Small Road Trip observered drivers.

[Dereku]

I'm curious what these side jobs are.

Are you a mall cop after hours??

Digging tunnels in AZ apparently pays well. Either cash or bags of flour.

Sponsored

 

[fob63]

When you have multiple $40k -$60k vehicles, live in a $500k house, $5 a gallon doesn't mean much to someone, especially when you compare prices to European countries where it is $5 per liter. That's not me, but I do work for oil and gas support, so I am kind of biased.

And lets hope the gub'ment doesn't do what was done in the '70's with the speed limit maxed at 55 mph. No matter what the limit is, there will always be those who will drive 5 - 10 mph faster.


It is. People bitch about Apple and other makers about the price of $2k for a phone, yet there are people that will wait in lines to get the latest model.

Analogy might be close but people can get by with a flip phone if desperate but Gas and food will become the most important items. If you can afford a lot of expensive items then great. My statement is about the supply/demand for short term fix. Check out delayed airline flights, hard to fix in the imediate future, when after two years the corral gates were open and thousands of bucking broncos let loose.

 

[LuckyMonkey7]

I switched to commuting on a motorcycle about 3 years ago and cut my fuel costs in half and eliminated my toll bill. The break even point for the purchase price was 2 years.

Other than that, if I'm going somewhere further than work, I'm not slowing down and adding significant time to my drive time. 3-3.5 hours (80mph) is already enough to get super bored, 4-5+ (60mph) hours would just be annoying.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Hey, it's just money; just pieces of paper and metal and plastic we've all collectively agreed mean something and have value. Just go into debt, who cares, we'll all be dead soon anyways and it'll all be over. Can't take the money with you. I'd rather spend my money (rather than hoard it from everyone else), and since gasoline powers some great experiences (i.e. going to amazing and interesting places) then might as well spend my money that way. All depends on where your priorities lie. And in the grand scheme of things an extra couple dollars a gallon equates to an extra couple hundred dollars a month for those of us with 18gal Ranger tanks. I know that's hard for some people, but not for most. People just like to complain and let the world know about it.

That said, I've always driven a very eco style. So I also hate all the speeders and crazy people on the road, but I always have, so now is not much different.

 

[Trigganometry]

Hyper inflation and higher energy prices will squeeze everyone, there is no escape from that reality. How you navigate it says a lot about how you handle your decision making process. For the most part most members here fall into the frugal researched consumer.

 

[Jedadiah]

I think the people driving newer cars are becoming a little more conscientious of their fuel consumption because new cars generally tell you consumption figures, but the average age of a car in the US, at least, is around 12 years old.

Over the years as I've asked acquaintances what kind of mileage their cars get, they usually don't know or just say what the windows sticker said for highway. I really don't think they understand that their driving style has anything to do with consumption. Seems obvious to me, but car forum folks are definitely more attuned to vehicles than most.

My wife's new Subaru always has a +/- mileage indicator in the gauge cluster. She's not an aggressive driver, but does do a few things while driving that I know waste more fuel than needed. Just that little +/- things has her accelerating less quickly in the city and dropping a few mph on the interstate.

When I ask friends now what mileage their cars get, more actually know because their car lets them know.

 

[myothercarizahearse]

The government don't care, more than half the taxes on fuel are for them.
what a great way to re-fill the bank accounts after giving so much money away during the pandemic. We suffer for their free spending ways.

I didn't see any tears when we were getting our stimulus checks now it's time to pay it back 1 way or another. just like your "free" healthcare up north. you still pay for it, just in another way

 

[bfastr]

this is what most people in the half million dollar homes

you have homes for only a half mil? lucky. we used to in Tennessee but then lately there has been an overwhelming influx of people. what was 500K 10 years ago is now $1.5 mil.

not getting political, but I completely understand why I see so many license plates from a few select coastal states now.

 

[OFC Ranger]

My little 1050sqft 3BR/2BA no garage house cost me $124,000 after closing fees to be built in 2010. I have the smallest floor plan this side of the county. There were only 2 other houses built like mine before the developers quickly realized the area was blowing up and switched to to larger homes.

In 2022 my house hut is now worth $210,000.

I am flanked by houses that sold for $175,000 now worth around $300,000. (the good news is my energy bill is nice because of the two story houses on each side of me. lol)

I had not planned this, but this type of market has benefits.

 

[XLT and me]

Most all otr truckers get paid by the mile, not by the hour. Time is money. Next time you order stuff from amazon, and it takes 4 weeks for it to get to you, and it costs 5x as much,you can rejoice that those truckers took your advice to slow down to save fuel. That is if they didn't go out of business first because they only delivered one load a week.

 

[OFC Ranger]

I made the same observation the other day when I told the wife, "it doesn't look like gas is 5 bucks a gallon with so many cars on the road". I think many people are just slow to react. The price of gas, and the rate of inflation will catch up with those people shortly. Until then it's "balls to wall boys".

How quickly people forget history.

You won't see much decrease in traffic, however you will see truck and SUV sales plummet. This happened not that long ago in recent history.

$5.00 a gallon ain't much when you are starting to see more hybrids or even full gas engines that can get upwards of 40mpg when driven like grandpa.

 

[Strobes]

You ever think maybe you’re complaining about the wrong people? Or judging people for no reason just to set yourself up to be an unhappy curmudgeon? Maybe spirited driving gives these people a reason to continue living their hard and joyless lives? Maybe this spirited driving helps them cope with the fact that they have had to cut back elsewhere in order to survive in this current place/time?

There are an unlimited number of possibilities, but to set yourself up as judge and jury, in order to make yourself feel better about your current life choices, well…. Have fun being miserable.

Live and let live. ?

 

[OFC Ranger]

I don't believe this about politics! This is about helping to cut the cost for short term supply/demand.
Your analogy of eating out or buying a new Iphone isn't very representive.
Oh yes, I'm retired not ever had to ask for handout! Paid taxes for over 59 years and still paying.
We will see you in a few decades with thick glasses and hearing aids.

By the way, My truck is 2 years old and my odometer reads 4,129.3 miles. So, the higher price of gas isn't killing me!

Why is my analogy about buying food out or phones not representative?

Also my truck is 2 years old with less than 11,000 miles and I run strictly a 93 octane tune and has been fabricated into something with the aerodynamics of a brick with 4 wheels, but I don't care about how other people drive. Are you going to lecture me about removing my performance tune and removing all my countless hours of hand made fabrication from my truck if I complain that current administration has royally fucked up?

Its not about politics, they are all shit-birds, every last one of them regardless of affiliation, its about calling a spade a spade.

 

[XLT and me]

I don't think most people understand the thin strand this country is hanging by. The war on fossil fuels is going to make everyone poor, no matter what financial planning we may have done. Everything needs energy, when energy costs skyrocket, so does the price of everything else, except the value of your money. It really sucks to be nearing retirement and watching all my sacrifices to be frugal and save be washed away by idiots.

 

[OFC Ranger]

You ever think maybe you’re complaining about the wrong people? Or judging people for no reason just to set yourself up to be an unhappy curmudgeon? Maybe spirited driving gives these people a reason to continue living their hard and joyless lives? Maybe this spirited driving helps them cope with the fact that they have had to cut back elsewhere in order to survive in this current place/time?

There are an unlimited number of possibilities, but to set yourself up as judge and jury, in order to make yourself feel better about your current life choices, well…. Have fun being miserable.

Live and let live. ?

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

OP would probably have a heart attack if he went to the local drag strip on a Saturday night.

I laugh at classic hot rodders not because of gas, but because of their blind nostalgia for old slow cars that can now be outrun and out maneuvered by a modern mini-van with factory turbos.

Sponsored