$5 Gas around the corner...

[bignateyk]

The Nissan Leaf can be had for $28-30k if you take tax credits into account. But it's still a bit more expensive than the similarly sized Prius ($24-29k) and it lacks some of the convenience you get with a hybrid... such as being able to drive more than ~70 miles without having to plug it in for hours to get it juiced back up.

What is the equivalent cost for electric mileage vs gas mileage.

i.e., at 20MPG and $4/gallon, you have 5 miles/dollar.

How does that translate to the cost to recharge a car like the leaf?

 

[LTC8K6]

The Nissan Leaf can be had for $28-30k if you take tax credits into account. But it's still a bit more expensive than the similarly sized Prius ($24-29k) and it lacks some of the convenience you get with a hybrid... such as being able to drive more than ~70 miles without having to plug it in for hours to get it juiced back up.

You won't necessarily get a $7,500 tax credit, though. The credit is "up to" $7,500.

The Leaf really suffers as the temperature goes down. Your range is likely to be less than 50 miles in the winter.

IIRC, this is because the Leaf lacks a temperature control system for the battery pack.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf#Operating_costs

Looks like the initial prices are still too high to make economic sense. And the charts are a bit out of date with newer cars like the Cruze ECO and Focus SFE now out there.

 

[Engineer]

Yeah, that certainly helps to put things into perspective. I don't really see the benefits of the cheap gas here since I still use public transit for most of my transportation.

You must buy all of your items that are made local and never transported using plane, ship, train or truck. Good for you.

It helped choke off the economy in 2007, slowed it down again over the past year and will eventually cripple it. Brazil woke up in the 70's/80's....maybe we will wake up this time.

 

[Anonemous]

Was wondering when the Gas threads would appear. It was $3.75 for unleaded regular at Costco, so I knew it was going up for the past few weeks...

 

[zanejohnson]

They should offer that to Dave as a custom title.

i second this

 

[NutBucket]

As much as I hate paying that much for gas, I love the decreased traffic that goes along with it.

This.

The only downside I see is that extra money goes to oil companies/speculators/terrorists

That said, I would gladly pay $7/gallon in return for the roads being well maintained.

 

[shortylickens]

Yay Obama.

Yeah, that totally makes up for the trillions of dollars debt and 11 million jobs filled by non-documented visitors.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally Posted by Born2bwire
And I can find stations in the US that are over $6 a gallon. What we want to look at is the gas prices being seen by a reasonable number of people.

The averages take into account the parts of town where prices are less as well as the parts where prices are more ...

In the suburbs of Chicago, gas is usually about 20-40 cents per gallon less than within Chicago city proper (depending upon which county/city you're in. Usually the farther out you get, the cheaper it gets) Then, depending upon which part of the city you're in .... the rates also vary to some degree... (to make up for expensive real estate costs for instance, or to make up for security costs or some other factor.)

If the average was $4.50 in the city of Chicago, then the suburban average was probably about $4.25 or so.... but the rest of the state would have been a bit less.
A good percentage of the gas stations in the city would have been even more (especially in super dense city center "Chicago loop" area where everything costs a lot.)

So, even if gas was $5+ at only 3 or 4 stations, it could have been 3 or 4 of the busiest stations...

When you complain about how high the price of something gets, you don't take an average or median, you take the worst examples of what you've seen in person ...

I asked him if he paid $6 at a pump does he say he paid $4.89 because "it's the average" of the area and of course he has yet to answer and I don't expect him to answer.

Excellent post neighbor, thank you

You are close by, we should meet over lunch sometime and talk about how shafted we are getting on gas here.

 

[LTC8K6]

This.

The only downside I see is that extra money goes to oil companies/speculators/terrorists

That said, I would gladly pay $7/gallon in return for the roads being well maintained.

Yeah, you'll pay that $7 a gallon and there will probably be no noticeable change in the roads, other than less traffic.

The money will probably disappear, with little if any visible new benefit.

 

[NutBucket]

Agreed 100%. $7 for less traffic might be worthwhile on its own!

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Agreed 100%. $7 for less traffic might be worthwhile on its own!

Bull fucking shit. :biggrin:

 

[lxskllr]

If prices get bad enough we might see some interesting vehicle designs based off motorcycle tech. A smart car that's actually smart, and not just overpriced.

 

[velillen]

So im just curious on the whole "summer blend" thing. I understand it has to do with Vapor pressure which i assume is in relationship to temperature of the area. But what about in places like Seattle were our average temps only vary by 25 degrees F from winter to summer. Doesnt really even seem like we need to switch formulas really. So why dont they have a "year round" forumla for places like us where its pretty stable climate and temps wise?

Well other than the gas companies wanting more money of course.....is there really an added benefit to the blends? Seems like the "better gas mileage" claim is down to "a little better" but i couldnt find any actual numbers.

More just curious than anything

 

[jme5343]

Honda Insight FTW. If it hits $6/ gal, I'll look like a genius. Right now I look like a dork in a tiny car.

 

[BUTCH1]

When it got to $4 last time I had to LOL at the people running around in the FL heat and humidity with the AC off in their SUV's and huge trucks, trying to squeeze every MPG out of their ego-mobiles...

 

[drebo]

Electric cars are stupid. We need the turbo diesels that Europe gets.

A small commuter car with a turbo diesel could easily get 60 mpg. Our useless gasoline engines that spin loud and slow get half that on a good day.

 

[Squisher]

I use ~2.5 tanks a month. So it'll be an extra ~$50/month, $600/year - no biggie.
Hell, I'm used to paying 4x more for gas anyway

Soon this increase in gas will be offset by an increase in fuel economy mandated by the federal government. So, you'll likely be saving that $600/yr. by paying an extra $3500 for the car you purchase.

 

[LTC8K6]

Electric cars are stupid. We need the turbo diesels that Europe gets.

A small commuter car with a turbo diesel could easily get 60 mpg. Our useless gasoline engines that spin loud and slow get half that on a good day.

Unless the price of diesel comes down, and the price of diesel engines, 60mpg would probably only be around the break-even point with the best gasoline powered cars.

 

[IGBT]

nobody should be surprised. This is what you voted for. And it's only the beginning.

 

[AstroManLuca]

If prices get bad enough we might see some interesting vehicle designs based off motorcycle tech. A smart car that's actually smart, and not just overpriced.

Oh god, don't even get me STARTED on the Smart. Not even 40 mpg highway, two seats, and requires premium fuel! If it cost half as much as it did, it MIGHT be worth it.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Sucks for the majority. Thankfully I walk and bike.

...and the truck your groceries come on actually uses a hamster wheel.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Yay Troll.

FTFY

 

[NutBucket]

Bull fucking shit. :biggrin:

Let me dream dammit!!

 

[fatpat268]

Since I drive a car that gets 35-40 mpg, it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. This is with a 55 mile round trip commute 4 days a week. Costs me about $35 bucks a week in gas.