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Thread: Gas going DOWN? What?!

  1. #21
    Senior Member bekkilyn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I saw an article about 2 weeks ago that big SUV sales are up 88%. Trust me, it does make a difference.
    I specifically meant in my area though. If practically everyone here already has an SUV or two or three (depending on how many adults are in the household), then I just don't see them buying even more of them due to a temporary price drop in gas.
    Rebecca

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  2. #22
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bekkilyn View Post
    I specifically meant in my area though. If practically everyone here already has an SUV or two or three (depending on how many adults are in the household), then I just don't see them buying even more of them due to a temporary price drop in gas.
    I see what you're saying, but see my earlier post on this topic--there is definitely a correlation between gas prices and SUV purchases. Why is it that European cars are so tiny? The petrol is very expensive there.
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  3. #23
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    I am actually considering an even smaller car when/if I finally decide to buy one. If anyone believes low prices are here to stay, they aren't thinking straight. I like Mr Money Mustache's referral to overly-sized vehicles as clown cars. I am kind of fascinated by why cars and car image are so important to people in the first place.

  4. #24
    Senior Member bekkilyn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I see what you're saying, but see my earlier post on this topic--there is definitely a correlation between gas prices and SUV purchases. Why is it that European cars are so tiny? The petrol is very expensive there.
    Overall, I do agree with you. I suppose if these lower prices go on for long enough, more people in general would feel like they want something bigger than what they already have. I've known people who might need something hauled once or twice a year and insist they need to buy a truck.

    As for me, I'm happy with my Civic. I get too scared around here driving anything too much smaller since I'm surrounded by so many big SUVs and trucks (and drivers are either very aggressive or very inattentive and erratic), but I definitely don't want anything larger!
    Rebecca

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  5. #25
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    I am kind of fascinated by why cars and car image are so important to people in the first place.
    I totally agree. Branding cars is a whole science in itself, and it's fascinating.
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  6. #26
    Senior Member bekkilyn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I totally agree. Branding cars is a whole science in itself, and it's fascinating.
    This reminds me...there are times when someone has offered to give me a ride somewhere and will be picking me up in a public place, and they'll say something like, look for the white (insert car model here) and a lot of the times, I have no idea what kind of car it is or even what it looks like. I'll have to either get them to give me more of a description, or I'd look it up on the internet.

    Then there are the people who have some sort of special or "fancy" car and they'll show it to me and I'll feel some obligation to be politely impressed, but in reality, it typically looks like any other car to me.

    I think the only cars that really fascinate me are the restored old-timey cars from the early 20'th century...like the ones I saw in my town's Christmas parade last weekend. They're just so cute.

    And my 80 year old mother drives a mustang. I just have to be impressed by that.
    Rebecca

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  7. #27
    Senior Member dmc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pcooley View Post
    You could still have a lower price per barrel to discourage fracking and jack the cost at the pump way up to fund public transportation, railways, and bicycle facilities. We really should have $8 a gallon gas, not $2. Just think what public good could be done with that extra $6 a gallon, (as long as it was clearly earmarked for transit diversity and not funneled away into the military).
    Why not just tax or charge more for public transportation, railway's, and bicycle facilities to pay for themselves if wanted or needed. We should require bicycles to be taxed and licensed to help pay for the bike paths and roads that they use. And buses and trains should charge at least enough to break even.

  8. #28
    Senior Member gimmethesimplelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    I am actually considering an even smaller car when/if I finally decide to buy one. If anyone believes low prices are here to stay, they aren't thinking straight. I like Mr Money Mustache's referral to overly-sized vehicles as clown cars. I am kind of fascinated by why cars and car image are so important to people in the first place.
    I too have often wondered why cars and car image are so important to so many people. I don't get it. I see a car as a piece of machinery to get me from point A to point B, hopefully as economically as possible. Given that I've been a waiter for so long and given that a waiter's income is never really stable, I quickly figured out even before I found simpler living that having a car would make me more vulnerable to the ups and downs in my income. It would also mean more bills in my life. And it would also mean less in savings. Three strikes against owning a car there so I have been without a car for years now and I don't miss it a bit.

    Pinkytoe, your post makes me think of the Saturday paper. On Saturday so much of the paper doesn't apply to me as I have no interest in the auto section or the sports section or even the housing section as I can't afford the makeovers that are often featured. So much of the Saturday paper in Phoenix seems to be about image and I wonder why people even bother with the economy as it is and the stress living for image creates. All I can say is - I guess let other people have at that and no one says I have to participate. Rob

  9. #29
    Senior Member gimmethesimplelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dmc View Post
    Why not just tax or charge more for public transportation, railway's, and bicycle facilities to pay for themselves if wanted or needed. We should require bicycles to be taxed and licensed to help pay for the bike paths and roads that they use. And buses and trains should charge at least enough to break even.
    I don't completely disagree with you here, DMC. The only problem I see is your last sentence. Reason being - many (though I'll give you not all) people are struggling to afford to ride the bus as it is these days as fares have gone up all over the place, service in many cities has been cut, and wages are stagnant or falling for most bus riders. I realize that in cities such as Boston or New York or San Francisco there is much diversity in who rides mass transit - here in Phoenix, other than for the light rail and express busses out to the suburbs, it's mostly lower income folks. I don't disagree with what you have posted about taxing bikes though - I think it's a good idea. A small tax from many bike riders would go a long way to keep up bike paths and do their fair share for road upkeep. Rob

  10. #30
    Senior Member gimmethesimplelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I totally agree. Branding cars is a whole science in itself, and it's fascinating.
    Given that I own no car, I find it fascinating that people actually buy into the "branding" of cars. Case in point - When I was in Austria in 1987, I discovered that a Mercedes there is actually an everyday car and not considered upscale. Unlike here where there is some cachet (to those who buy into it) in driving a Mercedes. Why anyone would see themselves a higher or lower on any scale based on what they drive is completely beyond me and it screams impracticality to me if nothing else. One great thing I have discovered in not having a car though - this tends to very efficiently screen people who buy into this line of thinking out of my life. Rob

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