I’m going to be driving to Vegas in a couple of weeks for the IPI. My Belchfire V12 gets 22 miles to the gallon. At an additional 50 cents a gallon, the 500 miles round trip will cost me and additional, are you ready, $11.36.
If I drive 2000 miles a month that means that that 50c a gallon costs more $45 a month more to drive my car. OK — its not chump change, but its not the end of the earth either. I find it difficult to see how that additional dollar fifty a day is going to make me change my mind about driving somewhere.
OK if you drive for a living, charge a bit more for your services. But if you are simply driving to and from work, are you really REALLY put out all that much.
Other commodities are skyrocketing downward. Flat screen tvs, now the rage, are half the price they were two years ago. Cell phones are free. and if you buy the right contract, or use VOIP, your phone bill can be in the dirt, too.
So lets see. You decide to buy a hybrid. It gets on average 40 miles per gallon. So instead of costing $73.86 to drive to Vegas in comfort, you can bounce over for $33 less. On that 2000 miles a month, you will be saving about $4 a day, less than the cost of a mochachinolatto.
Am I happy with high gasoline prices, of course not. But lets put it in perspective.
I think that the big challenge is that gasoline is the only thing we buy that has the price in one foot letters on a sign at the entry to the store. Where most companies tout their low prices, gas companies tout their high prices.
Just my opinions.
J
One Response
Great analysis. Hope you don’t mind, but I shared this (along with the link) with everyone I could think of and all seem to agree with it. If the cost of gas in Europe hasn’t stopped (or really even slowed) the congestion and traffic over there, then it’s doubtful that even another 50 cents a gallon will bring us to the tipping point.