Has the decrease in gas prices changed the way you drive your Prius?

Oh yes, definitely!

When I first got Carmine, I was able to drive in the 2 right lanes. Now that prices have dropped, everyone else is speeding up and I have to stay in the far right lane. Gosh, people don't "get" it, do they?

 

Nope. Even with lower prices, it's still relative, and still me vs. those MFD numbers!

 

I am still driving the prius the same way, however my wife wants our family to drive around with the family SUV more.

 

No

 

I see gas prices as low as $1.53, down from $3.99, around NE Ballamer. On
the surface it seems stupid to try to keep FE/MPGs at the highest possible,
when I can now get more than 2x the gas for the same $$$.

Well, I'm still still fighting to get the highest possible FE/MPGs every day. In
the long run, what is important is not the price of gas, but how much of it I
use; less = better. I also believe that gas prices wil go back up, and it takes
practice and dedication to first learn, then apply, in turn internalize, and
finally to intuitively identify and implement the best of the many FE/MPG
strategies, tactics, tricks, and mods.

I don't claim to be a "Hyper miler," but I am an EPA or better miler on most
days.

Lastly, keeping up the good fight is fun, -- an unscripted "reality game" with
no real losers -- and the concentration on factors outside the car makes for
better/safer driving. That is, as long as the FE/MPG quest is not taken to the
extreme of obstructing or impeding traffic flow.

 

No. I'm as cheap as ever.

Tom

 

On occasion I'll hit 70 in one of the far right lanes while everyone else is now doing 75+. When i decide to drive 65, I have people passing me. My mileage is now around 49-50 (stupid Southern California hills).

 

Heck no! The tortoise always wins the race...

 

No, I still toggle between playing the MPG game and driving spiritedly. Both are fun but sticking with just one get boring easily.

 

No.

If anything, with colder weather setting in, I'm trying harder than ever to maintain decent consumption (currently averaging around 5.0 l/100 km or 47 mpg in ~4°C or 39°F temperatures).

The fact that it now costs less to do so is simply a nice benefit. The game's the thing for me, I guess.

 

No, not the way I drive the Prius.

I have however started making some extra trips in the Tundra that I had been putting off or might not have made before. These are trips that involved hauling full loads in the bed (one over a long distance.) I'm going to try to get the bulkier long trip items taken care of before gas prices rebound. I'm not really driving either vehicle differently though...just changing what I drive when.

 

No, and yes. Once a cheapskate, always a cheapskate! Especially if, like me, you spent your childhood during WW2 in England and experienced the rationing and shortages of that era. You learned to save, value what you had, re-cycle, and drive a hard bargain. That went out of fashion when the consumer led, throwaway society emerged.

Gasoline will go back up in price, starting Dec 17, when OPEC meets. Since they're not making any more of it, the upward trend in price will continue, though not in a straight line. In 5 years time, I fully expect oil to be North of $150/barrel, assuming the world economy is back on track. If by then it is not, we'll be in the mother of all depressions.

Your opinion may differ!!

 

No changes. Drive to optimize fuel efficiency.

 

I love that it only takes $11 to fill up. I keep trying to improve mpg's. I'm not driving faster.

 

No, If a pinball game cost 10 cents or a dollar a free game is still a free game!

The arcade game that is my Prius is still the same game. And petrol prices here have only dropped from $1.50ish per litre to around one dollar a litre, but $40 fill ups beat $60 fill ups. I don't have a price displayed on the dash board so once in the car the game is the same.

 

Right and Wrong do not change with gas prices.

 

I drive the same but I now pay cash for gas to get a further discount.