IF Gas Prices reach $4 a gallon or higher...

[CruisingAZ]

Originally Posted by jwight

The party, IMHO, is over and we're the ones waking up with the hangover.

But some of us have found the "smart" way to get over a hangover.

[jwight]

Originally Posted by CruisingAZ

But some of us have found the "smart" way to get over a hangover.

Let us hope so; good on ya to all who have their cars or have one on order. In this case, foresight was 20/20.

[LinuxGuy]

Originally Posted by jwight

everybody else pays $7 or $8 a gallon, we start screaming when it goes over $3.

Actually, the price of gasoline is about the same in Europe as it is in the US. The price difference is primarily just the taxes levied. In the US the tax on a gallon of gas is about 40 cents (20 cents Federal & 20 cents state). However in Europe the tax levied on a gallon of gasoline is approximately $4.50.

[jwight]

Originally Posted by LinuxGuy

Actually, the price of gasoline is about the same in Europe as it is in the US. The price difference is primarily just the taxes levied. In the US the tax on a gallon of gas is about 40 cents (20 cents Federal & 20 cents state). However in Europe the tax levied on a gallon of gasoline is approximately $4.50.

Absolutely correct; however, it's price at the pump (and out of the wallet) that's being discussed so they're still paying upwards of $8 a gallon to gas up while we're just now getting to $4 a gallon nationwide.

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by Dunerunner

My smart will help until ethanol or hydorgen can be developed. Oops! I didn't want to go there. ;(

sorry TOO LATE!

i would LOVE to have an 'ethanol' or 'CNG' smart.....THAT would be the best case scenario.

maybe someday.......

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by Gentrification

I'm loving my 2005 CDI ForTwo with every fill-up. I take 50% Biodiesel and I get between 60 to 70 mpg. One guy in our club has managed to get 100 mpg a few times.

I hope that things change so that they allow the new 451 diesels to be sold in the US and Canada. Increasing fuel prices might encourage that!

The diesel road with the price of diesel what it is. There is not enough diesel around now due to such high demand that's why the price is up there. What would be gained in mpg would be lost in the price/gal.
Unfortunate but true.

[Bremer Speck]

Originally Posted by tipo158

Last spring I gave a talk in Berlin and had a free day, so I spent it driving the Autobahn as fast as I could, for as long as I could. Out of fear of enraging any environmentalists here, I won't say how fast or long that was, but I did pay around $6/gal for the privilege.

On the flight home, I was seated next to a guy from Scotland who said that he was paying a bit over $9/gal at home.

And that was last year ...

alan

Hi Alan, do not feel bad about doing what you did. I attempted to do the same a few weeks ago when I was driving a BMW from Hamburg to Bremen. For a very short time, I got it up to about 210 KPH (about 130 MPH) but for most part of the trip, all the trucks and speed limits kept me going about 120 KPH. I was told that the Autobahn in Germany is no longer what it once used to be. Construction, congestion, speed limits has reduced the average speed quite significantly. AND, for other readers of this post, bear in mind, that these kind of speeds are being reached or driven by SMALL cars. Most Americans would s*** their pants, if they were sitting in the co-driver seat.

[SnakeFarm]

Originally Posted by Bremer Speck

Most Americans would s*** their pants, if they were sitting in the co-driver seat.

That is exactly why all of my cars have "passenger" seats instead of "co-driver" seats. I like for my payload to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

[tipo158]

Originally Posted by Bremer Speck

Hi Alan, do not feel bad about doing what you did. I attempted to do the same a few weeks ago when I was driving a BMW from Hamburg to Bremen. For a very short time, I got it up to about 210 KPH (about 130 MPH) but for most part of the trip, all the trucks and speed limits kept me going about 120 KPH. I was told that the Autobahn in Germany is no longer what it once used to be. Construction, congestion, speed limits has reduced the average speed quite significantly. AND, for other readers of this post, bear in mind, that these kind of speeds are being reached or driven by SMALL cars.

Traffic and road condition weren't that bad. One Autobahn wasn't quite done, though my map showed that it was and one other section was still being converted to Autobahn as well. No Stau (traffic jams) on my trip, but I heard lots of reports of problems around Munich and most anywhere along the Rhein, so I stayed away.

I was supposed to get an Audi A3, but I got a Seat Altea XL (kind of a hatchback-based minivan) and it would only hit 110-115 mph, but I kept the car there when speed limits and conditions allowed it.

I used to live in Munich, so I was familiar with southern Germany. My family history is in the Luebeck and Wilhelmshaven area and I had never been there, so I decided to check it out. Went up to Luebeck, then Kiel, back down to Hamburg, over to Bremen and then up to Wilhelmshaven via Oldenburg. I was intending to go back to Berlin via Hannover and Leipzig, but made a wrong turn and ended up heading back towards Luebeck. Once I got to Luebeck, it was too late to head back down towards Hannover and I went back via Rostock.

The only drama of the trip was trying to find a gas station near Rostock (the Autobahn there doesn't have the gas stops along the way like in the former western Germany) and trying to find my way back to my hotel once I got back to Berlin (I walked and U-Bahn'ed everywhere while I was in town and I only had an Autobahn atlas, no detailed city maps).

On one of my "see how fast an Altea will go" runs, I was passed by something. Don't know what it was. It came up so quick and was gone so quick that I couldn't tell.

Most Americans would s*** their pants, if they were sitting in the co-driver seat.

I guess. I almost never noticed the speed when I was co-driving.

alan

[Gentrification]

Originally Posted by jonnysan

The diesel road with the price of diesel what it is. There is not enough diesel around now due to such high demand that's why the price is up there. What would be gained in mpg would be lost in the price/gal.
Unfortunate but true.

Wow, diesel must be expensive down there - I get 60 to 70 mpg with diesel, the price would have to be 150% of the cost for petrol before it didn't make financial sense.