Will $3.00 gas increase Prius sales?

I just traded in an 07 Quest on my new 2010 level 3 so I know exactly what you're talking about when it comes to fillup prices but with its 16gal tank (18mpg/280miles urban) it "only" cost $45-50 during the last peak prices. Yes, we (family of 4) miss the room but we took a 450 trip this weekend and did fine. Anything longer, like a weeks vacation, and we'll just rent something.

Folks in other parts are the world probably spit up a little bit on their monitor when they read you think $3 is high.

 

I don't know if it will increase sales, but I'd lay money on the fact it will increase the selling price!

 

I want the gas price to increase so I can enjoy less traffic on the freeway.

 

We saw gas hit 4 - 4.50 a couple of years back, and it DID make an impact on the amount of traffic, I thought. The "correct" price for a gallon of gasoline, given we have certainly passed the world production peak, is probably around 5-10 dollars per gallon. How long it will take this artificially manipulated market to seek that actual value is an open question.

Personally, I can't wait to see the first 5.00/gallon price here in the USA. I paid over 6.00 in Korea nearly four years ago...

 

Been paying $3.33 like forever. Hasn't gone below that since prices were almost $4.50 gal a few years ago...

 

newbie here,

what fuel octane should i use for a prius V?

thanks.

 

Hey Spiderman how much will the state of Alaska pay you this year from the oil royalties?

 

87

 

I remember a few years ago, the economist set was telling us $3/gal might be the turning point for US driving behavior (including vehicle choice). Turns out they were off by about a dollar--in Summer 2008, when we had consistent $4+/gal (and much more in some areas), that was when people really reacted. To my pleasant surprise, they didn't forget nearly as quickly as I'd thought they would; in 2009, people were still buying fuel-efficient vehicles for the most part. It took until this year for behavior to revert to what it was. (And, don't get me wrong, I fully understand and respect that there are plenty of people who *need* a truck for towing or work purposes, and poor people with old, inefficient vehicles they cannot afford to replace--they were the ones who really took it on the chin in '08).

So, I don't think the current spike will affect Prius sales too much, unless it worsens and stays that way. Which it eventually will...

 

$1200/person. This is actually only a small percentage of the interest made by the account. The account is around 30 billion.

 

The price of gas will probably nudge some of the fence-sitters into looking into a Prius, but it shouldn't have too dramatic an effect.
I only drive 9 miles to work every day, and I have 2 motorcycles...so I could (and sometimes do) drive a truck to work without gas prices impacting my budget.
For people who have to drive a zillion miles to work every day, the math changes.
Gas has been over $2.50 for a while now---no big change to see it hit $3 or even $5 a gallon---for me personally, since I don't burn much of the stuff.

I like the comment about 'fewer cars on the road'...ever been to Europe or Japan? Gas is going to have to get a LOT more expensive than even $5 a gallon to start to impact traffic here in the US---although you would probably see a lot more Priuses on the road if it does....(Just like in Japan.)

 

Here in the middle of California, regular gas has been around $ 3.00+ for some time now.

Keith

 

I sometimes wish gas would get to $5.00 a gallon to get the dime store billy bob's to park their pickups with the 4 ft lift kit, which never sees any dirt but then I realize the effect that would have on the economy.

if gas does go high and stays that way, then I think there will be a surge in the purchases of fuel efficient vehicles including the Prius. I wonder if that will ease or exacerbate the Prius hate.

 

Oil is a non-renewal resource. As the global human population increases and the amount of crude oil decreases, the price of oil (and consequently gasoline) will steadily rise. We have no choice except to migrate to more fuel efficient vehicles and look for alternative sources of power.

The influence of higher U.S. gasoline (oil) prices will have a much broader effect than billy bob not driving his truck very much any more. Be careful what you wish for.

Keith

 

Three bucks a gallon? Heck, if it ever got back down to that, I'd probably go for drives just for fun.

I haven't seen it that cheap in years. It's about $4.50 here at the moment.

 

Late summer prices here were about $2.75. Now hit $3.19 and still climbing! I live in truck and suv nirvana, so I would love to see more fuel efficient, smaller vehicles around me! Maybe I could find a parking space that isn't cramped from the behemoth overflow on both sides!

 

I hate to break it to you....but parking lot crowding is a function of population density. Have you ever tried to find a parking spot in Europe? Gas is like, 8 bucks a gallon there.
Yeah, the cars and trucks are a lot smaller, but I do not think that gasoline price spikes are going to influence your ability to get yourself a parking spot.

As the previous poster said, they stopped manufacturing oil a looooong time ago, so we're going to reach a point sometime in the future where it's just not financially viable to burn gasoline in cars---just like people don't use whale oil lamps for lighting their houses today. It's not going to happen in MY lifetime, but some day they're going to pull the last barrel of the black gooey stuff out of the ground. By then we'll be using a different energy source for personal transportation.
It's always economics.

 

It will make a difference. It's clear now that the resiliency of American myopia is great, however, with this proof in truck and other car sales since gas prices came down from 2008.

I dare not predict where gas will go, but it's very possible that all of our purchases this year, taking advantage of Toyota's desperation in selling cars, will have been very fortuitous. I recall when gas was $4+ (not tenable in this shattered economy on any kind of a long term basis, I'm sure) that getting a Prius was very difficult.

Good question.