Originally Posted By fkurucz <<We can't buy the hybrid we wanted because, even though the gas savings would almost pay for it>> Here is an idea. Instead of spending $25,000 to buy a Prius, go buy a used 4 cylinder car. For instance, a Geo/Chevrolet Prizm. The car is Toyota Corolla with a Chevy bow-tie. Since they don't have the magic word "Toyota" on them they depreciate much faster than a Toyota Corolla. A quick search on Cars.com shows several for sales in the Bay Area for under $5000. The Prizm is every bit as bullet proof as a Corolla, mostly because it IS a Corolla. <<would be too high to refinance, which we'll need to do within the next year>> If you need to re-fi your house, I would suggest doing that now. If house prices in the Bay Area continue to fall you might find that you do not have enough equity to refinance next year.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTH! WHY is the price of gas climbing so fast right now?????????>> It depends on who you ask. Some will say its because speculators are driving up the price of oil, causing a price bubble. Since bubbles always pop eventually that would mean that prices would eventually come back down. Others would say that global supply simply cannot keep pace with global demand. The real pessimists even say that we are running out of oil ("peak oil") Yet another point of view is that the ongoing devaluation of the US dollar has caused oil prices to jump, at least when quoted in dollars. Personally, I think that its a bit of all 3. So if we could get our economic house in order and restore some value to the dollar, combined with a bubble pop, we might see prices come back down a bit, at least for a while. In the long run though, I believe that prices can only continue to go up. We will need to adapt and change the way we do things. I know that many tradesmen believe that they need a pickup truck for their trades, yet tradesmen in Europe seem to get by fine without pickups, instead using what we would call compact car station wagons.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>And the airlines have just raised fuel surcharges to $400 for each flight over 9 hours (this is in addition to the ticket and baggage handling costs). Needless to say, we may not make it back to the States for a little while with 4 flights to buy :-(<< Airlines are in real trouble now. I think that we will see some big names fold, at least in the US. I recall reading somewhere that jet fuel suppliers are demanding to be paid up front for fuel deliveries, out of fear that airlines will go belly up and not pay.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo A number of small carriers have folded here in the UK over the last couple of months. The economy in general is poor. I know 3 bankers and 1 corporate lawyer laid off in the last month, and 3 partner companies of ours have folded. Not good.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 An interesting note, Southwest Airlines, bought quite a bit of its fuel at a rate of 50 dollars a barrel, able to keep that price for the entire year. They gambled that gas prices would skyrocket and they did. They are the only airline that did this, thus is the only airline not having serious financial problems.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney "I saw a homeless guy with a sign that said...Please help, I need gas for the Hummer!" That's awesome!! Best homeless sign I ever saw was "Need money for beer."
Originally Posted By oc_dean Well .. here we are - Just about to hit $5 here in southern CA! lovely!!
Originally Posted By oc_dean 6. Do I hear 6? 6 it is ... coming in.... 7? Do I hear 7? 7 going once .... 7 going twice?! Cities shutting down in ... 5, 4, 3, 2, .........
Originally Posted By oc_dean And you all know who has it worse? Yeah .... Disneyland region! Orange County. Not a single light rail system! OC is f****d! Meanwhile ... up here in the LA area .. with the Red, Blue, Gold, and Green line rail systems ... I've been noticing more packed trains than before.
Originally Posted By DAR <<Best homeless sign I ever saw was "Need money for beer.">> In Vegas I saw a guy with a sign that said "Who are we kidding, I'm an alcoholic and need beer."
Originally Posted By DyGDisney We have no light rail up here either. For my dh to take BART to work, he'd have to drive 1/2 hour to the nearest BART station, still pay bridge toll, then pay for BART. It would probably cost us just as much if not more.
Originally Posted By hopemax Today I filled up, $43, so then our monthly bill would be more like $80, than $60. But... The guy next to me looked at our Civic, and said, "Man, I wish I had one of those." When I said we've been getting 35-40 mpg, he made one of those sounds that normally goes with the presence of a hot female. I made sure to check the model of his car as he drove away. It was an Expedition.
Originally Posted By DAR It's completely not worth my time to take the bus to work instead of driving. For the nearest freeway flyer, I have drive twenty minutes the opposite way from where I work. I hope on the freeway driving and I'm at work in 10 minutes. Plus I don't want to be on the bus line's time. I want to decide when I stay or go.
