[alokin]

Some month ago we bought our new car, 18 years old, and it#just a gorgeous little car.

[vaseline2008]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'G')et a bike, lardass.

[Revi]

I would take this low gas price opportunity to get something that gets good mileage. Something that's cheap to operate and will take you to the end of the fossil fuel age. Maybe an Echo or a Honda Civic or something. Even a Ford Focus is a better choice than any kind of gas hog. You aren't going to be able to get out of a city in any kind of gas guzzler. Look at how well they were able to get out of Houston when they evacuated for Rita.

[prajeshbhat]

A possible solution

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=buy&story=nuUsed&subject=new_used&referer&aff=projo

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '.') The latest figures available from CNW Marketing Research indicate that the average transaction price, before taxes and fees, on a new car in 2008 was $25,536. The average used car transaction was $8,244 during that same time period.

[Shaved Monkey]

Basically an aerodynamic VW Prius but using diesel instead of petrol so way more efficient and being able to go totally EV for short distances.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')arlier this year, VW confirmed it would build a limited number of its ultra-efficient “XL1” coupes to go on sale in 2013
The XL1 concept car’s claimed fuel consumption was just 0.9L/100km – or more than four times as efficient as the Australia’s benchmark frugal car, the Toyota Prius.
The car is powered by a diesel hybrid drivetrain that combines an 800cc (0.8-litre) two-cylinder turbo diesel engine producing 35kW of power and 121Nm of torque with an electric motor adding 20kW and 100Nm.

It can be driven as a hybrid or purely as an EV (for up to 35 kilometres when fully charged), and power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
It’s not yet clear whether the car will be available to markets outside of Europe.

[Revi]

I think the way to go is with NEV's, but I have one and am biased I guess. This Volkswagen sounds great. I would love to have a diesel hybrid little pickup. That would be a great solution for small farmers. Here is an announcement from Mahindra which is thinking of a hybrid diesel truck, but it is not in US markets:

http://www.dfwmahindra.com/

[Beery1]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Brodie', 'I')f you want to feel good about Peak Oil and to the coming changes -go test drive a Nissan Leaf-This is my third Electric Car ,the other 2 were CitiCars made in the 1980s,this car is Green,like a Leaf and totally awesome and affordable,with all of the incentives it is the only path forward for personal transport.

[SeaGypsy]

More an in house one: a knight must steer the mount using only his legs and buttocks in the saddle; that the arms are fully free for use of weaponry. The art of dressage is based on making the horse look at the ground; taking all it's prompts from the rider. This so the beast will run blind into the heat of battle. True Knighthood was always an elite.

[dsula]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seenmostofit', 'T')his? You mean, the decline in American standards of living which we have already been living in for a decade or two now? Or is "this" what our world looks like, some 7 years post peak now? Or perhaps "this" is the often hoped for, always around the corner but never quite arriving zombie apocalypse which seems to have fallen out of favor, this many years deep into "this" now? ... Which strikes me as a much better response to "this" as it has unfolded, rather than collecting guns, gold and growing food with Amish fervor.

[seenmostofit]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dsula', '
') We're not discussing doom. I bought 2 Leafs (Leaves?) as you advice in order to beat doom. And just to make sure doom really doesn't get me I bought a third one. I think I'm save.

[SeaGypsy]

Just bought the most sustainable car I could afford; bet nobody would guess? It's a mid 90's Peugeot diesel. Incredible economy, over 1000km mixed on 60 litres. Doesn't create any new jobs of course, neither require high tech maintenance. Can run on bio- diesel. Best compromise I could find.

[vision-master]

lol - you must be poor dude?

[yeahbut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'l')ol - you must be poor dude?

[SeaGypsy]

I put up the post because most of the yabbering about cars on this site is insistent that the new 'green machines' are so superior in mileage they warrant the purchase despite the often ridiculous pricetag. Any small euro diesel will leave the economy of these high tech gadgets in their wake; when all is stacked up.
BTW VM, I despise wankerism/ "You are what you drive" etc. philosophy. I only bought it because it became mandatory for a job I am starting.

[seenmostofit]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', 'I') put up the post because most of the yabbering about cars on this site is insistent that the new 'green machines' are so superior in mileage they warrant the purchase despite the often ridiculous pricetag.

[SeaGypsy]

It's getting harder, but captain flexible always finds a path for his ship.

[Pops]

Gypsy bought the most sustainable car, or rather the type of car that uses the least energy, a used car. My '69 4x4 390cid ford pickup that gets 10mpg downhill with a tailwind but goes to the feed store & lumber yard once a month uses less energy by far that someone elses' Built New For Them PEV that commutes 20 miles a day - or 2 miles a day for that matter.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'I') am not sure that is right Pops. The energy embodied in a car's manufacture is less than the energy used to run it....
Your second point, that driving less is good for the environment is a bit smug. As an American Consumer (apparently a semi-retired one) your personal transport/Energy Use may be measurably less then other American Consumers, ...