[pea-jay]

Remember--transportation is only half the picture. When you travel you need a starting and ending point. Only then can you realize the insanity of our land use decisions. We drive more because we live work and shop further away than anywhere else in the world. This is most accurately depicted by the increasing VMT figures accross the US. Unless you live in Manhattan or somewhere similar to that, you pretty much have to drive, and long distances. Going from $2 to $5 a gallon will make a significantly larger impact to the US. We can't "adapt" like Europe. We made our Suburban bed. Now we are forced to sleep in it.

[eastbay]

-2003 Honda Insight hybrid
average mpg 64
$469 per year fuel cost
$39 per month fuel cost

__________________

Maybe this isn't the place to ask, but I understand from reading posting boards and hearing from friends who've had this car that they never reach 64 mpg. Maybe someone here can set me straight on this. And if they have direct experience, maybe they could tell us what the "real" highway figure is.

Plus, I hear rumors that Toyota may be bringing into the USA a cute little gas and diesel model, the Yaris. They sell in Eurpope getting over 60 mpg. Hey, I know no details, it's just a rumor... maybe someone here knows more.

EastBay

Thank you,
EastBay

[NevadaGhosts]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', '-')2003 Honda Insight hybrid
average mpg 64
$469 per year fuel cost
$39 per month fuel cost

__________________

Maybe this isn't the place to ask, but I understand from reading posting boards and hearing from friends who've had this car that they never reach 64 mpg. Maybe someone here can set me straight on this. And if they have direct experience, maybe they could tell us what the "real" highway figure is.

Plus, I hear rumors that Toyota may be bringing into the USA a cute little gas and diesel model, the Yaris. They sell in Eurpope getting over 60 mpg. Hey, I know no details, it's just a rumor... maybe someone here knows more.

EastBay

Thank you,
EastBay

[BabyPeanut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'M')aybe this isn't the place to ask, but I understand from reading posting boards and hearing from friends who've had this car that they never reach 64 mpg.

[Leanan]

My old Ford Taurus is no longer reliable enough for me to trust it on long trips. I've been driving it 16 years, and it only has 45,000 miles on it. So I gave serious consideration to going carless, and getting an electric bike instead.

I really wanted to do it, not least because it would save me big bucks on a new car and insurance. But I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't feasible. There's no public transporation to speak of around here. While I can and do walk to work in good weather, the bad weather here in the northeast is really bad. The sidewalks - the official "bike lane" on the roads I would have to travel - get buried in huge plowdrifts. The steep roads get very slick, and biking on them, especially surrounded by skidding cars, would not be safe. Ditto traveling at night. I would worry about both being hit by a car and being mugged.

So I decided I had to buy a car. I figure this will probably be my last car. I considered getting a Prius or Civic hybrid, but I don't drive enough to make the extra cost worth it. The Insight gets better mileage than the Prius, but it's manual only, and I never learned to drive manual transmission. So I bought a new Toyota Corolla, mainly for the low cost and long-term reliability. Even if peak oil doesn't hit until 2025, I figure I will still be driving this car. Mileage is twice what my old Ford Taurus got.

And when TSHTF, I figure I can live in my car.

[Bubbling_Crude]

I don't know if the 20k miles per year in the initial post is accurate or not, but in our own case, absolutely not. I have a 1993 Toyota pickup that just passed the 36k-miles mark. It looks and drives like new, and "the freaking thing isn't even broken in yet!", according to one of my co-workers. I believe that just in taking our (non) driving habits into account, the purchase of a hybrid, EV, or scooter would be superfluous.

Despite that, upon learning of P.O., one of my first changes was the purchase of a bicycle for my daily commute. The thing has paid for itself several times over already in terms of gasoline costs. The comment about the actual fossil fuel requirements of food-driven bicycle travel came across as somewhat facetious in the middle of a discussion on petrol-powered vehicles, but I realize even that will change if a "hard crash" occurs (or at the end of a "soft crash").

[Leanan]

A bicycle is probably a good investment to make now. It's not petroleum free, even discounting the rider food requirements. It takes petroleum to manufacture a bike. The frame is made of steel or fiberglas, the seat of plastic, the tires of rubber. The gears must be lubed. IOW...expect them to get a lot more expensive, as demand increases and manufacturing costs rise.

Learning how to build and repair bicycles might be a good skillset to acquire now, too.

[NevadaGhosts]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Bubbling_Crude', 'I') don't know if the 20k miles per year in the initial post is accurate or not, but in our own case, absolutely not. I have a 1993 Toyota pickup that just passed the 36k-miles mark. It looks and drives like new, and "the freaking thing isn't even broken in yet!", according to one of my co-workers. I believe that just in taking our (non) driving habits into account, the purchase of a hybrid, EV, or scooter would be superfluous.