Gas price influence buying??

[LARRYfireBIRD33]

A lot of people are really buying cars based on gas mileage right now for what is apparently obvious reason. So I did a little math and this is what I came up with.
Car A = gets 25mpg
Car B = gets 20mpg
Gas price = $2.50/gallon (just to have a set figure)

If they both drive 15,000 miles in a year, 'CAR A' will spend $1,500 on gas and 'CAR B' will spend $1875.

To me, spending $375 a year extra ($1 a day basically) does not justify picking between 2 cars in a similar class based on it's fuel consumption.

I just felt like writing this down to hear what people say. I'm not adamant about it, just wanted to say something.

[kristen]

i think that you have a little too much time on your hands.

i fill up like 5 times a month $35 a tank. so with gas prices they are right now i'm spending $2100 a year. but i'm sure gas is going to be going up. it suck using nitrous right now cause i have to use 93 and higher oct.

[LARRYfireBIRD33]

Nothing to do with time. I was reading the 'difficult decision' thread about 4 down and just thought about it for a minute.

[Camarorulz]

Yeah really, it doesn't really take much time to come up with those numbers. BTW I think you're right: its silly to choose a car because it gets as little as 5 mpg better. Now if you were comparing a car that gets 25 to a car that gets 45 we'd have something to talk about. But those two wouldn't be in the same class, now would they?

The fact is anything that gets close to 20 city and close to 30 highway is good enough for me, and I'm a college student not rolling in dough. If I can afford it, so can you.

[95Batmobile]

If you are buying a car based on gas mileage, then the mileage is your biggest concern.

If you are buying a car for style, style is your biggest concern.

Those who want to save the $375 dollars will buy the other car because they want the best possible mileage, regardless of what it looks like. Nothing silly about it, they are just buying a car for their own reasons.

[camaro_speedemon]

Yea, but what about car C that gets 30 MPG, you only spend $1250.

I bought the matrix because I was driving 120 miles a day for work at the time.

[57s98Camaro]

Hells yeah it does. Because of current prices I'm debating on just selling my car and hitching a ride to work with my friends that live close. I don't drive for 9 months out of the year, and I can get access to a car whenever I need to. Maybe next year I'll just buy a beater-mobile until I'm out of college.

When you make 7 bucks an hour, paying $2.40 is a bit of a concern.

[Skapimp]

Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Date: Thursday, March 24, 2005, Pages D1 & D4 (Personal Journal Section)
Title: “What’s Big, Guzzles Gas and Is Getting Faster? (Answer: The Latest Crop of SUVs,
as Makers Add Horsepower to Many Models)”
Author: Michelle Higgins

Abstract (Document Summary)
The introduction of the pumped-up new SUVs comes at a surprising time, considering that gasoline prices have recently hit highs. The manufacturers are betting, however, that consumers' appetites for bigger engines will continue to outweigh their concerns about fuel efficiency. About 84% of large-SUV owners rank horsepower as an important vehicle attribute today compared with about 55% in 1995, according to CNW Marketing Research. In that same year, 45% of large SUV owners ranked fuel efficiency as important compared with just 17% today. Gas-mileage information on the new SUV models isn't yet available, but in general they are expected to be less fuel efficient than the models with less-powerful engines.
"The issue always comes down to speed and handling of a vehicle," says Adrian Lund, chief operating officer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Even with careful tuning of an SUV's design, he says, "It still doesn't mean [people] can drive it like a car." Some 40% of fatal rollover crashes involve excessive speeding, according to NHTSA.
Tom Wallace, an executive in GM's midsize-truck business, says the TrailBlazer SS, because of its lower suspension system, and its stability and antirollover technology, should be safe and should perform well on rollover tests. "You don't have to break the speed limit to feel good in a vehicle," he says. "There's a big difference between driving enthusiastically and aggressively, and driving irresponsibly."

Full Text (940 words)
Copyright (c) 2005, Dow Jones & Company Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
THE MAKERS OF SUVS, already under fire for poor gas mileage and safety issues, have a new strategy to reverse sagging sales: Putting bigger engines in them.
In the past year or so, car makers have been adding horsepower to everything from luxury cars to family sedans. Now SUVs are being outfitted with engines that are so big and powerful that they can accelerate as fast as sports cars.
Yesterday at the New York International Auto Show, General Motors Corp. introduced the 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS, a souped-up version of its midsize SUV with an eight-cylinder engine like the one it uses in the Corvette. DaimlerChrysler AG unveiled its new 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, which has a 415-horsepower engine and can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than five seconds, putting it in the same league as some Porsches and Ferraris. Early next year, Audi will start selling the Q7, a sporty SUV based on the same platform as the Porsche Cayenne.
Ford Motor Co. yesterday unveiled a concept vehicle, the Sport Trac Adrenalin, a sport-utility truck with a 390-horsepower engine that may become a model for production in 2007. This summer, the new 2006 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles will get a boost to 400 and 390 horsepower, respectively.
Auto makers see the horsepower arms race as a way to dress up their SUV lines, since dropping in a new engine is an easy way to spice up a model while avoiding the expense of a full redesign.
The introduction of the pumped-up new SUVs comes at a surprising time, considering that gasoline prices have recently hit highs. The manufacturers are betting, however, that consumers' appetites for bigger engines will continue to outweigh their concerns about fuel efficiency. About 84% of large-SUV owners rank horsepower as an important vehicle attribute today compared with about 55% in 1995, according to CNW Marketing Research. In that same year, 45% of large SUV owners ranked fuel efficiency as important compared with just 17% today. Gas-mileage information on the new SUV models isn't yet available, but in general they are expected to be less fuel efficient than the models with less-powerful engines.
The extra horsepower adds a new dimension to the discussion of SUV handling and safety issues. Truck-like vehicles such as these, with their high center of gravity, "were never designed to be driven as sports cars," says David Champion, director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports. While all types of vehicles can roll over in an accident, taller, narrower ones such as SUVs, pickups, and vans have higher centers of gravity, and thus are more susceptible to rollover if involved in a single-vehicle crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
"The issue always comes down to speed and handling of a vehicle," says Adrian Lund, chief operating officer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Even with careful tuning of an SUV's design, he says, "It still doesn't mean [people] can drive it like a car." Some 40% of fatal rollover crashes involve excessive speeding, according to NHTSA.
Manufacturers are taking steps to ensure their high-power SUVs handle safely by bolstering the braking system, lowering the center of gravity, and equipping their vehicles with electronic-stability control systems, which help keep the vehicle from skidding out of control.
Ford executive George Ayres says that the added features are a safety improvement for drivers. "Good throttle response and better handling helps you avoid the accidents," he says.
The new Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS has a 1-inch-lower suspension than current models, and also stiffer springs and special stabilizer bars designed to reduce body roll and improve cornering control.
Tom Wallace, an executive in GM's midsize-truck business, says the TrailBlazer SS, because of its lower suspension system, and its stability and antirollover technology, should be safe and should perform well on rollover tests. "You don't have to break the speed limit to feel good in a vehicle," he says. "There's a big difference between driving enthusiastically and aggressively, and driving irresponsibly."
The 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is 1 inch lower than the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Chrysler's Electronic Stability Program is standard equipment.
In recent years, SUVs were one of the most popular and profitable vehicles for auto makers. But sales of large SUVs for the last quarter of 2004 fell 12% from a year earlier, according to Ward's Automotive Reports, an auto-industry research firm. Large-SUV sales in the first two months of this year dropped 19% from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, some European auto makers have done well with high- performance SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. By putting a 391-horsepower engine in the TrailBlazer and fitting the vehicle with fatter tires and a suspension that drops the vehicle's height by 1-to- 2 inches, Mr. Wallace says, GM has a vehicle that can compete credibly and safely with some of the European makes.
European companies are forging ahead as well with bigger engines. For 2006, Volkswagen is rolling out a version of its Toureg SUV that will have a twin-turbo, 10-cylinder diesel engine that can go from 0- to-60 mph in 7.6 seconds.
Even Volvo, known for safety but not traditionally for speed, has souped up its XC90 by adding the first V8 engine the company has produced. Volvo says it has already presold more than 1,000 vehicles, which are being shipped to dealers now.

[Flowbee V6]

In a decade, Im sure there will be plenty of incentive to go at least hybrid

untill then Im enjoying the f-body world