I have a confession to make about my Prius.

I have never felt this way. I feel that it is very unfortunate that Americans are being held hostage by the super wealthy on Wall Street. Something is just wrong. Sadly, in the not too distant future, I know that we will be back again to $4.00 a gallon or higher.

 

I'm hoping it will happen every day after I get mine.

 

I don't think gas prices going up again is a laughing matter.

I am happy that I have a Prius and am paying much less for gas than if I still had my former car (before the 2004 Prius I replaced with the 2010 Prius). However, when gas prices go up, I am still paying more for gas.

I do hope that rising gas prices will get more people thinking about the money they are wasting driving gas guzzlers.

 

Higher gas prices are a very good thing for this country. It's the ONLY thing that will make people come to their senses and start using our precious resources in a responsible, sustainable way and to start thinking in a more global, less selfish, context. It's a shame that this is what it takes, but here in America we don't seem to care, except about our pocket books in the short run.

 

Well, I totally understand what the OP is saying. I'm not laughing at others, nor do I like to pay more at the pump, but having one of the most efficient cars on the road takes the sting out of watching the prices go up. I guess people buy Prius's for different reasons, but at the end of the day, we all get to take advantage of our low cost per mile. So when I see $3.00 a gallon, and I know that used to take me only a third as far as it does now, I certainly am happy about that.

 

It's a sad truth, but truth just the same. As much as I would never wish ill on my neighbors, I would wish some common sense to take hold. And if getting hit with the economic equivalent of a 2x4 to the back of the head is what it takes to get their attention... I can only shake my head and hope they get a clue before its too late.

 

HybridKingdom, No, I have not had that feeling, maybe because I do still have to buy some gas. I do, however, smile every time I drive past the gas station I most frequently use. I smile because I am now on track to stop there twice a month, or less, where I formerly was stopping at that gas station two and three times a week. --TK

 

All the time, I work for a company that makes machinery for big oil. Actually, when oil prices are up we sell a lot and I get big a bonus so I don't need a car with high MPG during those times. Next year is going to be rough, no bonus for sure.

 

i cant say i bust out in hysterical laughter when gas prices go up, but i am a firm believer that many people will not act until forced to. i talk with so many people every day who justify their vehicles with outlandish statements of need.

the amount of money spent on oil is undermining our economy and national budget. now, granted, even if we got back every single penny spent on foreign oil EVER, that still would not pay back half of the federal deficit, but we have to start somewhere and 400 billion a year is a pretty damn good start.

then lets look at the untold cost to the environment... a cost that may not be realized until its way too late. for the most part, we can only speculate as to what things would be like if pollution from transportation and energy sources for electricity were a fraction of what they are today. our eco system is constantly changing but so much of it we simply fail to fully understand its impact to us long term...

sure, the honey bee issues in California a few years ago could be quantified in lost fruit harvest revenue but what about other things affected that cannot be so directly correlated to anything that directly supports our existence? now whether the bee thing had anything to do with pollution, who know? for all we know, the issue could have been caused by a change in the food change 3 times removed from the bees.

its all a puzzle and we can only see some of the pieces and the pieces we can see, we arent fully sure of how they fit. but when you get right down to it. look at the contents of exhaust, one thing for sure, whatever it is doing to us, it cant be good

 

I was thinking and talking about the whole "gas prices" thing tonight on the way home from dinner in my new Gen III.

The thing is... no matter WHAT the prices do... if they drop to 50¢ or climb to $10...
I will be getting over double the mileage I was getting with my previous car !!!!

 

I pray and hope that oil prices won't sky rocket out of control since I do not believe it benefits most in an equitable manner. I wish no ill will for our country, a nation that I have pledged my allegiance to.

However, it is not clear that the majority of Americans, or those who appear to have the most influence to control and direct our nation's future, believe maximizing our use of this resource is a reasonable path. As such, I've hedged my bet by investing in the "best of the hybrids" until the political future of alternative fuels and dependence becomes clearer for us all.

In the meantime, I have peace of mind that I've made a solid choice in aligning with Prius hybrids while also enjoying the benefits of the leading edge technologies that Toyota has incorporated into their Gen II and Gen III Prius models...

 

You feel *Americans* are held hostage?
Here in the Netherlands I just paid € 1.44 for a litre of gas...

1 gallon = 3.7854118 litre
1 dollar = 0.695 euro

(1.44 / 0.695) * 3.785 = 7.84 dollars per gallon
(edited after someone with more math skill came a long and slapped me )

A year ago, I paid € 1.79 at the same station... Or 9.75 dollar a gallon converted, which is of course what we're rapidly climbing back up to. (in fact, the dollar was a bit higher then, so it was actually a lot closer to 10.5 dollar a gallon )

Ah well. That just means that I'm about 2 times as happy with my high MPG Prius I suppose

 

In the UK our unleaded is currently around £1.02 per litre = £4.64 a gallon = $7.85 a gallon

Now that is what you call expensive

 

You made a little mistake in your equation. It should be:
(1.44 / 0.695) * 3.785 = 7.84 dollars per gallon

That's what we are paying here in Europe. In the Czech, we pay between 29-33Kc a liter, that is 6.1-7 dollars a gallon...

And the car prices are very different too. In the Czech, only gen II Priuses are available - no gen III until this winter, as we are very low on the priority list. A basic gen II Prius is sold for 720 000Kc, that is $40 000. Top class gen II Prius is approx. 850 000Kc, that is $47 222. I bought my 2008 Prius four months ago for 440 000Kc, that is $24 444 - it was about year and a half old and had 36 400 miles on it. That is the same price you guys pay for a brand new gen III!

I am a researcher and a university teacher and my salary is above average here in Czech. I get $1200 a month. Do you guys have any idea how many years I had to put my savings aside to afford that car!?

And you tell me something about being held hostage...

 

ok, so we can safely conclude that my math skills are horrible at early morning. (let me at least keep my dignity by claiming they are ok for the rest of the day )

But yeah... prices in the US seem a joke to us europeans.

I'm paying around €34k for my Dynamic (which is similar to a IV). That is almost $50k ...

 

It was just a typo, can happen to any of us - I myself do such mistakes very often . I would not dare to doubt your math skills (or any other for that matter ) and absolutely no offence was meant .

Yep, I thought it might be interesting for our American friends to put things into perspective - but on the other hand, as you said, we can be twice as happy with our MPG .

 

Well, HybridKingdom, just think how happy you would be if you lived here in the United Kingdom.

Petrol here is around £1.03 a litre. Converting this to US gallons and then US dollars I calculate to be around $6.30 a US gallon.

Cars like the Prius though are far rarer over here than in the US. No doubt due to the popularity of turbo diesel cars.

 

The Prius is not rare in London though. As it pays no congestion charges I have seen many many of them in central london . I have also noticed that a some hackney companies in central london use an all-Prius or mostly-Prius fleet .

 

Even now I cringe with gas prices going back up. I buy gas more frequently, since the expectation is that it'll be higher tomorrow, so buy today. I'd much rather see prices dropping, and wait as long as possible to buy gas.