I paid $8 equiv. in France a few months ago for diesel. The rental VW Golf TDI got US equiv of 50 mpgs. It didn't seem to slow many people down in France. I think the gas was even more than diesel (gasoil). People will do what they have to to travel. It costs my neighbor $75 to fill his Surbaban right now in LA. The Surbaban sits in his driveway a lot.
I had an electric vehicle but I sold it. It was more a curiosity than usable for transport. Pat Sparks' 1967 Lightburn Runabout The Solar Shop tried to get the Reva into the Australian market place but the government wouldn't allow it to be sold as it failed to meet safety regulations. You think you don't have choices? In Australia we cant even drive the glorified golf carts on the road, Zap and the like.
If it cost that much ($90/Prius fill up), CA government short fall in funds will be resolved. Come on, where is the $5/gal gas already?
Where's the $5 gas? Look like CA, at least in 1 place: Higher fuel tax is the plus? Never thought of it that way. You know, a drop of 1%-2% for a couple months is NOT cutting back, any more than saying, 'look, the stock market is going (up)down, based off of 30 or 60 days worth of data. Look at the rates over decade increments, and you'll see. Oh there IS a 'cut back' coming, but it's coming (in fact it's likely already here) for a different reason. Like capacity maxinig, 'that's all she wrote'.
Yesterday's newspaper reported that our local Transit ridership is up 14%. This is good. More is better. We already drive less. With better weather upon us, DH is planning to go back to walking to work (miserable when it is pouring rain). The driving I do has gotten much closer to home, too. Short trips brings down the MPG, but a tank lasts a lot longer!
If I had to I would. At least we can still buy gas. Think what would happen if you could not buy any gas.....starting tomorrow.
I just watched the most recent (?) episode of Top Gear on BBC America yesterday. They staged a race across London, pitting a Mercedes against a bicycle, a racing boat on the Thames and the Stig taking public transportation. All 4 racers left on foot from the same location, got to their vehicles and arrived at the same location in the London City Airport. The bicycle came in first, followed closely by the speedboat. Public transit was in 3rd after them, and the guy driving the Mercedes arrived about 15 minutes after the one who took public transit. Riding a bicycle was also the cheapest way to go, and has the added benefit of being good for your health! Just something to keep in mind.
On the Top Gear show, did you check how many times Richard Hammond (the guy on the bike) nearly got wiped out by a bus? Understand what you say about the health aspect, but I think riding a bike in London can be very harmful to your health (apart from hoping you don't become someones "roadkill", think of all those fumes the biker inhales)... yeah, much better in a Prius..
Major cities are about the only place in the UK where the cost/time equasions start to drift back towards public transport. Even though my car is exempt from the congestion charge, if I were going into London, I would still take the tube. But that may be more about me, I have never driven in London, and have no plans to start now. Riding a bike in London..... a great idea, unless you have a morbid fear of death.
We rented a car & drove 1/2 way accross downtown London. Never again! We tied w/ a pedestrian that we noticed at the beginning of our journey. EDIT: What a PERFECT environment for an EV .. even a NEV. Wow, you'd have cheeper parking (they discount), and NOT have to pay $90 to fill the tank ... or more. I'll bet there aren't too many RV's running around the landscape, in areas where they'd have to spend a grand, just to get from one filling station to the next.
Gas has always been insane in Europe. Why do you think they always drive such small cars, walk, or take public transportation? When we were in Greece (dh is Greek) we rented a Hyundai Accent. This was in 1999 and we paid $5.50 a gallon to fill up. I can't even IMAGINE what it's like there now.
The market will adjust to this like it did to $2/gal gasoline. You see it already. How many people can trade in a full size SUV on ANY dealer lot right now? More and more EV's will become available. More people will convert current cars to EV's. Short of the supply drying up tomorrow, it will work out. It may be painful for some, or most.. but it will work out. What I don't get is why is our military not aggressively searching for alternative fuels? We know the supply will end eventually.. oh well, America has never been particularly foward thinking.
Three weeks ago I paid $91 to fill-up my Vette... I still haven't bought any gas for the Prius yet...