Gas Prices!!!!! - Page 4

143hill · 06-24-2008, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspoons1293

But America also has an obsession with looks over utility, so the majority of people here will forgo the cheaper, more efficient compact car for a giant, expensive, gas-guzzling Hummer.

It's retarded the way people here use giant SUVs and trucks when they have absolutely no need for such a big car.

I know! My friend's family has a Suburban and they have 2 kids. And my other friend's family has a huge van, and both of their kids have their own cars now!

My family has never gotten huge SUVs or vans, so I don't really mind smaller cars. Especially when filling the tank...

Quote:

Originally Posted by iop92

True, but cars here cost twice as much compared to the US (taxes). So it's not really even.

Most people lease their cars from work and got free fuel, but now a lot of companies put limits on that. Fortunately, we do get free fuel.

You get free gas? I'm jealous on so many levels! It now costs $70 to fill my mom's Camry, which does get really good MPGs [about 33 freeway] but still, it's getting ridiculous to drive anywhere. To make matters worse, my dad commutes about an hour and uses a tank of gas every day, refusing to take the train. Love that practical thinking...

143hill · 06-24-2008, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspoons1293

But America also has an obsession with looks over utility, so the majority of people here will forgo the cheaper, more efficient compact car for a giant, expensive, gas-guzzling Hummer.

It's retarded the way people here use giant SUVs and trucks when they have absolutely no need for such a big car.

I know! My friend's family has a Suburban and they have 2 kids. And my other friend's family has a huge van, and both of their kids have their own cars now!

My family has never gotten huge SUVs or vans, so I don't really mind smaller cars. Especially when filling the tank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iop92

True, but cars here cost twice as much compared to the US (taxes). So it's not really even.

Most people lease their cars from work and got free fuel, but now a lot of companies put limits on that. Fortunately, we do get free fuel.

You get free gas? I'm jealous on so many levels! It now costs $70 to fill my mom's Camry, which does get really good MPGs [about 33 freeway] but still, it's getting ridiculous to drive anywhere. To make matters worse, my dad commutes about an hour and uses a tank of gas every day, refusing to take the train. Love that practical thinking...

iop92 · 06-24-2008, 05:15 PM

Quote:

You get free gas? I'm jealous on so many levels! It now costs $70 to fill my mom's Camry, which does get really good MPGs [about 33 freeway] but still, it's getting ridiculous to drive anywhere. To make matters worse, my dad commutes about an hour and uses a tank of gas every day, refusing to take the train. Love that practical thinking...

Hehe, yes. We get free gas on one of our cars. There's a special wireless system - you fill up the gas tank and drive. The bills get sent wirelessly to the workplace that pays for the fuel. We pay monthly for the car (leasing) but it still comes out cheaper than getting a 'real' car.

Anyway, 70$ is nothing, lol. We 'pay' about 90$ for a full tank, and we have a much smaller car. How can you use a FULL tank of gas every day? That's insane. Our other car that doesn't drive much does 1-2 tanks a month.

You know what I'm jealous of? You being 15 and driving! I have to wait till 17.

143hill · 06-24-2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iop92

Hehe, yes. We get free gas on one of our cars. There's a special wireless system - you fill up the gas tank and drive. The bills get sent wirelessly to the workplace that pays for the fuel. We pay monthly for the car (leasing) but it still comes out cheaper than getting a 'real' car.

Anyway, 70$ is nothing, lol. We 'pay' about 90$ for a full tank, and we have a much smaller car. How can you use a FULL tank of gas every day? That's insane. Our other car that doesn't drive much does 1-2 tanks a month.

You know what I'm jealous of? You being 15 and driving! I have to wait till 17.

Hehe I can't drive quite yet

My parents are super crazy about not getting me driving lessons, although I am eligible for my permit. Dang, seventeen is old to start driving though!

My dad's car gets pitiful milage and he commutes to Universal City, which can be a pretty big drive with the traffic he gets sometimes. And he's in the parish choir, so he goes to meetings there sometimes, so I guess that uses a bit of gas too considering how out of the way it is. Still, it does seem excessive [maybe he sneaks off to Mexico instead of going to work every day

]

That's insane that you get free gas! I'm so jealous! Although if my dad's company did that, I'd never be able to persuade him to take Metro!

iop92 · 06-24-2008, 06:00 PM

Yeah driving is taken seriosuly here. Lots of traffic accidents. You have to take a minimum of about 30 lessons before you can do the test, which is quite hard. If I were you, I'd be doing my lessons already! I can't wait. I've actually driven a Jeep Wrangler in the desert for 2 days, it was really fun and it's one heck of a beast.

Yup a gas tank seems a lot even for an hour's drive... My father drives the same (traffic) every day and we fill up every week or so. You might want to consider that Mexico idea

Yeah well, as I said party's over, many companies don't do that anymore (they put limits). Plus the stupid government is increasing taxes on leasing so in three-four years it's gonna be impossible to lease, too expensive. But yeah, we're enjoying the free fuel

About 70% of the population does, too.

I Like Guys · 06-24-2008, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspoons1293

But America also has an obsession with looks over utility, so the majority of people here will forgo the cheaper, more efficient compact car for a giant, expensive, gas-guzzling Hummer.

It's retarded the way people here use giant SUVs and trucks when they have absolutely no need for such a big car.

it's those damn females! they're such bad drivers and they know they're gonna crash, so they buy the biggest SUV on the market to make them feel safer ... it makes me feel less safe, though, because what happens to me when they ram into my car??

my favorite is the prius ... so many ppl say it's ugly, but i love the design, especially in lime green

iop92 · 06-24-2008, 06:28 PM

Ah! I hate women drivers. Heck, even my mom hates them!

The Prius is not so green actually. Ever wondered where the batteries go?

I Like Guys · 06-24-2008, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iop92

Ah! I hate women drivers. Heck, even my mom hates them!

The Prius is not so green actually. Ever wondered where the batteries go?

do we eat them?

xypowerpop · 06-25-2008, 02:17 AM

I'd rather the US develop it's public transportation services and people start depending on those more than the gas prices lower.

iop92 · 06-25-2008, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Like Guys

do we eat them?

Actually, yes. They get thrown in the garbage, dissolve and they finally get into your food and water. They're really toxic. Imagine how much batteries we'd have thrown if everyone drove Priuses.

143hill · 06-25-2008, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xypowerpop

I'd rather the US develop it's public transportation services and people start depending on those more than the gas prices lower.

Agreed.

LA has been making pretty good progress with building more Metro Rail, but it's obviously going to take a long time to get a transportation network here that allows anyone to be carless. The Wilshire/Santa Monica Blvd. extension of the subway is a very exciting thought considering the traffic in West LA and Santa Monica *gags*. Still, tons of work needs to be done if my dream of living without a car ever comes true.

It's really annoying how every time gas prices surge, people flee the freeways and go to Metro and Metrolink, but as soon as the prices dip even a bit, people run back to the freeways. It's going to be hard to develop a great transit network if nobody wants to ride it :/

iop92 · 06-25-2008, 04:05 AM

Ah, I hear you. We have a shitty public transportation system too. We have no metro, we've been considering building a kind of a light train in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem but it takes YEARS for someone to move their ass, I guess the one in Tel Aviv should've been completed already but it's not, it will take several years I guess.

Also, back in junior high I was forced to use the bus system and it was TERRIBLE! They overstuffed us in the bus (we're talking about public buses here), and they always gave us the oldest and dirtiest bus, which is also armored so you can't open any windows. That was really, hell. At other times I get to use the bus, they're always late, you can't find any data and they don't drive on Saturdays. Way to go!

My favorite way of transportation is cycling, I go practically everywhere on foot or on the bicycle. If you know the proper technique of cycling in cities, it can be quicker than a car. I can drive from my house to the center of the town in about 10 minutes without getting off the bike even once.

143hill · 06-25-2008, 04:28 AM

I absolutely love biking, but I live in an extremely hilly part of town, making getting anywhere by cycling at least a few hours trip.

The Metro here is okay. It really needs more rail, but the bus network isn't atrocious. One nice thing about it is that it has an almost 100% CNG fleet, so at least LA has pretty much been rid of diesel-spewing buses.

WOW, that bus ride sounds really awful. By the sounds of it, the bus lacked air conditioning as well. That sucks that they don't drive on Saturdays. That's no way to get anyone to ride your system.

Rail always gets pushed back here too. There's two rail lines under construction right now with 3 more and 4 extensions planned for the near future, but I'm sure it'll be quite a while before anyone boards a train. Anything the government builds literally takes at least three times as long as private construction. I mean, look at LAX. That master plan has been talked about for decades, and is only now being slowly implemented.

It's really frustrating seeing how dependent people are on freeways. I was looking to see if I could take Metro to Malibu and there is NO direct connection. I live about an hour away and I took 5 freeways to get there. I really want an alternative sometimes. Driving on the freeway can suck. People are so ridiculously rude and crazy [not to mention the excessive speeding]. It would be so nice to just board a train instead.

I don't get why people are so in love with their cars. I always prefer to take Metro instead of driving somewhere.

iop92 · 06-25-2008, 04:36 AM

Oh yeah I forgot to mention the train. It's always late and they like to overstuff them, especially in busy hours.

Yes, that bus ride was hell. We did have AC (there's no vehicle in Israel without AC) but nobody felt it... It was one of the hottest days in the year, everyone was sweating and you couldn't move a damn finger. It was one of these buses, only armored for some odd reason:

Compare them to the newer ones which are much better...

The worst part is that we have shitty highways too! LOL. They're always busy. Especially this area near Tel Aviv... The opposite direction is hell in the mornings and this is hell in the evenings when people get back from work.

I guess this is everyone's problem and we should be working on a solution, and try to make it better. I am a big motoring fan, but I really see no reason why kids can't walk to school on their own or by bus, or why Americans drive everywhere with cars. That I really can't understand. Here, most people will walk.

143hill · 06-25-2008, 04:50 AM

It's impossible to walk places with the urban sprawl and mountainous nature of where I live. It's about a 30 minute walk to my school because of the hills, but only a 2 minute drive. So I have to leave [and walk in the creepy dark] at 620 or have a nice drive at 650. That's why I always get driven :/

I feel your freeway pain too! LA has too big of a freeway system for it to handle, making for an extremely outdated and undersized network. Much of the freeway exits are still unnumbered, pretty much the last place in the nation to be so. Worse yet is the traffic. Even carpool lanes can be jammed at all hours, bad enough for Caltrans [name of the California Department of Transportation] to convert some of them to toll lanes [something I'm very against because it completely contradicts the idea of a freeway]. We pay freeway taxes, something people how have toll roads generally don't.

If cities had been designed knowing the negative impacts of cars, there wouldn't be a problem. They designed freeways with way more capacity than they thought they needed. Parts of The 5 were literally empty at all hours when they were first built, but just 40 years later are completely consumed in gridlock at peak hours. I guess Caltrans just didn't anticipate the amount of people that would move here. My city grows about 6% every year! Now transportation network could handle that. The biggest flaw Caltrans made was selling the land next to freeways. They left literally no room to expand the primary means of transportation for a huge metropolis. Parts of The 405 [one of the most congested and heavily traveled freeways in the area] is only 3 lanes in parts! Caltrans is getting so desperate they're considering using eminent domain [another thing I feel very passionately against] to demolish homes alongside the freeway and put lanes in their place. I really wish they'd see that the solution to gridlock isn't making freeways bigger but making public transit a viable option.

View Poll Results: How much are you willing to spend on gas at the most?
$4.45	10	47.62%
$4.60	1	4.76%
$4.85	1	4.76%
$5.10	2	9.52%
$5.35	2	9.52%
$5.60	0	0%
$5.85	0	0%
$6.00	0	0%
$6.45	0	0%
Higher then any of the other options	5	23.81%
Voters: 21. You may not vote on this poll

06-24-2008, 06:28 PM	#52 (permalink)
iop92 Official GTF Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Israel Age: 16 Posts: 132	Ah! I hate women drivers. Heck, even my mom hates them! The Prius is not so green actually. Ever wondered where the batteries go? Last edited by iop92; 06-24-2008 at 06:32 PM.

06-25-2008, 04:28 AM	#58 (permalink)
143hill Official GTF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Age: 15 Gender: Posts: 723	I absolutely love biking, but I live in an extremely hilly part of town, making getting anywhere by cycling at least a few hours trip. The Metro here is okay. It really needs more rail, but the bus network isn't atrocious. One nice thing about it is that it has an almost 100% CNG fleet, so at least LA has pretty much been rid of diesel-spewing buses. WOW, that bus ride sounds really awful. By the sounds of it, the bus lacked air conditioning as well. That sucks that they don't drive on Saturdays. That's no way to get anyone to ride your system. Rail always gets pushed back here too. There's two rail lines under construction right now with 3 more and 4 extensions planned for the near future, but I'm sure it'll be quite a while before anyone boards a train. Anything the government builds literally takes at least three times as long as private construction. I mean, look at LAX. That master plan has been talked about for decades, and is only now being slowly implemented. It's really frustrating seeing how dependent people are on freeways. I was looking to see if I could take Metro to Malibu and there is NO direct connection. I live about an hour away and I took 5 freeways to get there. I really want an alternative sometimes. Driving on the freeway can suck. People are so ridiculously rude and crazy [not to mention the excessive speeding]. It would be so nice to just board a train instead. I don't get why people are so in love with their cars. I always prefer to take Metro instead of driving somewhere. __________________

06-25-2008, 04:50 AM	#60 (permalink)
143hill Official GTF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Age: 15 Gender: Posts: 723	It's impossible to walk places with the urban sprawl and mountainous nature of where I live. It's about a 30 minute walk to my school because of the hills, but only a 2 minute drive. So I have to leave [and walk in the creepy dark] at 620 or have a nice drive at 650. That's why I always get driven :/ I feel your freeway pain too! LA has too big of a freeway system for it to handle, making for an extremely outdated and undersized network. Much of the freeway exits are still unnumbered, pretty much the last place in the nation to be so. Worse yet is the traffic. Even carpool lanes can be jammed at all hours, bad enough for Caltrans [name of the California Department of Transportation] to convert some of them to toll lanes [something I'm very against because it completely contradicts the idea of a freeway]. We pay freeway taxes, something people how have toll roads generally don't. If cities had been designed knowing the negative impacts of cars, there wouldn't be a problem. They designed freeways with way more capacity than they thought they needed. Parts of The 5 were literally empty at all hours when they were first built, but just 40 years later are completely consumed in gridlock at peak hours. I guess Caltrans just didn't anticipate the amount of people that would move here. My city grows about 6% every year! Now transportation network could handle that. The biggest flaw Caltrans made was selling the land next to freeways. They left literally no room to expand the primary means of transportation for a huge metropolis. Parts of The 405 [one of the most congested and heavily traveled freeways in the area] is only 3 lanes in parts! Caltrans is getting so desperate they're considering using eminent domain [another thing I feel very passionately against] to demolish homes alongside the freeway and put lanes in their place. I really wish they'd see that the solution to gridlock isn't making freeways bigger but making public transit a viable option. __________________

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06-24-2008, 06:00 PM	#50 (permalink)
iop92 Official GTF Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Israel Age: 16 Posts: 132	Yeah driving is taken seriosuly here. Lots of traffic accidents. You have to take a minimum of about 30 lessons before you can do the test, which is quite hard. If I were you, I'd be doing my lessons already! I can't wait. I've actually driven a Jeep Wrangler in the desert for 2 days, it was really fun and it's one heck of a beast. Yup a gas tank seems a lot even for an hour's drive... My father drives the same (traffic) every day and we fill up every week or so. You might want to consider that Mexico idea Yeah well, as I said party's over, many companies don't do that anymore (they put limits). Plus the stupid government is increasing taxes on leasing so in three-four years it's gonna be impossible to lease, too expensive. But yeah, we're enjoying the free fuel About 70% of the population does, too.

06-25-2008, 02:17 AM	#54 (permalink)
xypowerpop Official GTF Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: United States Gender: Posts: 133	I'd rather the US develop it's public transportation services and people start depending on those more than the gas prices lower.

06-25-2008, 04:05 AM	#57 (permalink)
iop92 Official GTF Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Israel Age: 16 Posts: 132	Ah, I hear you. We have a shitty public transportation system too. We have no metro, we've been considering building a kind of a light train in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem but it takes YEARS for someone to move their ass, I guess the one in Tel Aviv should've been completed already but it's not, it will take several years I guess. Also, back in junior high I was forced to use the bus system and it was TERRIBLE! They overstuffed us in the bus (we're talking about public buses here), and they always gave us the oldest and dirtiest bus, which is also armored so you can't open any windows. That was really, hell. At other times I get to use the bus, they're always late, you can't find any data and they don't drive on Saturdays. Way to go! My favorite way of transportation is cycling, I go practically everywhere on foot or on the bicycle. If you know the proper technique of cycling in cities, it can be quicker than a car. I can drive from my house to the center of the town in about 10 minutes without getting off the bike even once.

06-25-2008, 04:36 AM	#59 (permalink)
iop92 Official GTF Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Israel Age: 16 Posts: 132	Oh yeah I forgot to mention the train. It's always late and they like to overstuff them, especially in busy hours. Yes, that bus ride was hell. We did have AC (there's no vehicle in Israel without AC) but nobody felt it... It was one of the hottest days in the year, everyone was sweating and you couldn't move a damn finger. It was one of these buses, only armored for some odd reason: Compare them to the newer ones which are much better... The worst part is that we have shitty highways too! LOL. They're always busy. Especially this area near Tel Aviv... The opposite direction is hell in the mornings and this is hell in the evenings when people get back from work. I guess this is everyone's problem and we should be working on a solution, and try to make it better. I am a big motoring fan, but I really see no reason why kids can't walk to school on their own or by bus, or why Americans drive everywhere with cars. That I really can't understand. Here, most people will walk.