Psychological barrier
For the first time ever, I paid more than $50 to fill up my tank.
It's still less than $4 for regular around here, which is what my car takes. The gas stations are charging over $4 for premium, which makes me glad I didn't purchase the VW Passat back in '03 when I bought my current car. (The dealer said the Passat only takes premium.) But my regular-chugging car only gets about 20 mpg. Of course, it's all stop'n'go city driving because I live close to work. And I've only just 36,000 miles after five-plus years of driving. But still, that 20 mpg really glares like a neon light when gas costs this much.
It's still less than $4 for regular around here, which is what my car takes. The gas stations are charging over $4 for premium, which makes me glad I didn't purchase the VW Passat back in '03 when I bought my current car. (The dealer said the Passat only takes premium.) But my regular-chugging car only gets about 20 mpg. Of course, it's all stop'n'go city driving because I live close to work. And I've only just 36,000 miles after five-plus years of driving. But still, that 20 mpg really glares like a neon light when gas costs this much.
posted by Angry Pregnant Lawyer at 8:41 PM
8 Comments:
Churns my stomach every time I fill up these days!
We're trying to figure out how to squeeze a less guzzly car into the budget. Now that I'm not making the 60-mile-roundtrip to school, things may get easier.
I hear ya. My car has a 20 gallon tank. I try to keep it above 1/2 tank at all times, mainly because it costs so much to fill it if it is more than half empty. I am so disgusted with the prez. He could put a cap on it or something.
My husband has the Passat, and yes, it does take premium. I keep trying to convince him that regular gas wouldn't kill it...but he is convinced otherwise!
Around here, premium has commanded 20 cents more than regular for at least the 10 years it's sort-of mattered to me (in that I've had cars that are supposed to be fed premium). An upshot is that the premium percentage has fallen from ~20% to ~5%, yet I am still irritated at automakers who seem to gratuitously "require" premium.
As for the "neon light," word -- my car, with AWD, gets high teens in stop-and-go driving. I really shouldn't care too much, since I drive less than 3,000 miles/year these days (via bike commuting); still, what I hope to do is get both a cheaper to own and reasonably cheap to operate car.
There are gas stations here that don't even SELL Premium anymore.
Over the weekend I put a deposit on a Prius. I feel like I'll be getting out of jail.
I'm so glad that we decided to buy a hybrid last summer (Honda Civic). And I am also really loving my whopping 3-mile commute to work!
$49.42 to fill up my Beetle today. Sheesh.
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