So, my 12 gallon tank on my car has gone over the $50 to fill mark recently. I only use it to go to and from work for the most part and only have to fill it up once per month. So I was thinking of getting a Honda Ruckus or a Sachs MadAss 50 or 125 to replace my car as a work commuter. They get about 100+ mpg, and only hold a little over 1 gallon of fuel, so I'd need to fill it up maybe 3 times per month at a total of 4 gallons used. That'd save me a lot of money on gas.
So, that is my thoughts, what else are you guys doing to deal with the high cost of gas?
I laugh at you commuters, while I enjoy my pants optional work environment.
Vodka
drink lots you wont care about gas prices.
I work from home too, so besides that I just shut myself indoors and don't go anywhere. However it does keep myself from having any human interaction, thus making me even more awkwardly quiet than I already am.
yeah, working from home does have that draw back.
I just stuck a HHO generator in the air intake of my vehicle, and now I get 30+ MPG.
I too am a "Virtual Office" employee.. so the gas crunch hasn't hit me as hard as others.
What I have found saves me money when I do fill up though is filling up at or before a half a tank.. I realize this can be tough because not everyone has money to fill up that often, but in the long run I am saving around $30 a month doing it this way.. the last half of a tank of gas is where you get the worst gas mileage.
However the Moped (yes I consider all scooters, Honda, Vespa, or otherwise to be Mopeds) are becoming all the craze in this gas price fiasco, but I still feel the same way about them as I always have.. Mopeds are like fat chicks.. fun to ride, but you wouldn't want your friends to catch you on one.
That being said if you don't have any freeway encounters in your commute they are a very viable solution except for when the temp drops, then you are back to your gas guzzling vehicle... so basically add it up.. if the cost of the Moped you are buying is less than what you would save on fuel driving for the 6 or so months that the weather is decent enough for scooters, then I would say its a smart choice.. if it is going to take a few years to notice the savings.. then maybe not so much.
Hybrid vehicles have proven to be a waste of money to switch too.. dealerships are jacking up the costs to up to $5000 above suggested retail because of the demand and the amount in fuel savings would take sometimes 20 years to make up for the difference in cost of a hybrid vs. standard car.
I personally am looking into the CNG kit for my truck. With this kit I have the option to run on either CNG (compressed natural gas) or regular gasoline. The kit costs $1000 and to have someone install it would be another $1000 or so.. so $2000 total. The savings however would be about $3.50 a gallon and with CNG you get the same mileage you get with regular gas, so I would be saving around $35 everytime I fill up (assuming I still fill up at halfway mark) and I fill up around 5 times a month so I would save $175 a month.. so within a year I would have made up the difference in the cost of install.
Filling up at or before the halfway mark is more of a psychological thing than anything. The "bottom half is smaller" thing is all in your head. The fuel gauge needle is probably over the "full" mark for a couple of gallons, so it just seems that the bottom half is smaller, your tank will still hold XX Gallons and go YY miles on each of those gallons, reguardless if you already have some fuel in there or not. Besides, don't you think your car would weigh more with a full tank, therefore causing it to have to work harder and spend more fuel?
The moped is about $2K, and would take about 3 gallons of fuel pur month, instead of 12, so after the thing is paid off, it'll be gravy, until that point, it'll be about the same per month, or a little more. Plus, my AC in my car doesn't work anyways, and I'll still ride it in the winter if the roads aren't icey and full of snow. So for me, it's a good solution.
The CNG thing sounds like a good alternative, as long as natural gas prices stay low.
The one thing that would bother me about a moped/motorcycle is that people drive like complete and total fucktards in this valley.
Actually filling up at half of a tank does improve my MPG over filling up at empty. Example:
My tank is 26 gallons, last fill up when my gauge says half, I put in 12.6 gallons and I drove 214 miles which is right around 17 MPG.
When I fill up at empty I put in around 25 gallons and I drove around 355 miles.. which is just around 14 MPG.
So mathematically it can't be in "my head".. 12.6 gallons is about half my tank yet 214 miles is far more than half of 355 miles.
I realize my MPG fluctuates, but I am consistently getting 16-17MPG when I have been filling up at half of a tank and when I was filling up at empty I never got better than 15MPG.
Not sure the reason behind it, but it works for me and saves me $$$ so I am going to keep doing it.
Is that an average over time? Or was that a couple of observations? You may have made more short trips on one than the other, or less highway travel on one than the other. I always seem to get the same 300ish mpg per tank on my car, more or less depending how and where I drive. But if it works for you, I guess that's good.
I had been filling up from empty until gas hit around 3.25 a gallon, then started filling at a half tank.. every once in a while I'll hit empty and fill up.. same result as when I was doing it regularly.. 14MPG.. I never really take my truck on long trips on the highway.. we use my wifes vehicle for that.
Gotta be 151 Rum.. much more flamable than most vodkas.
Screw Gas...
According to CNN; Honda is going to be leasing 200 hydrogen powered sedans to families in southern California, where there are the most Hydrogen-prepared fueling stations.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17912_3-996926...47-1_3-0-5
Looks like it's where it's going to be at, running off of water.
In other news General Motors / Chevrolet has announced that the 2009 lineup is going to FlexFuel meaning that their engines can run on either Ethanol, Gasoline or both at the same time.
In other news General Motors / Chevrolet has announced that the 2009 lineup is going to FlexFuel meaning that their engines can run on either Ethanol, Gasoline or both at the same time.
This only means Corn will cost more because we'll be putting more in the tank than in our bellies... Just a little bit of info, the average human consumes about as much corn in 1 year as it takes to make a single gallon of Ethanol. Oh, and did I mention that the gub'munt also gives farmers extremely high tax cuts and incentives to produce Ethanol bound corn. Thus taking food from our mouths and putting it in your tank, and causing the price of everything else to go up at the same time by creating a supply issue with corn for your belly, and for other crops that don't make the farmer as much money.
Yeah, HHO is where it's at.
Using water instead of Gas. w00t, w00t!
This only means Corn will cost more because we'll be putting more in the tank than in our bellies... Just a little bit of info, the average human consumes about as much corn in 1 year as it takes to make a single gallon of Ethanol. Oh, and did I mention that the gub'munt also gives farmers extremely high tax cuts and incentives to produce Ethanol bound corn. Thus taking food from our mouths and putting it in your tank, and causing the price of everything else to go up at the same time by creating a supply issue with corn for your belly, and for other crops that don't make the farmer as much money.
General Motors / Chevrolet Will fail with thier expencive corn tactics, while Honda will prevail by building cars that run on water.
If / when they come out with a car that runs on water, how do you think they will handle filling up your car in a drought area?
I've seen a couple of Honda commercials for thier water car.
The HHO (Water) stations are starting to pop-up all over california, it's just a matter of time when they get here.
I've seen a couple of Honda commercials for thier water car.
The HHO (Water) stations are starting to pop-up all over california, it's just a matter of time when they get here.
Sure, the Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology seems nice enough on paper and is a fairly efficient way to get from point a to b (the cars get an equivalent of just over 70 mpg, and carries 4 gallons of liquid hydrogen, therefore making the range on the vehicle approximately 280 miles before a fillup). But good luck finding one available anytime in the next 10-15 years.
Mainly because of the fact that right now they cost in the ballpark of $1 million a piece to produce due to the state of the technology being so pricey, Honda has predicted that they will be able to mass produce this car by the year 2018. Until then, they are slated to mainly be leased to either the ultra-rich or ultra-celebrity so that they can get more marketing out on the car. I do see Utah as being one of the first states after California to install liquid hydrogen fueling stations, but I still don't see that happening antime in the next 5+ years.
In Utah at least, the best and most cost effective solution right now seems to the be Natural Gas Conversion if you can front the $2000-$4000 it costs to get it done. There are tax breaks that exist with this conversion as well, which at times help reduce the price by 1/3rd.
I wont be in the market for a new car until then, and i'll be working from home starting in 2009, so i'm looking foward to it.
I'm going to get a Sachs MadAss 125 (
http://www.peirspeed.com/madass125.htm), and here's why...
- It will have a little over a 100 mile range on a 1.2 gallon tank, and I'll only have to fill it up about twice per month.
- I don't have air conditioning in my car, cuz it broke a couple of years ago, and to fix it, it will cost as much as the MadAss.
- Riding scooters is fun, more fun than a full size motorcycle.
- The top speed on the 125 is about 50 mph so I can take most roads.
- I can ride it in the winter as long as the roads are rather clear, but I'll keep my car as a backup vehicle
The only problem is that I can't buy the thing until August, because it won't be available.
[*]Riding scooters is fun, more fun than a full size motorcycle.
Matter of opinion I guess, yes scooters are fun to ride, I've ridden a couple different ones, the Honda Metropolitan and a Yamaha Zuma, but I still prefer to ride a Victory or a V Star any day. Maybe its just cuz, as you put it, "I'm kind of a big fella", but I prefer a little more power than scooters can offer.
From what I understand about the scooters, is that in order to drive anything over 49cc, you're still required to have your motorcycle license.
Overall, it's still cheaper than buying and insuring a motorcycle, but still. If I've got my motorcycle licence, I'll just go buy a dang motorcycle. The one I had for a little while (before an old lady hit me and totaled the bike) was a 250cc and it cost me 3,000 bucks brand new.
That way, I could still go on major streets, but actually reach the speed limit in less than 5 minutes. I could go freeway speeds on it without much problems if I really needed to.
Here's one article I found after a quick search...
[(k)] (v) "Street motorcycle" means a motor vehicle that:
163 (i) is:
164 (A) a motorcycle as defined in section 41-1a-102; and
165 (B) designed primarily for use and operation on highways;
166 (ii) is required to be registered in accordance with Title 41, Chapter 1a, Part 2, Registration;
167 and
168 (iii) has:
169 (A) an engine with more than 150 cubic centimeters displacement;
---OR---
170 (B) a motor that produces more than five horsepower
Maximum HP listed for the madass is 11.