77 bucks to fill up yesterday.

[Midlodemocrat]

:banghead:

And, I'm one of the lucky ones. I work at home and don't do a lot of driving, so that full tank will last me about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. Combining errands, not turning left is actually making quite a big difference.

How do people who do have to commute survive with this? It's insane.

[Phillycat]

1. You must have an enormous gas tank. What do you drive?

[Midlodemocrat]

2. A minivan.

Three kids, two dogs. Carpools, you get the drift.

I think it took 19 gallons and some yesterday, because the light had come on the day before.

[Phillycat]

9. Ah, gotcha. I have a 10-gallon tank so that seemed like a lot to me!

:D

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

28. Dang, my little Altima has a 16.5-17 gallon tank.

[Phillycat]

30. Mine's a Toyota Corolla.

:shrug:

Even with the 10 gallon tank, and with 2 of us using it, we still only fill it up once every 2 weeks. We take the train to work every day, thank goodness.

Since it's just the two of us, this car is actually too big for us. Lots of wasted space. We're getting a Smart Car in September when we move to France.

[CreekDog]

26. i give you credit

you have dogs that belong to a carpool. :P

[Midlodemocrat]

31. It's all about the dogs, dude.

[Zuiderelle]

3. An 18 gallon tank would take that much at 4.25 a gallon.

[Midlodemocrat]

5. I paid $4 a gallon

for the mid range. It was $4.10, but I went to Kroger where you get $.10 off each gallon with your Kroger card.

[montanto]

17. Its already $5.00 here. That's why I walk.

[CreekDog]

27. mid grade gas?

unless you have a turbo or your car knocks, there's about $2 a tank you can skip and buy regular.

[Midlodemocrat]

32. I know. It's just that the car is still pretty new

It's a 2007 Town and Country with 10,000 miles on it, so I want it to last. I figured once in a blue moon, the mid grade wouldn't be such a big deal. With my Kroger card, it brought the midgrade down to the regular price.

[CreekDog]

33. Town and Country?

Don't you get enough crap in the Lounge already and now you mention that you have a car with wood paneling on the sides? :banghead:

I swear you are like Cool Hand Luke! :rofl:

(on edit: i see that the 2007 doesn't seem to have wood paneling on the sides, but still...)

[Midlodemocrat]

34. Fuck you. It has Sirius Satellite Radio.

:rofl:

That line gets MrCoffee every time.

I LOVE my minivan. It's probably the last one I'll own because my kids are getting older, but it's awesome. It holds a ton of stuff. When Mr. was redoing the bathrooms, he put all the stuff from Lowe's in there with no trouble.

I LOVE it.

I know. I'm a dork.

[Orsino]

72. Unless the owner's manual specifically calls for mid-grade or better...

...my understanding is that the more expensive gas does nothing for you. I used to do that with the old Paseo until I learned better.

[cboy4]

67. You're complaining about $4 gas.

:eyes:

Ooops, the eyes.

[Midlodemocrat]

69. How much is it out there?

And, I'm not really complaining as much as venting a bit. I am worried about people who commute and how they're going to survive this.

[cboy4]

70. Oh you know I'm just teasing you .. it's about 4.65 here,

give or take depending on which part of town.

It's hit $5 in some locations in LA.

And I agree about survival.

How about the school districts that may not be able to afford to run the buses five days a week this school year.

The truckers.

It's awful

[Phillycat]

10. Right. I'm used to a 10 gallon tank so that's why I asked!

[Zuiderelle]

12. That's tiny. What kind of car is that?

[Phillycat]

15. A Toyota Corolla.

There's only two of us, so this car is actually too big for us. :shrug: We're getting a Smart Car when we get to France.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

42. Are you moving to France? Or just a visit?

If you're just visiting, how much hassle/expense is it to bring back a car?

That sounds like a good idea!

:hi:

[Phillycat]

43. Moving to France.

:)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

47. Tres gutsy

Bon chance.

:hi:

[Phillycat]

62. Merci!

:hi:

[tigereye]

4. mine was 38, but I have a smaller car

and I was blanching as it inched toward 40 bucks!


And this was at the "grocery store- cheapo if you buy more groceries" gas station...

[Midlodemocrat]

7. Kroger. It's what's for gas.

:rofl:

I kept telling my son to keep watch and see how high it went while I bitched very publically about GWB. Didn't hurt that I had a DU tee shirt, either.

Need to get a few more, they're getting worn out.

[tigereye]

13. maybe they are monitoring your commentary from inside the gas station

- "hey she's a liberal dem - let's make her gas cost even more while she's standing there!" :rofl: :silly:


I made polite fun of a guy driving a Hummer while he was at the pump about a month ago... :hide:

[Orsino]

20. Heh. There ain't no way...

...Kroger could monitor your chatter, the way their kiosks screech at you every gosh-darned second. They are truly desperate to sell you all sorts of gas additives and other junk.

I don't mind it so much, because a Prius' ten-gallon tank fills quickly, and doesn't need filling often. :D

[tigereye]

39. how is the mileage? we have discussed getting a hybrid, but

my husband's feeling at this point is that the extra cost of the hybrid's doesn't compensate for the added fuel efficiency - he wants to wait for mostly electric cars...

my brother has a Ford hydrid and the mileage isn't that better than my conventional car, which surprised me...

[Orsino]

45. 50+

Better in hot weather.

But yeah, Ford's only hybrid (Escape SUV) gets worse mileage than many cars. I'm looking forward to electric cars, too.

[Orsino]

71. $35.80 to fill up today.

9.17 gallons @ $3.899/gal, and I hope to keep getting better than 500 miles per tank.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

44. T-shirts wear out?

I don't understand this concept ...

:shrug:

:hi:

[LynneSin]

6. Wish me luck - I have to fill up my gas tank today

:scared:

With living 2 miles from work I go thru about a tank every 6 weeks. But I also am doing very little travelling this summer.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. I'm telling you. The no commute, or slight commute is the deal

breaker.

There are a ton of people in my neighborhood who telecommute like I do. It's going to be the next industrial revolution. And, another great idea would be to go to a four day work week. Think how much gas that would save.

TM's car was $53 to fill up on Saturday, so you're probably in that general area. :banghead:

[Phillycat]

11. A local gov't about 20 miles from here is going to 4-day weeks.

4 10-hour days, closed on Fridays. They're trying to save the employees money, and also save themselves the electricity, etc, of being open that 5th day. I think this will be a big trend. I only wish it had happened sooner. If every company in the US had started this sort of thing earlier, just imagine how much carbon emission we would have saved.

[Skittles]

65. I already work 3 or 4 nights a week

the 12 hours are a bit much though; I have always thought 10 hour nights would be just right

[Zuiderelle]

14. Yeah, the no commute thing is the bomb.

I think we'll be seeing more and more people telecommuting. There's not much reason not to for certain professions. I feel for people in the service industry. You can't very well telecommute and wait tables, or sell clothes.

[LynneSin]

16. I feel bad for some of these kids

My Nephew is the same age as your daughter and like your daughter they probably have a job to work during the summertime. What's sad is the job really is there to pay to keep the gastank filled. What chance do any of these kids have for saving for school. My family is kinda ticked - both Newphews (who are brothers) work at the same place (a local amusement park) and yet the park can't bother to put both of them on the same schedule. They both work different jobs at the park but both are doing jobs that are the same exact hours.

[montanto]

23. I wake with this hole in my heart every day.

Gas is already 5 bucks here. Food prices are rocketing due to fuel prices. I don't feel too bad for myself: solidly middle class, middle aged, educated, house, car that gets good mileage, pussycat, etc.

But I'm a high school teacher.

I have to look these economically challenged kids in the face every day and tell them it's O.K. In fact, My senior class just walked out the door for the last time--just now. They're gone. So, I'm weeping for that, but also because I'm scared that they are so fucked.

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. $108 for a fill here...

but I don't go anywhere anymore so it's all good.

[TBF]

19. My hubby and I have Subarus - he has a sporty one and I have a wagon - $50 to fill up.

We're thrilled w/our little cars and they've always been reliable too. When we had the 2nd child hubby asked if I wanted to trade up for a minivan but I couldn't give up my little Outback.

[flvegan]

21. $50 to fill mine the other day. Will last me two weeks.

Thank goodness for telecommuting.

I drive to the office twice a week, and I may cut that to once (50 miles round trip) considering I need to use premium grade fuel.

Plus, I drive like a maniac.

[LostinVA]

22. It cost me $60 to fill up my tiny VW Golf

And I commute.

Haruka's car costs about the same to fill up. Fortunately, she has a 1.5 mile commute.

[RebelOne]

25. $60 to fill up a little VW. That doesn't sound right.

I have a Taurus station wagon and it only costs me an average of $50.

[CreekDog]

29. it sounds right if you know how VW gas gauges work

When you hit E, you are running on fumes, unlike American cars with a few gallons still sloshing in the tank.

[LostinVA]

53. Diesel is nearly $5/gal

[snooper2]

24. Cost me $14.09, and my tank was empty..

nt

[krispos42]

35. It cost me over $50 yesterday

And I still had more than a quarter-tank left.

$3.79 a gallon for like 13 gallons. And I'm "lucky" it's so cheap.

[Maddy McCall]

36. I quit my job because of the commuting expense.

150 miles round trip, three to four times a week.

I'm looking closer to home, and we're living off the savings until something comes along.

I don't care if I have to check groceries at the Pig, just knowing that I don't have to make that commute anymore, and don't have to put nearly a thousand dollars a month in my gas tank, is cause to celebrate.

[Midlodemocrat]

37. No kidding. I feel for you, Maddy.

I know I'm very lucky with my circumstances.

Hope you find something soon. :hug:

[Maddy McCall]

38. After the stressfulness of commuting...

I'm not even looking right now. I've got a couple of aps in at community colleges around here.

If I get hired, great. If I don't, I'll check groceries...

I never realized how liberating it would be to park the car and say "no more." I'm doing lots of fishing, and playing with this new guy we just adopted.





:hug: back. :loveya:

[Phillycat]

40. Oh my good lord, look at that FACE.

Ahem, excuse me, but I do not believe you posted the requisite lounge introductory post with multiple pictures. That puts you in direct violation of Code 349754 of Lounge Official Policy, which states that all pets adopted by Lounge denizens must be introduced in their own threads to consolidate "OHMYGOD LOOKATTHESWEETBABY" posts in one location. Please correct this situation immediately or you will be issued a citation*.

*Citation: Skittles comes over and kicks your ass.

[Maddy McCall]

46. Oh shit!

I'll get right on that! Promise I'll do it tonight.



:rofl:

[Malikshah]

51. Just think, 12K less out of pocket a year (plus the wear and tear on the car)

My partner just did the same thing-- got a job 3 miles from home as opposed to 40.

The pay is less, but has potential for growth. In the meantime, the expected savings of 6-7K a year makes up a bit of the difference.

Good luck and look on the bright side :)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

41. I now use my motorcycle to get to work most days

last fill-up, 4.4 gals @ $4.28, $19 total.

Getting a little over 45 mpg.

But if it's going to rain ...

Smallish SUV, 25 mpg, not so good.

[JVS]

48. Sybaritic luxury doesn't come cheap

[Midlodemocrat]

49. No kidding. It's hard being so bourgeois.

:rofl:

[JVS]

52. Now, now, the bourgeois virtues usually include thrift

I see you and your vehicle more like patricians of the late Roman empire.

[sniffa]

50. The stretch Hummer isn't such a great idea after all

Just think, that $77 could have fed a poor DUer for a year. Or for 6 months, plus a wireless connection.

[Midlodemocrat]

54. But, don't you remember?

I HATE the homeless.







:rofl:




Nope. Never gets old.

[bicentennial_baby]

55. Me too! I like to rub it in their faces by

getting financial aid. :bounce:

[Midlodemocrat]

56. You are a very bad progressive.

How DARE you get financial aid when people are sleeping in their cars? How can you live with yourself?







Nope. Never gets old. :rofl:

[bicentennial_baby]

57. I go into debt to make them sad!

Never, ever, gets old... :rofl:

[sasquatch]

58. Haha, no wonder matcom has a motorcycle

:D

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

59. Ow.

[DarkTirade]

60. Hell, I haven't filled my tank since Christmas.

Seriously, never gotten it over the 2/3 mark.

[bigwillq]

61. That's not really that bad then

if it's going to last you a few weeks.


Always trying to look on the bright side. :) :hi:

[carlyhippy]

63. the car lot filled my gas tank, thank god, when I bought my xterra

2 weeks ago, when it got to 1/2 a tank this week I put 24.00 and got 1/4 a tank, which will last me 1 week, I am planning on keeping it at 1/2 all the time, 20-25 dollars each week whether it needs it or not. It has a 20 gallon tank.

My kid has an older pontiac, and 20.00 gave him 3/4 a tank of gas, he was between 1/4 and empty.

[Sequoia]

64. Not turning left?! What, is your blinker out or something?!!

That hurts.

[Midlodemocrat]

66. If you try to plan your errands so that you turn left as few times

as possible, you will save gas. UPS drivers have completely redone their routes to avoid turning left as much as they can.

Think about it. All that time idling at a stop light or waiting for cars to pass so you can go. You avoid that when you plan your errands around turning right instead of left.

[Sequoia]

74. UPS? Are you serious?! I'll have to ask our driver when he comes in.

I will certainly have to think this one out. I live out in the country and town is 12 miles away. But we do try to do everything in a circle.

[Sequoia]

76. It's true. He told me they do it in San Francisco.

[Sequoia]

75. Delete. Double click.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

68. 47 bucks here yesterday ($4.02/gal). Last fill-up was almost 3 weeks ago.

Now that it's summer, though, I'm going to be driving longer distances and more frequently, so my glory days of 3 weeks between fill-ups are coming to an end. Between yesterday and today I already used up almost a quarter-tank, although that was mostly work, so I might be able to get some reimbursement there.

[EnviroBat]

73. It cost me $22.00 to fill up the Harley the other day...

When I first started riding motorcycles, you could put $3.00 in the tank, and be good to go for days... They are fucking us BIGTIME!