[Madpaddy]

This time last year we had 2 cars, an Opel Astra 1.4 litre petrol (35 mpg) and a 1.6 litre fiat Multipla, 6 seater (22 mpg). I sold the Astra to my sister in law, bought a Giant Lite comfort electric bike and traded in the multipla for a 1.9 litre diesel model (50 mpg).

Never looked back - don't think the multipla is available in the states but man, i love that car.

http://www.fiat.co.uk/cgi-bin/pbrand.dl ... delKey=061

[theragtopguy]

I drive a Geo Metro ragtop that gets 40 MPG. Only a 3 cylinder with 55 HP, but who cares? I gotta drive 100 miles a day to and from work.

[I_Like_Plants]

I'm getting very close to being able to pay off the amount I'm "underwater" on the SUV I foolishly got, and will be able to sell it. I'll go bicycle-only, I may pick up a cheapie motorcycle later but honestly, bicycle-ony and renting a car when needed is a pretty good plan.

[Sgs-Cruz]

I'm not married (I'm only 21) but my constant talk has instigated my dad into looking into putting $10,000 into solar (PV) panels for his house in a couple of years.

[NEOPO]

Well f$%^!!!

With a heading like "I DID IT" I came into this thread hoping you had found the solution to PO !!!

Congratulations none the less

plus a 757 cant be "remotely controlled by osama" muahahahah

Convincing the significant other is something I dont like to think about much as I felt kinda helpless until that day dawned.

Convincing the significant other will seem like peanuts compared to the next task at hand - Planning.

Whats the new collective vision of the future?
Should we farm,garden, move to the styx?? etc etc....
She/he may tend to be more like my better half which = more pessimistic.....as if this were possible

I am thinking wells, cistern, diesel generator, solar and she is thinking wash boards, tubs, ringer washers and grinding stones

I am thinking night vision goggles, guns and ammo and she is thinking weaving and canning

Somewhere in the middle we will merge.
Compromise is a neccessity.

Has anyone thought of grouping to form intentional communities?
Or is everyone as selfish as we are and think that would be quite an uncomfortable experience?

[strider3700]

Actually NEOPO thats very similar to my situation with the SO. SHe's into canning and cooking and all that other stuff that I would starve before getting right. I'm insulating and building and prepairing the structure. Combined we're way better off then seperate. I'd be warm and starving after my garden rotted in the fridge, and she'd have a ton of jars of veggies frozen sitting in piles on the floor.

[linlithgowoil]

why are americans obsessed with fitting lots of 'stuff' in their cars? do you guys live in them or something? or do you just want the space 'just in case'?

i also want to know why so many of you drive pick up trucks even though the people who buy them never use them for what they were intended for except on the odd occasion.

i would also like to know why you are all fat. j/k!

[Alnitaka]

I notice with interest your interest in the Scion Xb, with its $14,000 price tag and its 34 mpg. So I looked at reviews of the vehicle and found that it meets everything I want in a car that can carry a lot - except the interior space. It has only about 21 cubic feet of cargo space and about 68 cubic feet or so of passenger space.

So I looked around for different vehicles. I found that Toyota makes a van called either the Estima or the Alphard (after the brightest star in the largest constellation in the sky - Hydra the water snake. Do I want to drive a snake?). It has 147 cubic feet of cargo space, comparable to a Dodge Caravan. It gets 40 mpg, better than the Scion. The main problem with this one is that it is not available in the United States. Toyota plans to distribute the van in the US under the name of Toyota Sienna Minivan Hybrid in 2007 or so. It would seem to me that I should continue to operate my Plymouth Voyager (21 mpg) a few more years, then get a Sienna Hybrid.

Maybe it depends on the cargo needs you have, but it seems that the Sienna is the way to go.

[eastbay]

Our Sienna got 21 mpg average. So we traded it in. If the new hybrid Sienna gets more than 35 mpg and costs around $15,000 like the Xb, then we may consider one in '08.

But I bet the price will be closer to $30,000 meaning the Xb at $15,000 is still a much better plan, especially since none of the members of our family are fat and we don't carry too much stuff around when we travel.

[KevO]

well done guys and gals.
you've managed to trade to lower mpg cars. *(hopefully not a new one as the oil it needs to build a new one would offset any mpg 'saving')*

now you can go for the next step which is - NO CAR

Good luck. It'll happen anyway soon but it's easier if you choose it.

KevO

PS as for the wife. I'm still failing miserably

[Free]

If you desperately need a car you could secure your mobility at least for mid-term, even if there is a total oil-supply disruption, by buying a diesel-engine driven car and using "salad-oil" (made from plants, for example rape-seed or sunflowers), which of course you would have to produce yourself.

There is a whole subculture here of people who do this already for environmental/fun - reasons, and it works.

Of course in the long term this wouldn't work, because of lack of spare parts, maybe government restrictions on driving etc....

But if you need just something to get from A to B consider this: A diesel-engine driven motorbike (for example the Royal Enfield Taurus) can go about 1000 km with one tank filling.....

It shouldn't be too difficult to stock spare parts for a lifetime for such a bike, and provide yourself with the fuel with a couple of acres and an oil-mill....

[Olaf]

I had a '96 Civic Hatchback (5 speed, 36 MPG) that I drove until things started going wrong with it, at about 160,000 miles. I then bought a 2000 Subaru Impreza Hatchback Sport, and was immediately disappointed in my new gas mileage (about 25-26). I had it for less than a year and traded it in on the purchase of a new 2004 Hyundai Elantra. I like it but still miss the gas mileage I used to get in that Civic. I get between 29-33 with the Elantra.

I wish I had stuck with my first thought and tried for a hybrid, but the sticker shock moved me off of them.

Olaf

[oiless]

In all honesty I drive a 20 year old jeep. It has a big inline six, which is hard on gas, (I average 19 or a little better miles to the US gallon) and it isn't any great hell on the enviroment either. (It does pass our local emissions test.)
It's paid for, and I can put a lot of expensive gasoline in it for what I would pay in payments for a newer fuel efficient car. (I am a rarety in todays world, no debt and some savings.)
The other advantages it has; four wheel drive, (I enjoy back country camping and sports) it's built like a stone axe, and it's carbureted, which means that if the bottom completely falls out I can possibly still use it on those rare occasions when getting somewhere quickly is needed. (Wood gas would be pretty much impossible to use on an EFI vehicle.)

[Michael_Layden]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Alnitaka', 'I') notice with interest your interest in the Scion Xb, with its $14,000 price tag and its 34 mpg. So I looked at reviews of the vehicle and found that it meets everything I want in a car that can carry a lot - except the interior space. It has only about 21 cubic feet of cargo space and about 68 cubic feet or so of passenger space.

Maybe it depends on the cargo needs you have, but it seems that the Sienna is the way to go.

[jawrat]

ever try to fit three car-seats/booster seats in the back seat of a small car? i thought not. but then, that's why i own a minivan...i would dearly like to get something comparable in size (needs to seat 6) that gets better than 15mpg, but it just ain't out there in an affordable form.

ugh.