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Daily Debate: What's Your $10-a-Gallon Car?

Daily Debate: What's Your $10-a-Gallon Car?

By Marty Padgett's avatar Marty PadgettMarty Padgett July 9th, 2008

Vespa

Vespa

Enlarge Photo
When it comes to gas prices, it pays to have a contingency. My personal contingency plan was ditching a reasonably fuel-efficient crossover vehicle and winnowing down our garage to one vehicle, a paid-for Toyota Prius. When we need to drive, we get 38 mpg guaranteed, and sometimes much higher.

Still, a single fill-up in the Toyota costs more than three times as much as when we took delivery. It doesn't hit me that hard personally, but all those folks who bought V-8-powered SUVs two years ago at fire-sale prices--like my extended family--are still putting out the fires in their bank accounts. Likewise, if you bought a smart car when it launched, you're looking pretty smart at $4.50 a gallon.

But what if things get a lot worse--and all of a sudden, we're paying $10 a gallon? It wouldn't take much. Names like Katrina, Ahmedinejad, and bin Laden come to mind, but something as pedestrian as a couple of broken-down oil refineries could send prices higher.

So if gas costs $10 a gallon--making a fill-up in a Chevrolet Tahoe run almost $250 a pop--what's your contingency plan? Which car, bike, scooter, or jogging shoes will take the place of your current ride? Tell us in a comment below. VespaEnlarge PhotoWhen it comes to gas prices, it pays to have a contingency. My personal contingency plan was ditching a reasonably fuel-efficient crossover vehicle and winnowing down our garage to one vehicle, a paid-for Toyota Prius. When we need to drive, we get 38 mpg guaranteed, and sometimes much higher. Still, a single fill-up in the Toyota costs more than three times as much as when we took delivery. It doesn't hit me that hard personally, but all those folks who bought V-8-powered SUVs two years ago at fire-sale prices--like my extended family--are still putting out the fires in their bank accounts. Likewise, if you bought a smart car when it launched, you're looking pretty smart at $4.50 a gallon. But what if things get a lot worse--and all of a sudden, we're paying $10 a gallon? It wouldn't take much. Names like Katrina, Ahmedinejad, and bin Laden come to mind, but something as pedestrian as a couple of broken-down oil refineries could send prices higher. So if gas costs $10 a gallon--making a fill-up in a Chevrolet Tahoe run almost $250 a pop--what's your contingency plan? Which car, bike, scooter, or jogging shoes will take the place of your current ride? Tell us in a comment below.

Tags: Driving

Posted in: 2009, Chevrolet, Tahoe



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Responses (13 total)

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  2. 2

  1. By Scum #1, Posted: 7/9/2008

    After 9/11 - I shed all my gas guzzling vehicles. We now drive Nissan Altima 27 MPG, VW TDI New beetle 46 mpg. I ride my motorcycles and bicycle into work when possible. My families overall MPG is now 38. If gas hits $10 - I might have to rethink things again. There are new Electric Bikes and Motorcycles that have reasonable range. Figure I would install Solar to recharge them with little or no environmental impact. There are no easy answers. All will cost big bucks to move away from Oil.

  2. By Jack #2, Posted: 7/9/2008

    My car get's 33 mpg in mixed suburban driving, but even now i take the bus to work one day a week to economize. If it goes that high to $ 10.00. A tank of gas is now lasting me 5 weeks because of economy measures that I have taken. I will just ride the bus to work every day. My employer will pay the entire cost for a monthly bus pass, so it would be less of an inconvenience.
    I would say to the car companies, hurry up with those
    hydraulic hybrids ! Now !
    More troubling would be the added cost to things that we purchase. Everything that you buy has transportation costs
    included in the price, and it would make inflation skyrocket.

  3. By Tom L #3, Posted: 7/10/2008

    At such a high level the question becomes not what will I drive but where will I live. I'm fortunate to happen to be in an apartment right now (Sold my house in 06, thankfully) and so the cost of gas is going to heavily influence where I choose to live in the coming years. At $10 per gallon proximity to not only work but also stores, schools and public transportation.

  4. By Graham #4, Posted: 7/10/2008

    In Europe we are currently paying about 1.50 Euros a liter. At today's exchange rate of $1.57/Euro that translates into $8.91 a gallon (US). So it will not be long before we are at $10 a gallon!
    We still have cars and we still drive!
    I currently drive a BMW 118d 5-door hatchback:
    - 2 liter
    - 143 hp
    - 0-60mph in 8.7 sec
    - 52.3 mpg official combined fuel comsumption
    - 38 mpg is my actual overall fuel consumption
    and it only produces 119g/km of CO2
    Also do not forget that incomes in Europe are lower than in the USA.
    So there will still be life at $10 a gallon!

  5. By Steven #5, Posted: 7/10/2008

    I already have a monthly train pass, so I suppose $10/gallon would mean that it will be even more crowded every day. My park-and-ride lot used to be filled with smaller, fuel-efficient models like Priuses, Accords etc, but since gas prices have increased, it's populated with Tahoes, Explorers and the like.
    With 11 months left on my Mazda 3 lease, I'll have to consider my options soon, I just wish we Americans had more choices in small cars like the Europeans. For those of us who want a smaller car with lots of extras (i.e. leather seats, navigation, etc) there aren't many models to choose from.

  6. By Tom L #6, Posted: 7/10/2008

    Walking through Barcelona gave me hope that there would be life after $10 per gallon gas. I noticed that there were tons of mom & pop style grocers, hardware stores, electronics, etc lining the streets. Makes sense in that if you have to spend a bundle on gas to drive across town you're not going to frequent Walmart.

  7. By Jon #7, Posted: 7/10/2008

    To Graham:
    Are diesel and petrol prices the same in Europe? Because here, diesel is usually higher than the premium gas. I often wonder if there is a savings between getting a diesel car compared to a regular-petrol car.

  8. By Bill Burke #8, Posted: 7/10/2008

    I will continue to drive my 2007 Chrysler Pacifica. This is the best overall vehicle I have ever driven. I'm averaging over 17 mpg in-town/highway driving and am satisfied when the comfort, safety and utility of this excellent vehicle are considered.I believe most Americans will follow the same approach, weigh the attributes of their present ride against the costs and adjust to that calculation. For me I chose comfort and safety, driving pleasure and reliability over a few more miles per gallon.

  9. By Tom L #9, Posted: 7/10/2008

    How much of the $4 per gallon right now is going towards the purchase of crude? $2.60. That's the part I find most sickening, all that money going back to the pockets of theocracies and dictators. Look at Dubai now (which doesn't make much money selling crude directly but is the financial center of OPEC) and try to imagine what they would buy with their incomes doubled.

  10. By Graham #10, Posted: 7/10/2008

    To Jon:
    It depends on the country. In France a liter of diesel is currently between 0.02Euros less (tax is lower by 0.18Euros/liter) to 0.04Euros more than standard 95ROM gas. In Germany it is generally about 0.05-0.06Euros more expensive.
    With prices at about 1.50Euros that means diesel cost is between -1% and +4% relative to gas.
    It is said that the additional refining costs of diesel are about +0.10Euros (relative to gasoline), which is only +7% (on our highly taxed fuel prices).

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