At least there's a couple of guys on here that can't make fun of my Transit Connect.

Paul - I actually like the Transit Connect and even test drove a few. However, I felt they were way underpowered. I talked to a service company in my area that bought four 2011 models and they said they regretted it. Also, I have talked at random to a few owners as I came across them at gas stations. Most liked driving them but all said that they were underpowered. I think if they up the ponies in the future that we will see more of them used. Right now I'm leaning towards a Dodge RAM C/V van.

http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/2012/ram_cv/capability/towing_payload/

There are some observations I've made about gas pricing.

The first is, anytime something happens from a hurricane to a bug spattering on the windshield of a tanker truck, they use it as an excuse to raise prices.

Next thing is, it doesn't even matter if the new crises disrupts anything or not, prices go up in speculation of a perceived problem.

Third, when prices go up they jump in gobs and bunches. When they go down they trickle in pennies and nickles and NEVER go back down to original.

Next is, pricing is seasonal and EVERY season has an excuse to raise prices.

But the biggest thing that's got gas slam out of reach for most of us is that guy in the white house. There are currently two pieces of paper on his desk that only require a simple signature from him that would drop the price of gas nearly 2 dollars a gallon over night! But he won't sign them!

I can not afford to lower my rates at all right now. But, I can't go up any more either. If I lower them I may as well fold up and sell off all my equipment. If I raise them then I'll be out of competition with others in my area and still have to fold up.

I even had to sell my scrap copper last week and my brass scrap yesterday just to get enough money to fill the tank and get materials to work with today.

Gasoline has got to come down significantly and SOON or the whole country is gonna fold!

Paul,

Indeed there are many cars reaching up to 40+ that have more seats in them, when it comes to life, we have no kids,
no dogs anymore, thus our cargo load is limited to the heavy wal-mart grocery day, or my need occasionally to test the
limits of what I can put in the smart for a work project.

I think for folks with kids, or greater need to haul friends and family it might not be a great choice over a 4 seater, but
I have a 16.5 foot extend and climb that fits behind the seat, can put my hepa vac and all kinds of tools, compressor and
materials for exclusion and since that is my main game the idea of fitting a live or dead skunk in there doesn't arise.

I did however transport 2 litters of newborn skunks 2 weeks old maybe, in a large porta kennel (lab dog sized) in the back
of it earlier in the year.

The occasional rock squirrel capture, no problem, gophers, all day long!

I can do pigeon jobs out of it to, again as long as either single story (16.5ft. ladder limit) or roof access at commercial spots.

Insurance is about $40.00 a month and our financing since the smart is a mercedes like the sprinter was nearly 0%.

Now combine that with what Ron said! Man this car flies, when my wife is allowed to drive I feel like I need a blindfold!

Our work is mainly using the interstate to move 2-3 hours north and south and the posted speed is 75 MPH which of course puts
everyone at 80-85 MPH and the smart goes all that and then some, actually is one of the negatives for me, in the sprinter
I don't watch the speedometer just set the cruise to 75 or 70 to conserve on mileage, but with the smart, no cruise in our base
model so sometimes I look down and realize, oh (blank) need to slow down!



Love the car, the space really doesn't limit me at all, and 5-6K for 4 seats instead of 2 wasn't a priority for our particular lifestyle.

I think after the expendables 2 comes out, and Arnold in all his massiveness is speeding around guns blazing, more folks will buy
them, much like mini coopers and the italian job, or the fiat as Ron said, fun to drive!!!

And of course, safe too!

Justin

Something more,

This problem is not going to be solved with hybrids, electric cars and Transit Connects, what ever that is.

I have yet to see a Prius or a Volt that I could put racks and a drop hitch on. Do they even make them with 4-wheel drive? Many of us still need trucks. Work trucks heavy enough to carry a load and power full enough to tow a trailer. The technology is not there yet for us to abandon gasoline and diesel fuel.

Wind power, solar power and water power have there place but right now we need oil! We've got PLENTY of it but we need the government to get out of the way and let us retrieve it. We've got well more than enough to last the next 100 years! By that time someone will have come up with a better way.

Let's drill now!
Let the oil workers go back to work in the gulf!
Let the oil companies drill closer to shore!
Build the pipeline!
Lift the moratoriums!
Build more refineries!

I could go on and on but I need to get out of here and burn some of that $3.38 a gallon gas to get me to my next job this morning.

Muddawg, the point about towing and power is a solid one.

I however fully believe all of the technology exists and is sat on or patents bought by folks banking on oil.

They will only change as financially it becomes lucrative.

In my case I bought the little car to save my budget not save the environment or stop drilling,
however drilling is motivated by our needs and if the needs never change, we are facing way more problems.

Oil and gas are product and while supply is part of the factor, demand keeps folks rich on the selling end and keep us needing to buy pushing to allow those folks to drill more giving them more supply but still keeping us needy.

Just some thoughts, I just personally feel that when drilling can and has changed entire regions through spills and pollution I have to think about how committed the folks drilling are to our seafood supply industry, local economies and long term disease issues in people and wildlife.

I've seen trucks change in mpg and have still seen folks buying more than is actually needed, yet only getting 8-10 mpg.

It is our right as consumers, but to complain about gas daily as we all tend to would be nice to see more choosing based in need.

Just random thoughts, I feel for folks that were employed and aren't now and the local economies of these areas, while I love wildlife and nature, I do feel we can drill but more emphasis has to be placed on the long term and not just the next 100 years.

Justin

Muddawg, Transit Connects are probably the hottest selling vehicle than can carry a reasonable payload right now. I know they don't fit everyone's bill, but what does? I can't order a Tundra in my configuration without 4-wheel drive. I've used 4-wheel exactly one time in our F150 in the last three years. I know some areas need 4-wheel; our area isn't one of them.

See...it is all politics related to the election. Why do not they do this year round? Aparently, they just do not give a sh- -.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/super-storm-gasoline-prices-fall-173051894.html

Dave, your argument would make a lot more sense if I didn't see a whole lot of billboards, paid for by big oil, saying, "Get rid of Obama"!

Yeah drill drill drill .What ya gonna do when the pumps can't pump it or the gas can't get to your town.3 mile long lines here,people pulling guns on each other .Everyone is going crazy here.We need to get ourselfs off this addiction to oil period .I can't even get to my customers cause I only have an 8th of a tank .Saving that for the trip to the gas station when the lines die down.Hope the prices drop back down from up to 5.99 gl.!@#$holes taking advantage of people when their down.

Rockin,

Hope you and yours are safe, my aunt and uncle live in manhattan most of the time.
She has very bad ms and firemen had to come carry her down to the car, they were able to get upstate
to our family.

You make a good point, eventually what we see as natural disaster related can truly be the reality.

Proactive change seems beyond most folks.

Good luck there, be safe!

Justin

Rockin, what you people are going through has absolutely nothing to do with oil production and you are right on that subject. There is not, at this time, another reasonable alternative. I know the conspiracy theorists would have you believe otherwise but so far, Obama Motors has failed miserably with their Chevy Volt. If there was a good idea out there, the Orientals would have made it years ago.

Does anyone with the new fangled green cars have any with high mileage, just wondering about the maintenance aspect, higher cost or the same as non-eco saving cars?

Trapmando - We've not had out smart long - 6 months - but the oil changes are at 10,500 miles rather than the typical scenario, they are
a bit more but when you do the math on changing ever 3K it works out to the same. My mileage thus far in the automatic version of the smart runs between 42 & 50. The great thing for me is that I spend little time city driving where I live and thus my best mileage is at 75-80mph.

My dad who is extremely frugal (to put it nicely) and grew up on a farm now drives in retirement a prius and loves that thing. If it cost much
in maintenance he'd be the first guy parking it in the front yard with a for sale sign on it. His mileage runs between 45-52.

As we all know though, your mileage does depend on how you drive that same car or truck or what have you. Lead feet and quick take offs lead to less
desirable mileage.

I think totally electric cars are quite a ways off, not necessarily because of the car itself, but having a place to charge etc... In downtown Albuquerque there are I believe 2 places you could pull a completely electric car up to charge it, now if I'm a potential buyer who lives far enough that I need a charge, I don't think I'm going to risk not finding a "plug."



My other vehicle, the sprinter is a green diesel, same thing applies with the longer period between oil change but higher cost at that time averages out to what you'd spend at the 3K type normal vehicle maintenance. Haven't had any other issues and am over 50K on that vehicle in my first 1.7 years in business. Love the van, has DEF fluid which is new for me, but again, no biggie.

Justin

Jeez, just paid for gas and it it 12 cents higher than yesterday, guess the election is over. Anyone else see the increase?

Yes....it was so predictable.

trapmando, I was kind of hoping that no one would bring this topic up. While trying not to become part of the "Hatred Group" that wiggler and others were talking about; it is really hard to understand why anyone would elect a man that made the price of gas go up 17 cents in one day. ( This will cost us a fortune, as it has risen another 14 cents since ) I will not even tell you how much stock market loss has cost us. ( And we are penny-ante to most )

If we raised our prices that drasticly I wouldn't have any work. It goes to show you that some people can get away with anything to self promote themselves. But let you or someone else do that and you will hear the bar doors close in on you.

No here it's still dropping, $2.89, must just be a fresh shipment increase that will slowely drop again per usual.
www.gasbuddy.com