Fun with gas prices...

[Andara Bledin]

One time my fiance and I were driving along and we both smelt fish and chips cooking. Then the car in front of us turned a corner and the smell went away. We think it was on biodiesel.

Mmm.... I could really enjoy a car that smelled like fish & chips.

... although I think I'd start getting really fat after a few months....

^-.-^

[jerkface11]

The gasoline alternatives generally require more energy to produce than you get out of them. This is why they require heavy government subsidies. The figures I saw which took tractors, farm trucks, and refining equipment into account. Showed that making a gallon of alcohol from corn required at least 1.5 gallons of alcohol to be burned as fuel. Hydrogen is LESS efficeint than alcohol. As for cooking oil one restraunt supplies enough used cooking oil to power one small car.

[Broomjockey]

The gasoline alternatives generally require more energy to produce than you get out of them.

Sorry, but I have to call this tanget over. It's a Fratching topic, so take it over there. This isn't the debating area.

[technical.angel]

I just looked up a gas price map. Looking at it made me really happy about the E10 mandate made here at the beginning of the year.

[Kogarashi]

Right now, we fill up our Jeep once every two weeks, if not less frequently. Yay for not driving around much. We hit the bank (1/2 hour drive) once a month, maybe, and the grocery store once every two weeks. Once the weather's a bit warmer, I'm going to try suggesting walking to church to Hubby. And the University has a bus system that we use during the weekdays when possible, which also keeps us from cluttering up the already cluttered streets. Bonus: the buses (at least half of them) run on biodiesel.

However, we've got a weekend trip coming up to visit my parents, who are three hours away. All I can say to that is yay for highway speeds. We get some of our best mileage during these trips.

...which is another reason I'm looking for places other than where I am now, because it is over a mile to the nearest bus stop from where I work right now so that isn't a very practical option... especially considering the route that serves that stop stops running before I get off work, next closest is 2 miles away).

Smileyeagle, have you considered getting a bike? Or is there not a good place to lock it up while at work? I used to work at a craft store in Provo that was a handful of miles away from my house, and I only ever drove when I was running late in the mornings. They let me park my bike in the back room.

[technical.angel]

Smileyeagle, have you considered getting a bike?

SE said the nearest bus stop was a mile away.

I'm from an area that doesn't know what "public transportation" means, but I think getting a bike on a bus would be hard.

[Broomjockey]

I'm from an area that doesn't know what "public transportation" means, but I think getting a bike on a bus would be hard.

Buses here have bike racks on front, and they're dead easy to use. 45 seconds or so to get it on or off. Or depending, could just ride the bike the whole way. 10 mile ride? Might kinda suck at first (or suck a lot, you know), but probably doable.

[edible_hat]

I've been trying different things that supposedly improve mileage, and I can confirm these:
-correct tyre pressure
-not using the car for really short trips
-accelarating/braking gently (it also helps with passenger comfort)
-cleaning your car (this won't improve your mileage by enough to cover the cost of washing it)
-not carting around a bunch of crap you never use

[tropicsgoddess]

My co-workers are always amazed at the relatively small amounts I use. Last fill was just under $30,

We've filled on slightly less than $20 worth of gas on my fiance's mom's car (a 2000 Nissan Altima) and lasted a good while since it's all short distance driving for her to go to work or for us to do errands. Besides taking out all the extraneous crap and and all, making sure your car is running in good shape and keeping it that way is another factor in getting better gas mileage too.

[Becks]

have you considered getting a bike?

Not directed to me, but I'll comment anyway.

I, myself, would consider getting a bike (I live less than five miles from my place of employment) but for two things:

• New Jersey drivers
• I still have scars from the last time I rode a bike. It stopped, I didn't. Got good matching pics of me and Scott Karl that day, though.

[Kogarashi]

SE said the nearest bus stop was a mile away.

I'm from an area that doesn't know what "public transportation" means, but I think getting a bike on a bus would be hard.

I can understand that (my parents' hometown doesn't do public transportation). However, knowing where Smileyeagle is from, I do know for a fact that the UTA buses have bike racks on the front. Hence the suggestion. Thanks for responding with the reminder anyway.

Also, crazy as the drivers in Provo were, they were nice enough to me when I biked to work. Don't know about the Salt Lake drivers, though.

Our bike is currently sitting in our basement storage for two reasons.

A. We don't trust the punk kids who live in the "bad" part of town just three blocks over. Some friends of ours had their bike stolen from a rack in this very complex soon after they moved in. It and all the other bikes stolen that night were locked up--the bike locks were cut.

B. I currently have no way to transport Baby while riding the bike. We need to look into one of those little kid trailers you can hook up to bikes. Some neighbors have one and their kid loves it.

Becky, I've heard about NJ drivers. Saw a short about them on MST3K. Are they really that bad? ::curious:: And I've had the bike stop while I kept going. Fortunately (or not), it was when I was 8 or so and on a gravel driveway, so rather than pitching headfirst over the handlebars the bike skidded sideways on the driveway and I went down cheek-first in a sort of side-tumble instead. Less injured, but I had a lovely large scrape on my cheek for a good month or two after.

[Becks]

Becky, I've heard about NJ drivers. Saw a short about them on MST3K. Are they really that bad? ::curious::

Oh, they're bad. Worse than IL drivers, not nearly as bad as cab drivers in Manhattan.

And I've had the bike stop while I kept going. Fortunately (or not), it was when I was 8 or so and on a gravel driveway, so rather than pitching headfirst over the handlebars the bike skidded sideways on the driveway and I went down cheek-first in a sort of side-tumble instead. Less injured, but I had a lovely large scrape on my cheek for a good month or two after.

I was...let me think...18 or so.

Scraped up my left hand kinda bad. I still have a scar on it.

[Bella_Vixen]

Scraped up my left hand kinda bad. I still have a scar on it.

Becks, don't forget to mention the pic with Scott Karl with his right hand all bandaged up.

[Becks]

Mentioned that, big sis. Scroll up.

[FuzzyKitten99]

I'm kind of lucky, in that my husband's construction company, has their own fuel station within the yard. So they buy unleaded and diesel fuel wholesale. No station mark-ups and less government taxes (the government makes more $ per gallon than the oil company does), so the price is usually less than station prices, but not always. My husband can fill up one of our cars, which is about 15-16 gallons, and it usually stays around $35 or so. Problem is, our other car is a V-8 Cadillac that takes premium. Anything less than 91 octane will knock the engine apart, so we have to fill that one up at a regular station. Last fill-up I did was $55 USD for 15 gallons. Granted it is a V-8, but because my husband alternates cars, we can make one tank of gas last two weeks on the Caddy, because I only drive it about 15 miles round trip to drop off my nanny charge, and I may or may not take it to work 1-3 days a week, depending on its' current fuel level.