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  #21  
Old August 21st 05, 12:59 AM
AGuyNamedSteve
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Scott,

You raise a very excellent point that I'm finding too. Many of the cars
I've been reading about are requiring premium. They were developed
before the gas prices went nuts.

I was reading an Acura TL forum about that very subject (11.0:1
compression motor). They were saying that the knock sensors will really
take out timing, and the computer may limit rpm's to around 4000 in the
Acura. This could be around the range when that VTEC thing starts to
come in, which would make sense.

With my driving, going to premium would probably add no more than
$100/yr in expense anyhow. Another issue with lower octane was
potential for worse gas mileage. So dropping to 87 could actually cost
more in the long run anyhow, for cars that require it.

Steve
72 Skylark Custom455

Scott Van Nest wrote:
> Hey Steve-
>
> I had been looking at all those Jag adds on the net. started looking at
> comperable $30k sport Lux cars. and damn if they all don't want 91 fuel.
> I will likely be in the market for one of these sometime next year. But do
> any of them not require 91? I had read on one of the Jag forums that people
> are running 87 regardless. Have you ever heard of such a thing? running 87
> octane when the manufactures says 91?
> But anyways, my options are a really tricked out F150 or a sport Lux.
> hmmm
>
> Scott
> "AGuyNamedSteve" > wrote in message
> ink.net...
>
>>I've been riding the bus for quite some time now - since before it was
>>even $1.75/gallon. With my Ranger, my last fillup was $45, but I only
>>fill up a few times/month with my regular driving.
>>
>>However, I'm getting closer to replacing the Ranger. If it hadn't been
>>for the $5000 engine replacement, it'd be paid off and gone. My
>>original plan was to have an SUV and a coupe for my wife and I. I was
>>thinking Toyota 4Runner with the V8 engine - could actually use it to
>>trailer the Buick if I were to do that in the future, and an Infiniti
>>G35 coupe.
>>
>>Unfortunately the G35 coupe requires premium fuel... that may have to
>>get axed. The V8 4Runner only gets a little better mileage than the
>>Ranger... may have to change that plan.
>>
>>Right now I'm sort of in limbo. I do know that we don't like having to
>>have other people drive when we go out with them (currently have my
>>Ranger and wife's 95 Civic). I've considered cars like the Audi A4 3.2
>>AWD, BMW 330xi (2005 they stopped making it with the body change), Acura
>>TL, and a variety of others. Personally I'd like AWD for this if I
>>don't end up with an SUV.
>>
>>There isn't one American car that really interests me, for my practical
>>purposes. It's a sad truth, and I've really tried to find one.
>>
>>So the gas prices are affecting potential replacement vehicle choices.
>>We'll see what happens.
>>
>>Steve
>>72 Skylark Custom455
>>
>>dwight wrote:
>>
>>>Stopped to gas up this morning, and 87 was going for $2.659 (I know it's
>>>higher in some areas). The Sunoco was selling its Ultra94 for only two

>
> cents
>
>>>more, so I chipped in another 26 cents for that.
>>>
>>>Still, $36.46 is my new record for a tankful of gas. (It really wasn't

>
> that
>
>>>long ago... I remember breaking the $20.00 barrier for the first time.)
>>>
>>>What's really amazing to me is my own reaction. I just shrug, fill up,

>
> and
>
>>>continue to drive the same way I always do.
>>>
>>>If my tires were suddenly $250 apiece, I'd probably take it a little

>
> easier
>
>>>on start-ups and turns. If my brakes became $1,000 jobs, I'd be doing a

>
> lot
>
>>>more coasting. But seeing gas nearly double in price in a very short

>
> time
>
>>>hasn't affected my driving or slowed me down.
>>>
>>>Is it because the price comes in little bumps two and three times a

>
> week?
>
>>>How has the gas price increases affected your own driving, folks?
>>>
>>>dwight
>>>
>>>

>
>
>

Ads
  #22  
Old August 21st 05, 01:00 AM
AGuyNamedSteve
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WindsorFox[SS] wrote:
> Scott Van Nest wrote:
>
>> Hey Steve-
>>
>> I had been looking at all those Jag adds on the net. started
>> looking at
>> comperable $30k sport Lux cars. and damn if they all don't want 91
>> fuel.
>> I will likely be in the market for one of these sometime next year.
>> But do
>> any of them not require 91? I had read on one of the Jag forums that
>> people
>> are running 87 regardless. Have you ever heard of such a thing?
>> running 87
>> octane when the manufactures says 91?
>> But anyways, my options are a really tricked out F150 or a sport Lux.
>> hmmm
>>
>> Scott

>
>
> Yup, that seems to be everywhere. Lots of people are doing it on
> Freshalloy.com which is the largest of the Nissan and Infiniti forums,
> and caused me to try it in my Murano.
>


I do like the Infiniti FX35 too, although my wife doesn't like it as
much. Maybe we'll have to hit the next auto show and get some "seat" time.

Steve
72 Skylark Custom455
  #23  
Old August 21st 05, 01:09 AM
AGuyNamedSteve
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Posts: n/a
Default



dwight wrote:
> "AGuyNamedSteve" > wrote in message
> ink.net...
>
>>I've been riding the bus for quite some time now - since before it was
>>even $1.75/gallon. With my Ranger, my last fillup was $45, but I only
>>fill up a few times/month with my regular driving.

>
>
> Three times a week, between the two 5.0's...


I've cut my miles in half since going exclusively on the bus to work. I
went from almost 20k miles/yr to 10,000 since last March (when engine
was replaced).

>
>
>>However, I'm getting closer to replacing the Ranger. If it hadn't been
>>for the $5000 engine replacement, it'd be paid off and gone. My original
>>plan was to have an SUV and a coupe for my wife and I. I was thinking
>>Toyota 4Runner with the V8 engine - could actually use it to trailer the
>>Buick if I were to do that in the future, and an Infiniti G35 coupe.

>
>
> Trailering a 5,000 relic means that your choices are limited. )


Yep, and maybe the plan would be to ignore that part and get a vehicle
for that purpose if the time comes. Actually it's probably around
3700lbs now, and with some lighter pieces I may be able to drop it to
around 3500 when it's "finished."

>
>
>>Unfortunately the G35 coupe requires premium fuel... that may have to get
>>axed. The V8 4Runner only gets a little better mileage than the Ranger...
>>may have to change that plan.

>
>
> So, you're predicting that this huge bump in fuel costs is a long-term thing
> and not just a blip?


Well we all know that we invaded the middle east to reduce gas prices.
Luckily they've only doubled or so since that started...

I really don't know. And now that I've actually done a little math in
another post, it would probably cost me less than a couple of weeks of
the car payment to have a car that's premium only.

>
>
>>Right now I'm sort of in limbo. I do know that we don't like having to
>>have other people drive when we go out with them (currently have my Ranger
>>and wife's 95 Civic). I've considered cars like the Audi A4 3.2 AWD, BMW
>>330xi (2005 they stopped making it with the body change), Acura TL, and a
>>variety of others. Personally I'd like AWD for this if I don't end up
>>with an SUV.

>
>
> Fulltime AWD or AWD on demand? I don't particularly care for either, since
> it's not necessary 'round these parts, but Jean's Escape has a handy-dandy
> little button we push when we need to get help from the rear wheels. I don't
> see AWD as a necessity for a going-out vehicle...


I'd want it full time probably. We'd use the car for skiing locally,
and long weekend trips to places like Whistler. We've also discussed
taking an Xmas trip some day to visit the families, instead of flying.
THat would take us through CO, northern NM, eastern NM, and high desert
AZ. We'd probably ski while on that trip too.

>
>
>>There isn't one American car that really interests me, for my practical
>>purposes. It's a sad truth, and I've really tried to find one.
>>
>>So the gas prices are affecting potential replacement vehicle choices.
>>We'll see what happens.
>>
>>Steve
>>72 Skylark Custom455

>
>
> It's not quite 1973, but the possibilities are there. Seems to me that the
> SUV market was already starting to cool off before the big increases in gas
> prices, but there's still strong demand for the larger vehicles, even with
> gas at $2.60 and above. The Hybrid Escape is Ford's answer to two competing
> camps and must be selling strong, but it's not the answer to your real-world
> concerns.


And I'm also not sold on hybrids, especially for my kind of driving
uses. Maybe if I were a newspaper delivery person, in the city, putting
on 1000's of miles per month. Then that Escape would be the ticket.
Plus, I just don't dig them.

>
> I know your dilemma (no, not for me personally - there's only been one car
> for me for the past 30 years, but my wife goes through these convulsions
> every other year). You get one shot at getting it right, and everything you
> look at is "not quite it". The vehicle you plunk your money down on will
> probably end up as the closest compromise to what you really want.


We tend not to cycle through cars. I've had this Ranger for almost 6
years, and my wife got her Civic new in 1995. I'm also one of those
anal research people with any expense over $50. I'm a little crazy
about it under too, but that's between you and me.

>
> Some of us fall in love and just have to have it. Some approach the question
> with logic and rationale, then fall in love and have to have it. A few do
> the research, find the vehicle that most closely fills the bill, and then
> "live with it" for the next however-many years. (I won't even mention the
> folks who see a commercial, run right out and buy a ridiculous piece of
> *#%&.)
>
> You need to get yourself to an auto show. (Or at the least an "auto mall".)
> I've always found it very helpful to see all of the different makes and
> models up close and personal. Call me crazy, but I really believe that,
> after you've done the research and narrowed down the choices, there has to
> be an "emotional connection" to the vehicle. It has to tingle the short
> hairs on the back of your neck. You're going to live with it for the next
> four or five years, on average.
>
> The question is, are gas prices going to continue upward or will we return
> to those halcyon days of $1.87/gallon? How you predict the future is going
> to determine, in large part, what you end up with.
>
> dwight
>
>


I dunno, I also don't know where loan rates will be and if I should
refinance if they drop a point where it'd be about .375% less than what
I've got now. But it's not in my best interest to go at it willy-nilly.
Maybe I'll hit an auto mall and just drive some stuff, and let down
some salesman...

Steve
72 Skylark Custom455
  #24  
Old August 21st 05, 01:29 AM
Wound Up
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

dwight wrote:
> Stopped to gas up this morning, and 87 was going for $2.659 (I know it's
> higher in some areas). The Sunoco was selling its Ultra94 for only two cents
> more, so I chipped in another 26 cents for that.
>
> Still, $36.46 is my new record for a tankful of gas. (It really wasn't that
> long ago... I remember breaking the $20.00 barrier for the first time.)


Good topic dwight

I'm going to check the timing, but in the summer I have to run a mix of
mid and premium in my Tempo so it doesn't ping under load. Just before
the last 45-cent increase hit all the stations in the area, I considered
myself lucky to fill it with premium from almost bone dry for $33.15. I
have never broken $30 in my Tempo. I remember $20 seeming like a lot, too.

One station around here almost always raises its prices before the
others do, usually in the evenings. I participate on this site, and
encourage everyone to do the same - www.gaspricewatch.com. If you don't
enter any of the prices, it's a good resource anyway.

>
> What's really amazing to me is my own reaction. I just shrug, fill up, and
> continue to drive the same way I always do.
>
> If my tires were suddenly $250 apiece, I'd probably take it a little easier
> on start-ups and turns. If my brakes became $1,000 jobs, I'd be doing a lot
> more coasting. But seeing gas nearly double in price in a very short time
> hasn't affected my driving or slowed me down.
>
> Is it because the price comes in little bumps two and three times a week?


I think so.

> How has the gas price increases affected your own driving, folks?


Gas prices have affected my habits quite significantly.

I drive less, and consolidate trips. I am more patient off the line. I
check my tire pressure frequently. This tune-up, I put a K&N in the car
we drive the most, which is the one that gets the best mileage. I
usually use the highest gear possible without lugging. I coast when it
won't really affect traction. I also bought a new 50cc moped to ride to
work and back, which gets over 100mpg, and doesn't require licensing or
insurance. People laughed at first, but now I get thumbs-ups, and
people are asking me questions fairly frequently (how much / how fast /
what's kind of mileage). I will break even next year on it due to less
wear on my cars and gas savings.

Gas prices have caused me to develop more patience and take it easy on
my machinery. You have to be patient when you ride around with 1 hp and
top out at 35. The only thing I can do is use less of it, so as they've
continued their climb to $2.60 or so, I continue to cut back.

Sadly, that means the Mustang has been parked for most of the summer. =(
That car, I still drive spiritedly, and cruise RPMs are usually 2500
or so. I drive it as it was meant to be driven, I just drive it less.

--
Wound Up
ThunderSnake #65

  #25  
Old August 21st 05, 01:30 AM
Wound Up
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

That reminds me... I have to get one of those

Jeff wrote:
> Gas is expensive, no matter how you look at it. What I do to "ease" the pain
> is use my Discover card that pays 5% on gas. Hey, at $2.50 a gallon, .125
> cents per gallon back helps!
>
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>
>>In Cali the price has been stuck at $2.xx for quite awhile (topping $3
>>these days), and $40 fillups for the 21 gallon '70 Cougar are old hat.
>>But until this Spring I had always driven the Coug or my kids' '65 289
>>Mustang fb whenever I had an out of town appointment. Even though I
>>got reimbursed at $0.375 per mile (now it's $0.405) and that was more
>>than enough to cover the 12 mpg of either one of these old heaps, I
>>guess it just sunk in that I was still paying a $20/day premium to
>>drive them compared to the 37-40 mpg I get with an '01 Echo. So I
>>quit. Since I already take the bus or the subway to the office
>>($28/day parking will do that to you), the old heaps just don't get
>>much use anymore.
>>
>>180 Out
>>

>
>
>



--
Wound Up
ThunderSnake #65

  #26  
Old August 21st 05, 01:34 AM
Wound Up
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d
> So, you're predicting that this huge bump in fuel costs is a long-term thing
> and not just a blip?


Scuse me while I chime in... most economic forecasts say there is no
doubt it's a long-term thing for the US to see regular to average over
$2, anyway. Count on it all next year.

We need more refinery capacities and fewer formulations of gasoline to
make an appreciable difference. OPEC doesn't have much actual spare
pumping capacity.


--
Wound Up
ThunderSnake #65

  #27  
Old August 21st 05, 03:56 AM
Michael Johnson, PE
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AGuyNamedSteve wrote:
> Michael,
>
> I saw the Escape Hybrid for the first time several years ago (back when
> it was going to be a 2003 release). A friend and I got to preview a
> bunch of the new trucks/SUV's at Seattle International Raceway's parking
> lot. It was an invitation event. He actually was considering it as a
> replacement for the family Saturn, when the time came. It never
> happened for him now that it is here. I had an Escape V6 in Hawaii a
> couple of years ago. It was a great rental car for The Big Island. But
> I wouldn't want one of my own. I would rather not get one of the "mini"
> SUV's anyhow.


Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think Ford
designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go for it. Not
manly enough, I suppose.

> I also don't need super high mpg, just something that has a low in the
> low 20's and can see around 30. My Ranger just got about 15.25 on my
> last tankful. I do drive it short distances to and from the park n ride
> lot, which hurts it a little.


If you don't drive much, the annual additional cost of gas between a 20
mpg and a 30 mpg vehicle isn't that much. I would rather pay the extra
$500 a year and drive what I want. I used to put 20,000 miles a year on
but now that I work from home I probably don't drive 8,000 miles a year.
For me driving a 30 mpg vehicle verses an 18 mpg vehicle is $550 a
year assuming gas is $2.50/gallon. That isn't a big enough savings to
plant my butt into a shoe box with four wheels.

> I have had two For Ranger trucks give me bad experiences, plus an
> Explorer Sport with a problem too. I just can't see going back at this
> point. I still think my new engine has a problem. But if there aren't
> any codes, there isn't any problem...
>
> It's unfortunate, but that's where I am with the (new) Fords at this
> point. I'd still love to have 5.0 notch commuter though.


When my '89 LX was stock I could get 20 mpg running around town and
26-28 mpg on the highway. Not bad at all considering its performance.
Although today, the base model Mustang could give it a run.

BTW, are you planning any trips to Quantico?
  #28  
Old August 21st 05, 04:04 AM
Wound Up
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> Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I think Ford
> designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys don't go for it. Not
> manly enough, I suppose.


They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females, considering the
girl on the commercials.



  #29  
Old August 21st 05, 04:05 AM
Michael Johnson, PE
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Wound Up wrote:
> d
>
>> So, you're predicting that this huge bump in fuel costs is a long-term
>> thing and not just a blip?

>
>
> Scuse me while I chime in... most economic forecasts say there is no
> doubt it's a long-term thing for the US to see regular to average over
> $2, anyway. Count on it all next year.
>
> We need more refinery capacities and fewer formulations of gasoline to
> make an appreciable difference. OPEC doesn't have much actual spare
> pumping capacity.


We can't really blame the current price spike on OPEC, IMO. They are
pumping as much oil as is needed. You're right about the refinery
capacity being the real problem. It will take 2-3 years to correct it
and bring capacity to acceptable levels. Then prices will stabilize for
a good while. I do think that $1.80-$2.00/gallon gas will be the new
benchmark when the dust settles.
  #30  
Old August 21st 05, 04:17 AM
Wound Up
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Michael Johnson, PE wrote:
> Wound Up wrote:
>
>> d
>>
>>> So, you're predicting that this huge bump in fuel costs is a
>>> long-term thing and not just a blip?

>>
>>
>>
>> Scuse me while I chime in... most economic forecasts say there is no
>> doubt it's a long-term thing for the US to see regular to average over
>> $2, anyway. Count on it all next year.
>>
>> We need more refinery capacities and fewer formulations of gasoline to
>> make an appreciable difference. OPEC doesn't have much actual spare
>> pumping capacity.

>
>
> We can't really blame the current price spike on OPEC, IMO. They are
> pumping as much oil as is needed. You're right about the refinery
> capacity being the real problem. It will take 2-3 years to correct it
> and bring capacity to acceptable levels. Then prices will stabilize for
> a good while. I do think that $1.80-$2.00/gallon gas will be the new
> benchmark when the dust settles.


Right, OPEC is actually being almost as accommodating as it can be. It
is always the scapegoat after 30 years ago, but it is not to blame this
time. And did I say "capacities"? Oops. I just wonder what their real
incentive is at this point. I mean, the producers and the refiners both
are making sooo much money because of this bottleneck, they have a very
real incentive to drag their feet.

I do hope you and others are right about that time line and price
expectations. Add "still driving '89 Tempo with 200k" to "how has this
affected your habits". The pinch has made me put off replacing it. I
only drive it about 6,000 / year anyway, so I am able to do this,
fortunately...

--
Wound Up
ThunderSnake #65

 




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