Has the rising cost of gas affected your driving habits?

[Berlex]

half the people that own SUV's or pickups do not really need them.

I am one of those pickup owners. However I did need one at the time. I used to pull our boats and and snowmobiles...plus you are SOL if you don't have 4x4 during Minnesota winters. I no longer own a boat or snowmobiles or live in Minnesota, but I decided to keep the truck. It made more sense to continue paying $160 a month for gas than to pay $450 a month for car payments just for 6-7 more miles to the gallon.

 

[SmoothTalker]

I can't say I've seen a Minnesota winter but I live in Canada and really doubt yours are worse.

A lot of people here think you can't live without 4x4 either.

I drive a front wheel drive car, no abs or traction control, no winter tires, and frankly seem to handle the road better then the vast majority of those all wheel drive winter tire/traction control people.

What people can't live without on winter roads is driving skills. Everything else is secondary.

 

[Berlex]

What people can't live without on winter roads is driving skills. Everything else is secondary.

So true. I see a lot of SUVs/trucks in the snow banks after snow storms...they probably think that just because they have 4x4 and ABS they can drive fast on slippery roads.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I can't say I've seen a Minnesota winter but I live in Canada and really doubt yours are worse.

A lot of people here think you can't live without 4x4 either.

I drive a front wheel drive car, no abs or traction control, no winter tires, and frankly seem to handle the road better then the vast majority of those all wheel drive winter tire/traction control people.

What people can't live without on winter roads is driving skills. Everything else is secondary.

It's not that our winters are worse, we just don't know how to drive in any type of precipitation. Unlike Canadians, we can be stone cold sober and still flip over after running off into a ditch when there's a quarter of an inch of snow on the ground.

 

[Doc73]

It's not that our winters are worse, we just don't know how to drive in any type of precipitation. Unlike Canadians, we can be stone cold sober and still flip over after running off into a ditch when there's a quarter of an inch of snow on the ground.

Trust me, you guys are not alone. During a winter storm, the main highway that runs through my city is like a demolition derby. Apparently, people do not understand that the 60 mph speed limit is for optimal conditions.

 

[Derek Flint]

Some of the same people crying about the price of gas have no problem going to a club, paying 10-20 bucks to get in, and dropping 8-10 bucks for a watered-down drink.

 

[ketostix]

Some of the same people crying about the price of gas have no problem going to a club, paying 10-20 bucks to get in, and dropping 8-10 bucks for a watered-down drink.

A lot of people view clubs as a rip off. But the difference is you have choices there. You can go to a bar without a cover and lower drink prices, buy drinks at a store etc. Gas prices in a short period of time have tripled and quadrupled and who knows where it will end. You have no choice but to pay. A lot of money is being siphoned from the economy to the oil industry. On top of that fuel prices are raising the price of almost everything else.