Californians hit with unprecedented gasoline price jump

Interesting stuff, I mostly drive in the city, my work is the farthest I drive and that's 12 miles, and about 5 miles of the is on the highway. I live in SC.....there are no hills. So a hybrid still might not be a bad choice, or maybe I'll stick with a smaller car that has good gas mileage.

I had a Mercury Topaz that ran on diesel when I was in highschool, I cannot tell you how many times a gas station came running out screaming "you're putting diesel in your car!!!!!" At that time diesel was a little cheaper than regular too, I remember filling up for 99 cents a gallon. sigh
 
increase 129.99 gas worst it today what is why terrible crazy

tax expensive costly!
 
TXgolfer said:
Power, room, price. Trust me those little electric cars (I have one) are no fun on long trips or through the mountains. Also no fun when going to the golf course with three or 4 sets of clubs. I also believe the electric cars pose a greater risk to the environment in the long run.
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all vehicles post a risk to environment anyway - tires, oils, etc. I wouldn't worry about electric cars posing a risk to environment because there are not enough electric cars to cause a harm. I also wouldn't worry about long run because by then, we would already have advanced technology to properly dispose or recycle them. Beside.... look at Prius.

Toyota Prius' Battery Recycling Plan - autoevolution
Actually, Toyota's plan began with the development stages of the new Prius. The car as a whole is 85 percent recyclable and more than 95 percent of its materials can be recovered through a process that accounts for two percent of its full life cycle CO2 emissions.
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and this is 3-years old article

a more current article -
What Happens to EV and Hybrid Batteries? - Edmunds.com
Zero Landfill
The nickel-metal hydride batteries found in hybrid vehicles are basically "zero-landfill" products. Whatever can't be recycled is consumed in the recycling process, leaving no trash behind. The primary metals recovered are nickel, copper and iron. The principal rare earths are neodymium and lanthanum.

Lithium-ion batteries now are somewhere between 70 and 100 percent recyclable, depending on the particular chemistry of the batteries. There are about half a dozen in use and more are being developed. The bits that can't be recycled are mostly consumed as fuel in the furnaces that are used to melt down the metals, which include cobalt, copper, iron, nickel, manganese and, someday, lithium.

Recycling specialists say that as volume grows, it will become more economically feasible to recover some of the content now wasted that way. Lithium, for example, is so cheap that there's no economic case for recovering it from lithium-ion batteries right now, says Todd Coy, executive vice president of recycler Kinsbursky Brothers. The Southern California firm handles most North American advanced automotive battery recycling through a joint venture with longtime battery recycling firm Toxco.

Reuse Before Recycling
For lithium-ion batteries, there's a potential after-automotive use that can postpone destructive recycling for years. Even when an EV or hybrid battery can no longer hold and discharge sufficient electricity to power the car's motor, the pack can still carry a tremendous amount of juice. Battery manufacturers figure the packs will still be able to operate at about 80 percent of capacity when they have to be retired from automotive use. Auto companies are partnering with battery, recycling and electronics firms to figure out and develop post-automotive markets for lithium-ion battery packs.

For instance, several major power utilities are working with companies — including General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Nissan — to explore the use of the batteries for stationary storage of the power produced in off-peak periods by wind turbines and solar generation stations. Lithium-ion packs also are being tested as backup power storage systems for retail centers, restaurants and hospitals, as well as for residential solar systems.
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Plastic pose far greater risk than electric cars do. Ever heard of Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
 
ambrosia said:
Interesting stuff, I mostly drive in the city, my work is the farthest I drive and that's 12 miles, and about 5 miles of the is on the highway. I live in SC.....there are no hills. So a hybrid still might not be a bad choice, or maybe I'll stick with a smaller car that has good gas mileage.

I had a Mercury Topaz that ran on diesel when I was in highschool, I cannot tell you how many times a gas station came running out screaming "you're putting diesel in your car!!!!!" At that time diesel was a little cheaper than regular too, I remember filling up for 99 cents a gallon. sigh
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Doesn't sound like you drive enough miles to justify a hybrid. I would go with a Honda Civic Coupe or something like that. Great mileage and dependability.
 
ambrosia said:
Interesting stuff, I mostly drive in the city, my work is the farthest I drive and that's 12 miles, and about 5 miles of the is on the highway. I live in SC.....there are no hills. So a hybrid still might not be a bad choice, or maybe I'll stick with a smaller car that has good gas mileage.

I had a Mercury Topaz that ran on diesel when I was in highschool, I cannot tell you how many times a gas station came running out screaming "you're putting diesel in your car!!!!!" At that time diesel was a little cheaper than regular too, I remember filling up for 99 cents a gallon. sigh
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hybrid would make a better sense for city driving - preferably flatter land but it would make a poor choice for San Francisco or wide-open land like Arizona or West Virginia. in city driving what like you're doing - you'd be refilling probably every other week. my cousin gets great great great mileage out of her Prius in L.A... and a huge saving too. my friend too in NYC with Prius. no problem. no reliability issue. all great.

but if you want to get the best bang for your buck - getting decent used car like Honda Civic would do you good.
 
Thanks fellas :)

Did you notice you two advised the same car? See you are in accord....wait no a civic.
 
metalangel said:
North American consumers (and automakers) need to get over their hang up about diesel engined cars.
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What are you means about "need to get over their hang up"? I don't understand about what are you saying. :(
 
CrazyPaul said:
I have seen several Prius on freeways daily.
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I'm sure you've seen all kinds on freeways daily.

But the fact is that Prius is useless on highway if you're looking to save money on gas.
 
Been there with VW Jetta Diesel, I had to tell them shut the fuck up I own this car and I can't put gas in it, only Diesel. As soon as they see "Diesel fuel only" on the back of fuel refill door they shut up!

Seriously, the other day which is fairly recently (Last August) I pulled up my truck in Diesel pump lanes which generally for 18 wheelers. The lady refused to let me fill Diesel in my truck, I got pissed off, how dare she tell me what to do. She said because the pump wont fit in my truck filling hole. I told her DEAD WRONG and made her come down and show, see it fits fine so shut the fuck up and get it fill up. That happened twice last August. I was furious because they are wasting my time thinking they own my truck. I have done this all the time so don't treat my deafness as dumbfuckass.

ambrosia said:
I had a Mercury Topaz that ran on diesel when I was in highschool, I cannot tell you how many times a gas station came running out screaming "you're putting diesel in your car!!!!!" At that time diesel was a little cheaper than regular too, I remember filling up for 99 cents a gallon. sigh
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Your right, Hybrid vehicles will use more gas on highway than on City.

The idea of Hybrid is when one stop it, it generates electricity and feed back to batteries which saves gas. Alot of stop and go in the city so hybrid makes sense. On the Highway, there is nothing to feed back to batteries so no savings.

Jiro said:
I'm sure you've seen all kinds on freeways daily.

But the fact is that Prius is useless on highway if you're looking to save money on gas.
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I didn't know Mercury Topaz had diesel model. I had that car (Gas model) and it was the WORST car I ever owned. Always loves to be in garage for repairs. I had to dump that car.

ambrosia said:
I had a Mercury Topaz that ran on diesel when I was in highschool,
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diehardbiker said:
I didn't know Mercury Topaz had diesel model. I had that car (Gas model) and it was the WORST car I ever owned. Always loves to be in garage for repairs. I had to dump that car.
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Yeah I think that's why the gas station attendants would freak when they saw a young blonde girl pumping diesel into one.:giggle: That car I inherited, it was my moms, it made several cross country trips. When it died on me, timing belt broke and blew the heads if I remember right. I don't think they had to mess with it too much, I'm think it was like 15 years old and had over 200K miles on it. I think the diesel engines might be better ;) And back then it was cheaper!! I think diesel costs more now, but I really don't pay much attention to the price of it since I don't use it.
 
Even though yes Diesel cost more due to higher highway taxes on it than Gasoline. The trade off is still good because Diesel gives more bang per mileage than gas. I have met some guys with same truck as mine but runs on gas, they all regret using gas and wish it was Diesel. I said oh really, why? They said it average 8 miles per gal on city and 12 on the highway. Mine is 15 in city and 22 on highway. That is close to double mileage with Diesel and it only cost 20 cents more per gallon than gas. Other plus is that when it comes to inspection, I pay only 10 dollars while gas version pays 21 dollars for inspection. If I had chance find a decent diesel car, I would get one. Beats hybrid model anyway.

You could have replace timing belt so that head won't get blown. The intention to change timing belt is to prevent it from break down. Belt breaks will cause valves open and close at wrong time which will cause catastrophic damage to heads and piston arms. I am not crazy about timing belt, I prefer timing chains over belt because chain rarely breaks down and always oiled from the system if properly change oil at intervals. The reason for timing belt is that it tend to be quieter than chains. Your old Diesel may have life of about 500K miles if properly change the belt. Oh well

ambrosia said:
Yeah I think that's why the gas station attendants would freak when they saw a young blonde girl pumping diesel into one.:giggle: That car I inherited, it was my moms, it made several cross country trips. When it died on me, timing belt broke and blew the heads if I remember right. I don't think they had to mess with it too much, I'm think it was like 15 years old and had over 200K miles on it. I think the diesel engines might be better ;) And back then it was cheaper!! I think diesel costs more now, but I really don't pay much attention to the price of it since I don't use it.
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diehardbiker said:
Even though yes Diesel cost more due to higher highway taxes on it than Gasoline. The trade off is still good because Diesel gives more bang per mileage than gas. I have met some guys with same truck as mine but runs on gas, they all regret using gas and wish it was Diesel. I said oh really, why? They said it average 8 miles per gal on city and 12 on the highway. Mine is 15 in city and 22 on highway. That is close to double mileage with Diesel and it only cost 20 cents more per gallon than gas. Other plus is that when it comes to inspection, I pay only 10 dollars while gas version pays 21 dollars for inspection. If I had chance find a decent diesel car, I would get one. Beats hybrid model anyway.

You could have replace timing belt so that head won't get blown. The intention to change timing belt is to prevent it from break down. Belt breaks will cause valves open and close at wrong time which will cause catastrophic damage to heads and piston arms. I am not crazy about timing belt, I prefer timing chains over belt because chain rarely breaks down and always oiled from the system if properly change oil at intervals. The reason for timing belt is that it tend to be quieter than chains. Your old Diesel may have life of about 500K miles if properly change the belt. Oh well
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Additional to highway tax for diesel, the diesel has high demand and low supply that caused diesel cost to be more because oil companies, along with hefty regulation don't bother to build more refineries for diesel to keep cost at lower or match to gasoline.
 
metalangel said:
North American consumers (and automakers) need to get over their hang up about diesel engined cars.
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Oh, after one member helped me, so I understand about what are you saying.

I love F-250 and has strong interest in diesel engine because they are high reliable and long run.

I have no interest in electric or hybrid cars because they are not reliable and their design is flawed.

I prefer big and tall truck.
 
Remember about Shipping wars, most trucks use diesel because they are more effective to run with shipping at heavy weight.

The one van with gasoline that shipped the big lumberjack statue from Wisconsin to California, it took every hours for man to fill the gas at full and he got around 3 MPG, so he spilled over about $2,000+ on gas. The weight of big lumberjack statue is 625 lbs and height is 12 foot (found from CC).
http://www.aetv.com/shipping-wars/p...ve-statue-17214494#4-jarrett-loads-lumberjack

For diesel, it will get around 12-15 MPG.
 
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