Author |
Message |
Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 8:45 am
Bare it! 
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Scooterrific
Member
07-08-2005
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 8:52 am

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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 8:52 am
I fill up my tank on the first of the month and it lasts me a month.
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Dfennessey
Member
07-25-2004
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 9:05 am
if i do not do a lot of driving a half of tank of gas can last me 2 weeks
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 9:36 am
Get a camel.
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 9:42 am
About turning your car off vs. idling, I read that if you are going to idle greater than 30 seconds, it pays to turn your car off. Apparently it takes about 30 seconds worth of gas to start your car (if that makes sense). So if you're waiting outside someone's home, shut it off and you'll soon be rich
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Scooterrific
Member
07-08-2005
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 9:50 am
But camel's spit! <off to go wait in front of someone's house>
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Denecee
Member
09-05-2002
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 10:42 am
Scoot, you crack me up!
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 12:15 pm
Great idea for a thread! I first read this article in Reader's Digest or Time, I think. It's interesting and made me laugh some. Hypermilers It's a bit long, so here are a couple of quotes: "In Wayne's world, fuel efficiency is not about the car. It's about the driver. Wayne doesn't get high mpg marks by tinkering with engines or using funky fuels or even, most days, by driving a hybrid. He gets them by driving consciously—hyperconsciously." "I don't think Wayne hears me, because, as a Chevy Tahoe whizzes by, he notes, "I imagine that it's getting 10 to 13 miles per gallon climbing this hill. We're getting about 80. It'll drive you crazy." I'm thinking that hypermiling consists of driving like a 90-year-old in a mobile sweat lodge, but I'm about to find out I'm wrong. Really, really wrong." "Buckle up tight, because this is the death turn," says Wayne. Death turn? We're moving at 50 mph. Wayne turns off the engine. He's bearing down on the exit, and as he turns the wheel sharply to the right, the tires squeal—which is what happens when you take a 25 mph turn going 50." " The morning after I arrive, Hobbit and I squeeze into the front seat of the Ranger to join Wayne on a milk run. He starts the truck—well, gets it rolling—by releasing the emergency brake and putting the gearshift in neutral before jumping out and pushing the 3,330-pound vehicle down his sloping driveway with the engine off. He jumps in and, without braking, turns right, swerves around a dead skunk in the road, and then takes a left turn—again without braking—to a stop sign. Ahead, the light is red. "This is a long light," he says. "I'm screwed. We have to throw it away." "Throw it away" is the phrase Wayne uses to describe what most of us do with gasoline. We throw gas away when we accelerate fast, when we turn on the air conditioning, when we leave heavy stuff in the trunk, when we drive with a roof rack, when we don't change the oil, when we underinflate our tires, when we roll down the windows, when we speed, when we brake, or when we idle. Wayne might seem a radical at times, but he's really a conservative: He doesn't want to throw anything away."
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - 4:36 pm
Good article!!
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 11:48 am
Glad you liked it! We are thinking of selling our Suburban. (and not replacing it with another car) I don't know the mpg but I know it is really low. We are driving to my mom's on Sunday. We'll spend about $40 in gas just for the roundtrip. If we drove our Chevy Malibu (can't though because we're bringing our big dog with us and can't all fit with her too in the Malibu), it would only cost about $23. (I'm guessing on the mpg.) I never really thought about how much gas really costs in terms of seeing my mom. I never felt she was so far away! I feel like I'm throwing away $17! We really need the money we could get from selling it. I do drive the Malibu whenever possible. Our teen goes to a high school about 15 miles away, so she takes it every day. I'm going to start scheduling all dentist and ortho appts. on the same day close to the same times. The offices are very close together and about 15 miles away from home. I will save quite a bit of gas and money that way over the years.
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 1:31 pm
I think these gas prices are going to cause all of us to change our lifestyles. I'm combining trips to things, too.
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Imbewitched
Member
03-08-2002
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 1:58 pm
I really do wish there was somewhere that I could cut back on my driving but unfortunately there just isn't. It is a 50 mile trip to my office and back home, 5 days a week. And unfortunately it is on a very busy Loop. The traffic usually runs about 20 mph the entire way, coming and going. My gas mileage was running about 21mpg. A friend suggested having the fuel pump changed. I did an am now getting 25mpg.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 3:19 pm
My problem isn't that my work is far, in fact it's only 2.2 miles from home. my problem is i wear a suit and i live in Houston. i would be a sweating mess riding my bike in my suit! and even if i wore different clothes and changed, i would still be a sweaty mess.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 3:20 pm
There are a lot of things you can do. Public transportation. Car pool or ride share. Even using alternate transporation one day a week would help.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 3:25 pm
I walked to Wal Mart, Marshalls, and Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday with my kids in the stroller. It was a nice long walk, and all I bought was cereal 
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 3:31 pm

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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 3:32 pm
Hey, I've got the horses if someone can spare their cart! I'd prefer that if there was NO gas issues!
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 3:47 pm
Happymom, doesn't the school district provide transportation at the High school level?
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Beachcomber
Member
08-26-2003
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 5:06 pm
They had a guy on the news tonight that made his Honda Civic aerodynamic with a bullet nose and tail. The car is definitely not a chick magnet, but he claims he doubled his gas mileage to 70 miles per gallon.
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Spygirl
Board Administrator
04-23-2001
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 5:08 pm
Work travel isn't the issue for me (I work 3 miles from my home)...it is my son's daycare that is 15 minutes away. My husband, on the other hand, works 15 minutes away on the OPPOSITE side of town from Brayden's daycare. It is killing us!
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 5:51 pm
bus doesn't go by my work. no one works there that lives near me. i've thought about getting a scooter.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 6:40 pm
Moped, Texannie? But I do know what you mean. We lived in Houston for eight years, and it is HELLISHLY hot most of the time. I wouldn't consider walking a half mile in that heat most of the year. Even when we went to movies on weekends, we gave consideration to where we would park the car depending on shade and/or how much black asphalt we would have to sprint across to get into the air conditioning. If the sprinting in that hellish heat didn't kill us first.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Thursday, May 08, 2008 - 2:32 pm
Julie, they actually don't! However, if she went to the High School in our school district, it wouldn't be so far away. We and she didn't want her to go to our local hs. (There are some kids that live quite far from our hs that are in the district. Middle and hs students have to take the city bus. They will only bus a few elem. school kids and special needs kids for all grades. It's probably a matter of money. Our district is really hurting financially.) http://fueleconomy.gov/ I haven't looked around at this site yet. At a glance, it looks like it may have some good info. http://gasprices.mapquest.com/ Find the lowest gas prices in your area, as well as in the nation. http://gasbuddy.com/ GasBuddy.com can help you find cheap gas prices in your city. It is a network of more than 181+ gas price information websites that help you find low gasoline prices. All web sites are operated by GasBuddy and has the most comprehensive listings of gas prices anywhere. http://fuelcostcalculator.com/ This site from the first name in travel and road services computes how much gas you'll use on a trip, plus the cost of your gas bill. http://www.google.com/transit Are you done with driving altogether? Google Maps gives you step-by-step directions from stoop to stop, and includes train and bus schedules. In major metro areas, try HopStop.com.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, May 08, 2008 - 2:50 pm
Annie, one word: SEGWAY!!!! ETA: I was actually seriously considering buying one, when I worked 2.25 miles from home. Then I went to work at a company 68 miles away, and commuted via train. Now I work for a company 700 miles away, and commute via slippers!
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