If you want economy, you have to pay for it

[nascarnation]

Higher Insurance Costs Erode Fuel Savings on Small Cars - WSJ.com

FWIW gas hit 2.25/gal here today and dropping faster than the stock mkt

[SVOboy]

Holy crap gas is cheap again...

[Tango Charlie]

Yeah, but I ain't gonna start using more of it!

[Formula413]

I'll hafta look into this, I'm thinking about an xA for my next car, maybe a chat with the insurance company is in order.

And I will echo Charlie's sentiment, no matter how cheap gas goes I have no plans to stop eco-driving or pursuing better MPG.

[Big Dave]

I agree. Even if the price of fuel drops under a buck a gallon, I keep working on MPG.

[jamesqf]

I don't know where they're getting their insurance quotes, but I think they're getting ripped off. Got the renewal notice for mine a few days ago: Insight hybrid and Toyota pickup, $490/year.

Though come to think of it, maybe they're using New York City rates, which from my one experience of passing through should approximate the price of the car. Had to take a bus from airport to train station. Bus driver had to make a left into a parking lot, but there was a garbage truck parked next to the entrance, and he hit the truck about halfway along the side of the bus. No problem, though: he backed the bus up, got a running start, and hit it 5 feet further along. And backed up and did it again, and again! Next time I'm walking.

[saunders1313]

Well insurance rates are very high here in NJ. It does costs as much or more to insure a small car because chances are that if you're in an accident the car is going to be totalled and then they have to pay out a lot more. There's also the theory that smaller cars not as safe as larger cars, which I disagree with.

[wagonman76]

I would think liability would be higher on a larger vehicle because if in an accident, it will usually cause more damage and injuries. Also it is usually less capable of avoiding an accident in the first place. Collision I would think would be higher, but thats only if you want collision. Youve always gotta have liability.

We were talking here about gas going down, we just dropped below $3 here. Its still more than it was last year at this time, and last year we all had long since agreed it was too much. So a couple workers are going to continue to carpool. And Im going to keep finding ways to reduce fuel usage with the cars I have. Many thing it is due to the upcoming election, to get fuel price worries off many peoples minds, then after the election watch it skyrocket again. I heard the oil companies provide more campaign dollars than anyone.

[i_am_socket]

Jersey insurance prices suck no matter what you drive; comes with being the most densely populated state in the country with a mostly dense population. At least we don't have to pay property tax on vehicles like Virginia, though.

Gas won't be cheap till I can fill my tank for an hour's pay and I'll still stretch that as far as I possibly can.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by i_am_socket

Gas won't be cheap till I can fill my tank for an hour's pay...

You need to work on either a better paying job, or a car with a smaller tank. Or both :-)

With the Insight, I could do that even at $4/gallon, and go twice as far as most between fillups, too. But as I've said all along, it's not about the money: I was driving a CRX when gas was under $1/gallon, and I'll stick with the Insight even if they start giving away free gas.