US gas prices near 6 year lows: guess what that means for the forum! (Crickets)

[Fat Charlie]

I almost had something to add.

[slowmover]

Was nice to see diesel back under the price of gasoline this morning.

At $4/gl my 21-mpg average over 55k miles in a one ton truck is 19-cpm.

At this mornings $2.49/gl it is 12-cpm. A reduction of about 40%.

But what matters was the decision to accomish the same errands, etc by combining trips. And then to drive the reduced miles with a greater amount of skill. Over the long term this means more. Pays better.

Longest life at lowest cost with highest reliability and able to do the greatest amount of work is best met in this class of truck by a turbocharged Cummins. Goal accomplished.

FE is just a way of charting the above. No stunts involving changes to the vehicle as it was spec'd correctly at the beginning.

That's what is missing for most folks. Rationalizing versus being rational.

Fuel cost is at or under one-half the actual transportation cost on a personal basis. Too bad most choose to miss so far from what they can actually afford.

200k miles now and time to spend to make it another 10-years or 200k. $350 in repairs to this point. Probably need to spend one half of trade value to make it nearer to new. Longer I own it the more like it.

I remember the 1973 oil price shock. And those who traded well built but too heavy GM tanks that would go 200k for truly bad Jap cars that gave the appeArance of economy without actually delivering. Should be a good time, today, to grab some high FE cars with a good mechanical record.

[redpoint5]

You've got the truck I wish I had, except I'd need the 4x4 version. I'll keep my eye on the 1500 diesel versions that are out now. I always wanted a smaller pickup with a diesel, but the 5.9L Cummins was the smallest available when I was in the market.

If the Golf can have diesel, why can't the Tacoma?

[slowmover]

2WD with an Eaton TrueTrac and commercial traction tires would do the job. The lower COG, IFS and rack & pinion steering makes this a superior truck for handling, braking, towing and FE. Not to mention it's cheaper to buy, operate and has a far lower incidence of repair.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Last year, fuel prices in Brazil got frozen for a while because state-owned Petrobras has a monopoly on petroleum refining. It was done as a failed attempt to keep inflation rates low. After the presidential election, when Dilma Roussef was re-elected, prices skyrocketted. On a sidenote, Brazil exports gasoline to Paraguay and Argentina, where it's sold cheaper than in the domestic market and has a lower ethanol content

[deejaaa]

fuel prices has never persuaded me to alter driving style. it's still my hard earned money that puts it in my tank. when I was younger, I could hardly afford to fill up the tank. guess that will stay with me for the rest of my life. kind of like someone who grew up in the great depression.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by deejaaa

fuel prices has never persuaded me to alter driving style. it's still my hard earned money that puts it in my tank.

Good point. Fuel prices have never influenced my driving style either. Perhaps the problem is that the cost isn't immediately apparent. If we had a cost gauge on our vehicle that displayed in real-time the accumulating cost for accellerating and driving at higher speeds, or selecting inefficient gearing, we might alter our driving behavior. Instead, the EPA rating of a vehicle leads us to believe that it's the car that is responsible for the fuel economy. This is evident when fuel prices rise and the sales of more efficient vehicles also rise.

[deejaaa]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Good point. Fuel prices have never influenced my driving style either. Perhaps the problem is that the cost isn't immediately apparent. If we had a cost gauge on our vehicle that displayed in real-time the accumulating cost for accelerating and driving at higher speeds, or selecting inefficient gearing, we might alter our driving behavior. Instead, the EPA rating of a vehicle leads us to believe that it's the car that is responsible for the fuel economy. This is evident when fuel prices rise and the sales of more efficient vehicles also rise.

and you have a good point also.
i keep track of my cost-per-mile in the garage.
wow, people can be so naive.

[Frank Lee]

I like the cost gauge. It can be an entire display, web-connected for current data, graphically showing in real-time how much a Subdivision is costing vs a baseline Metro or some such.

[sheepdog 44]

Good idea for a cell phone app or an update to the scanguage.