Would You Pay $90 to fill your Prius?

Just got off the amateur radio, and Ian, the fellow I was talking to told me that gas (after doing the conversion / math) is going for $9.05 per gallon in the U.K. So to fill the Prius you better bring a Benjamin. WOW. And we go Boo hoo, when it hits $4.00

Then it would cost me $180 to fill up the Highlander! That makes the $90 for the Prius a bit less unbearable. But then, we would be talking about $900 to fill up the motorhome!!!!!!!!

Considering that the UK is the size of one of our US states and that the UK has MASS public transportation options, not all Britons will be forced to buy that expensive gas. At least they options if they want to go somewhere (trains, buses, subway...)

Where I live in Ohio, if you don't have a car your butt is staying at home.

If it ever cost $90 here to fill up a Prius, I would be at home a lot more often than I am now, not to mention that the entire US economy would collapse at $9 per gallon gas.

That's the creepy thing ... how fast fuel costs will continue to spiral. Established / working reserves are diminishing. Meanwhile, foks cry, "open up the polar regions" ... which in a perfect world could maybe replace SOME of the giant fields that are shriveling up. That might leave us where we are ... on par, but with China and India ramping up their huge fossle fuel use, THAT kind of usage will be pale in comparison to our fuel use.

That leave us with business 101 ... supply and demand. Not "if ever" ... $9.00 / gallon is just a matter of time for us too. But hey, as the shrinks say, mankind can't handle too big a dose of reality at one time ... so it's best to just not think about it, until later, right?

Long before $9 a gallon stuff will change for us dramatically. Prius' will be stolen left and right. Those that have them can sell them for much much profit if they ever decide to sell tehm.

The hiways will get much thinner at rush hour. Prices for everything will skyrocket.

But to answer your question: yes, I would have no choice! I work 33 miles from home. My wife works 10. Even if we worked 5 we still could not walk it! I use a cane! Florida is uninhabitable without a car.

would i get healthcare for free too? 'cuz without the massive insurance premium each month i could still afford to pay that.

It will never be that expensive in the US. Artificial carbon-neutral gasoline will be manufactured and sold for less than $5 per gallon:

Green Car Congress: Los Alamos Developing Process for CO2 Capture and Stripping from Air for Synthetic Fuels Production

I'm guessing when that day comes, they'll be adding a lot more busses, and train routes ... and for the 1st time in my memory, they'll all be full up. I'd LOVE to see metrolink roll into the Irvine station here, at 4am for me. I could get off and only have one mile to bike to work. Heck, that's what they're doing in the U.K. ... busses & trains.

I would gladly pay that.

Currently it costs me 38$ Cnd .... 37.75$ US ... to fill up here in Quebec.

Less people in cars, more using trains / busses, would be a good thing.

By the time gas hits $10.00 a gal I expect I'll either have a really good plug-in for all but long distance or I'll have an EV and a few more PV panels on the roof.

I am paying 104.9 a litre at the moment, my maths gets me to about $8 a gallon......

I roads are still full in the UK even at that fuel price. The government is talking about introducing a "conjestion charge" on busy roads. Why, when public transport is soooooo good?

If I made my daily commute on public transport...........

I would have to leave 45 minutes earlier in the morning,
I would get home 105 minutes later in the evening,
It would cost me £20 a day (not sure on this one as a season ticket would probably save me a bit), fuel is still about tenner for my journey.

And I am in a car share with 3 other who do the same journey.

p.s. The timings above rely on the trains being on time, and amount to 25 days a year of dead time.

Oh yeah, galaxee, like myself just anyone who can afford it pays for private medical insurance in the UK, the NHS waiting lists are so long people die before getting on them, expensive medicines are only allowed to be given if your area has sufficent funds and if you do finally get into hospital you are as likely to die from MRSA that from what you came in with. But I spose its better than nout.

Well I was paying about that much to fill my Camry at the start of the Iraq invasion and that was only lasting 2 weeks not 3. I would know the person at the other pump with a conventional car would need more than a snowman ($100 bill) to pay for the same distance driving even if they had a Polo diesel or a 3 cylinder Daihatsu.

In case people don't know "nout" is central northern English for "nothing". If you knew that disregard this line.

The United Kingdom is just a little smaller than the state of Texas. It is about 1/15th of the size of the United States of America. It is far easier to have mass transit in the UK than in the USA.

As my long-departed dad used to say, figures don't lie, but liars know how to figure; which means that given enough numbers you can make a case for almost anything. Long before gas in the USA reached $9.00, there would be rioting in the streets and the health of public officials would be in serious doubt. Put another way, you can shear a sheep many times, but you can only kill it once.

Lock your doors.

Tom

Buy an AR-15 (sooner rather than later because I predict they'll be banned in '09) and lots of ammo (which, by the way, has doubled in price in the past two years due to dramatically increased metal prices.....it ain't just gas/oil that's goin' up) and learn how to use it!! :rain:

The price will sneak up and there will be the "Oh my god, gas is nearly $5 a gallon" then the "Oh my god, gas is nearly $6 a gallon" then the "Oh my god, gas is nearly $7 a gallon" then the "Oh my god, gas is nearly $8 a gallon" then the "Oh my god, gas is nearly $9 a gallon" then the "Oh my god, gas is nearly $10 a gallon" and you will pay it.

I look back in fond memories of the conversations of the past, "Oh my god gas is nearly $1 a gallon" then the "Oh my god gas is nearly $2 a gallon" then the "Oh my god gas is nearly $3 a gallon" from a few weeks back. Oil is still in demand and the wheels keep turning.

now those high gas prices aint because they are getting screwed by the middle east. its because those high gas prices pay for the mass transit they enjoy...

which begs the question, "are they really so bad off because of the high gas prices?"

imm, they are not. they are spending THEIR money in THEIR country to benefit THEIR citizens.

we are not.

obtw... i wish gas was $10 a gallon right now. if that forces people to park it and use public transportation then i will be happy

The spiraling fossle fuel conversation with Ian in the U.K. prompted a California trucker to comment to us that he easily now pays over $1,000 to fill his rig. So those figures simply translate into 'pass-along' costs to the goods they haul. Same with electricity. As fuel to fire up the steam turbines doubles, so too, the cost of electricity, the end product. It'll be interesting to see how long RV'ers continue to dot the landscape, when they start having to pay a grand, just to reach the next camp ground.

what does high gas prices get you??

CHOICES!! something we dont have. we are force fed piss poor, low mileage, testosterone-designed vehicles that really does not serve our best interests, and in most cases WE DONT HAVE ANY OTHER OPTIONS!!!

look at the EV options in the US... pathetic doesnt even describe it...not even close.

why cant we get a car that does 50 mph, gets up to 60 miles of range, seats 4 and get it for less than the cost of a Prius?? why, let me tell you why, because gas is too cheap. it is undervalued. having cheap gas, makes creating other options too expensive.

check out Belgiums options

REVA

at least not everyone is addicted to gasoliine

EV Photo Album: Our Electric Cars on the Web

It's all a matter of when instead of would.
Gas will surely continue to go up in price, and we surely will continue to buy it. An evil necessary.
It will not be until the gluttony of the American public is curbed that will see any difference.
We learned nothing from the gas shortage of the mid '70's. Yes, smaller cars were slowly introduced, but American's as a nation never accepted them to the point where they would be the main stay.
I am constantly amazed at the Mini Vans, SUV's, 4 X 4's (that never go off road), pick up trucks with pristine beds that have never seen a day's work that rumble down our highways with only one person in them!
And now the trend seems to be bringing back retro styled muscle cars with huge engines!
We as a society are very slow to learn and even slower to adjust.
So I bought a Prius to help things out a bit; I keep my Honda Civic well tuned as well as my VW Eurovan. (The Eurovan serves as a rolling kennel for our five dogs. I can almost justify it's use but not it's gas mileage.) I'm compulsive about recycling and have been for years, even before it became mandated in our county.
I'm now stepping down from my soap box.....