gas prices

[kingGhost]

Was just reading that Canada is the US's largest supplier of oil. And that if American consumption stayed at the current level, Canada's oil sands reserve would last 1,800 more years. Fibs?

lies from the oil companies. there's an engine that runs on water man... WATER...

[nowaysj]

Think that that lie would seriously harm the oil companies.

[kingGhost]

EVERYTHING IS LIES

[frank grimes jr.]

Europeans have access to much more fuel efficient cars.
The market for that is only now starting to grow in the US.

Try getting your hands on a hybrid with a blue collar salary.

[the wiggle baron]

Agree with pretty much everything on both sides (well, not quite...but fuck it)

But one point, I swear I saw someone say they drove 20k miles in a year as an example of how much they use the car (alot)? Like, I know the car my dad uses to drive to work clocks up a good 40/50k miles per year. Its the same in this country, if you dont live in a city, you need a car really. The bus system here is pretty fucked all in all (I grew up in a village with 1 return bus per week to the nearest town) and trains are just so goddam expensive. Oh, and I dont really know what its like in america, but you can definitely get good reliable very fuel efficient cars in the UK for reasonable money. Something like I dunno, a corsa or whatever will get a good 30mpg (?)

[DRTY]

Yeah what's up with America only having RIDICULOUS engine sizes available?

[nowaysj]

$$$ ^

===

So, as I've said I've been trying to buy a used prius. Like a year ago, I test drove this huge ford boat because it had the best crash test safety results. I didn't buy it because it smelled like an American car. But the dealer sales dude calls me every so often, you wanna buy a car kind of thing. So I told him yeah, I'm trying to buy a used prius. Do you have any? No. Do you have any hybrids? We have a Fusion. Is it a hybrid? No. Don't call me again.

[deadly_habit]

Yeah what's up with America only having RIDICULOUS engine sizes available?

eh
there's loads of fuel efficient cars available, just everyone wants some retarded escalade or 8 cyl monster to drive solo (and hybrids cost an arm and a leg), yet bitch about filling the tank on the fuckers

[nowaysj]

American cars that are fuel efficient are pieces of shit, it is fair to say. A fuel efficient car doesn't need to be a piece of shit.

[therzbm]

i'm confused because you're kind of agreeing with me... there are many factors...its not just how much is the tax on gas but also how much is your property tax, how much is car insurance, how much is your license, how far do you have to drive, how often do you actually need to drive, etc etc?

i think it probably is true that in the end europeans pay more to drive but i think its also true that they need to drive less. and the point that i was actually trying to make was that you can't boil it down to "how much tax" or "money per volume of fuel" coz there are so many more variables at play.

passing my test at 17, i had to pay £2000 to get 3rd party fire and theft insurance on a 1.2 litre renault clio worth about £2000 at the time. im now 19 and have to pay £1000 for fully comp cover on the same car. i dont understand how 14/15/16 year olds are allowed (and can afford) to drive cars that are twice the size of mine with much bigger engines in the states? is insurance way more cheaper or something over there? my friend has just passed his test at 19 and has to pay 3 times the value of his car to get insured on it as a named driver on his mums policy because it is a 1.6 litre.

its fair enough to complain about petrol prices, but i think its only worth complaining to fellow americans cause we have been raped in the arse twice as hard over here for a long time on petrol prices so we have no sympathy. i saw a news piece on fox about how a mum was complaining she had to pay like a few cents more to fill up her huge SUV to drop her kids off at school and other stuff, and that she had even started to think about ways of driving more economically and not as fast etc? i watch my petrol gauge more than my speedo (which doesnt work, not that my car is powerful enough to break the speed limit) cause my weekly wage used to be less than the cost of a full tank of petrol.

[frank grimes jr.]

It's not just American cars, we get larger displacement engines in our market than the European counterparts.
VW is a prime example here. Perfectly written off to the public as not meeting safety standards, or some such bullshit.

Sadly enough, driving a full sized sedan on the expressway in the US, is like being a mouse in an elephant cage.

[frank grimes jr.]

i'm confused because you're kind of agreeing with me... there are many factors...its not just how much is the tax on gas but also how much is your property tax, how much is car insurance, how much is your license, how far do you have to drive, how often do you actually need to drive, etc etc?

i think it probably is true that in the end europeans pay more to drive but i think its also true that they need to drive less. and the point that i was actually trying to make was that you can't boil it down to "how much tax" or "money per volume of fuel" coz there are so many more variables at play.

passing my test at 17, i had to pay £2000 to get 3rd party fire and theft insurance on a 1.2 litre renault clio worth about £2000 at the time. im now 19 and have to pay £1000 for fully comp cover on the same car. i dont understand how 14/15/16 year olds are allowed (and can afford) to drive cars that are twice the size of mine with much bigger engines in the states? is insurance way more cheaper or something over there? my friend has just passed his test at 19 and has to pay 3 times the value of his car to get insured on it as a named driver on his mums policy because it is a 1.6 litre.

its fair enough to complain about petrol prices, but i think its only worth complaining to fellow americans cause we have been raped in the arse twice as hard over here for a long time on petrol prices so we have no sympathy. i saw a news piece on fox about how a mum was complaining she had to pay like a few cents more to fill up her huge SUV to drop her kids off at school and other stuff, and that she had even started to think about ways of driving more economically and not as fast etc? i watch my petrol gauge more than my speedo (which doesnt work, not that my car is powerful enough to break the speed limit) cause my weekly wage used to be less than the cost of a full tank of petrol.

Sadest fucking thing I've heard all day.

You say someone complaining on fox news huh? UNFUCKINGHEARD OF!!!

[therzbm]

'saddest fucking thing' which part are you referring to?

[clifford_-]

Sadly enough, driving a full sized sedan on the expressway in the US, is like being a mouse in an elephant cage.

You have obviously never been overtaken uphill, by an artic (big rig for you in the states) on the A303, on a scooter, in the pissing rain...

What id have given to have a metal bubble round ME on road for the last 8 years....

[nowaysj]

Seriously bro, I used to ride a motorcycle. Every time I arrived at my destination I literally thanked god I was still alive. EVERY TIME. Every time some dipshit almost killed me. Every TIME! Sold that fucker.

Nephew, aged 20, died two years ago at 8am driving to work on his motorcycle.

Can't tell you how many twisted human bone bags I've seen on the side of the road driving to work around here. The motorists responsible, pale faced, staring aimlessly, trying to process that they just killed someone.

[deadly_habit]

American cars that are fuel efficient are pieces of shit, it is fair to say. A fuel efficient car doesn't need to be a piece of shit.

i'd only buy american for vintage muscle cars and pickups
otherwise honda and suburu all day

[pkay]

america is much bigger than your average european country. we are far less densely populated therefor public transportation is not widely available. That said we commute much further and much more often than your average european. We spend more time in our cars therefor comfort and features are much more important.

Also in the midwest and the south we have an insane amount of expansion in our country still going on. Construction, housing development, and the supporting industries still warrant the use of trucks in mass.

I live close to work and have public transportation available... i think I barely put 10k on my car las year. my parents on the other hand each have 45min-1 hour commutes each way. So they spend about 10-12 hours a week in their cars. Their ride is much more important to them than to I. I understand why don't want to be couped up in a mini for 12 hours a week.

While it doesn't justify driving 12 mpg vehicles I can understand the appeal of SUVs and crossovers.

[deadly_habit]

i have a neighbor in my neighborhood with 2 hummers
there is no need for that

[pkay]

Also about engine size

small engines common in the european market aren't meant to handle 1000+ miles a week at 75mph on a regular basis which is fairly common in the US.

Ultimately reliable mass transit in between the suburbs and the cities would solve a lot of problems.

There are very few cities in the US with reliable train systems

[deadly_habit]

Ultimately reliable mass transit in between the suburbs and the cities would solve a lot of problems.

There are very few cities in the US with reliable train systems

this