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Saving money should come naturally to hypermilers. It's the same type of engineering problem. Being a cheap ******* is a great hobby.
The reason I have no pity for people who can't fill up their Yukons now is because most had no good reason for buying the vehicle, except that at the time, the economy was good and they could "swing it". The concept of preparing for bad times during the good times is foreign to most people. They don't anticipate, they only respond. This is why I absolutely love recessions (so long as I still have my job). People ditch the toys they could barely afford in good times, and in bad times they'll be happy to part with them for $0.50 cash on the dollar. I love weddings for the same reason. Once wifey starts nesting, hubby's goods find their way to Ebay for cheap.
After the first three dollar gas scare, when prices went back to two dollars, people asked me why I was so concerned with getting more MPGs out of my car. "Gas is cheap now!" Where they once could afford to fill up, they're now grabbing their ankles, upside-down on their car payments, stuck with guzzlers.
Do these people have any idea how expensive economy cars get when gas shoots up? That's when they all scramble to buy one. Some even put up their sports cars and SUVs up for an even trade! I bought my four banger when nobody wanted one, and as a result, I got it cheap. When gas went through the roof, I picked up my Porsche cheap too, probably traded in by some jerk who couldn't afford to fuel it.
Another thing that perplexes me is how people are so emotional about the price of fuel, yet they have no idea what percentage of the total cost of vehicle ownership fuel is. People think paying $200/mo for fuel will break them when they make $450 car payments. I'd be willing to bet that the average shmuck who bought a new car, will be losing more money to depreciation than to fuel for the first five or so years of ownership, even at today's prices.
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