your car:

http://hypermiling.com/
and
http://www.cleanmpg.com/

This hypermiling thing is really interesting. You can also read about it in this week's New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/magazine...ove-body-t.html

Mr Roadshow in the Merc is having a contest as to when gas will hit $4/gal. I say a week from today and then people will complain so loud they will install Hillary as Chief not even waiting for the november results. Bush will be tarred and feathered and ran out of the country taking exile in Libya.

I can dream can't I.

This post has been edited by techvbjoe on Apr 26 2008, 01:45 PM

If you're wondering how much you save by slowing down, this is what Mr. Roadshow has to say:

According to the Department of Energy, aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) can lower mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent around town. The agency also estimates that, as a rule of thumb, drivers can assume that each 5 mph they drive above 60 mph is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9486413?IADI...mercurynews.com

I'm sure everyone can appreciate a 20-cent-per-gallon discount. Gauging reaction from recent Roadshow columns, it doesn't seem like a lot of people are taking advantage of this though.