Back on tax day, we asked you what you were paying for gas. I was balking at the fact that I was paying $3.99 per gallon of premium. Well, bring back those salad days. Just five short weeks later (i.e today), I had to shell out $4.27 per premium gallon. And while I have it bad, the Ford Escape-driving lady in front of me had to charge $61 to AmEx. To fill up a teeny little SUV! Gulp. And a barrel of crude now goes for $135 on the open, OPECian market. Which means higher prices are yet to come. Case in point, John Horner shared with us the horrifying news that the IEA is predicting $12 a gallon gasoline. Quick translation: it would cost me $150 or so a tank to fill up my car. Big gulp. So I'm asking you, at what price does a gallon gas make you cry uncle?
89 Comments on “Question of the Day: What’s Your Gas Price Breaking Point?...”
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Back in the early days of the first fuel crisis (remember even/odd days and gas lines?) I stated that if gas ever went over 50 cents a gallon I’d park my car and walk. Well, I’m still driving so you know how that went.
Earlier this week I paid $60 to fill up my A4 with mid-grade. I’m not going to say that a certain price is my breaking point, but it may not be long before I’m there, whatever it turns out to be.
I think at $10/gal is when I’ll be cutting back on the small amount of personal driving that I typically do (6k/year typically, but 13k last year). Until that, I think I’ll really start whining at about $8/gal, but making sensible vehicle purchases (low weight, small but adequate engines) has been a lifestyle for me, so my cost per mile isn’t increasing as sharply as others.
My oil production stocks have gone up 24% in the last three months. So as far as gas prices are concerned,
GO BABY GO!!
@ $6 per gallon, I’m going to be cutting back.
My hat is off to the shrewd gentlemen in Tehran. They have made it abundantly clear that any attack on their country will be countered by an attack on shipping and oil producing facilities in the Gulf.
The current speculation in oil futures is being driven by a belief that the US/Israel will attack Iran by this summer. The Iranians are are saying, “Go ahead, pull the trigger, I dare you. BTW, here’s a little taste of you it’ll be like without your daily crude fix.”
Is George crazy/stupid enough to pull the trigger?
at $5 bucks I may cut. Not sure really, I may just go find a Civic Or Integra.
As long as oil goes up slowly, people will cope and continue driving. If it shoots up all of the sudden, then people might break. 5 years ago, if anyone knew we’d be having 4 dollar gas, they’d probably poop their pants.
6 bucks I’ll start cutting back…although there isn’t too much to cut back on myself, it’s the other driver in the house that needs to cut back a bit (sigh).
More combined trips, biking for the local and small errands (use the kiddo trailer for groceries-ha!), biking in less than beautiful weather to work.
Actually, I’d like to get us down to one vehicle, but I’ll wait until the 82 240 dies which sucks gas like a small pickup.
Is George crazy/stupid enough to pull the trigger?
I’d have to say yes, unfortunately.
John
$5.00/gallon is definitely my breaking point. I commute 30 miles each way to/from work. My wife works another 8 up the road from me, so we started driving together back when it hit $3.00/gallon.
Most of our disposable income is starting to evaporate in the fuel tank now – our raises sure as heck aren’t keeping up with the increase in fuel. I’d gladly trade in my vehicle for something more fuel efficient, but that is not an option I have right now. I may have to take my bonus next month and find a used Metro if they aren’t priced too high now.
For me the cut was two months ago. I sold my Alfa Romeo 147 when I realized that a fill up was the equivalent of $130, and my salary isn’t rising fast enough. But I had gotten the hint a while back and the car was mostly parked while I would bike or take public transportation. Luckily where we are the public transportation is extensive, and the roads are nice enough to bike on.
So I’ll still use my wife’s Renault Clio with it’s awe-inspiring 1.2l 8valve powerplant.
Dont worry car lovers, one day, I have a nice convertible sports car that I’ll take out on weekends on winding roads, but to get to work or to go to the store, I’m looking for alternate solutions.
By the way, here where I am, gas is going for the equivalent of $8.30 per gallon. However the shock hasn’t been as rude as 5 years ago gas was going for 5-6 bucks a gallon. So there aren’t too many SUV drivers here in the first place.
The question I have is what is China’s breaking point? Although gas prices are high for us here in the US, how will this affect Chinese demand? I understand that the Chinese economy is booming but I can’t believe they have the same capacity to eat up fuel cost increases that we do. So, if that is true, wouldn’t that cause a decline in global demand?
Around $6/gallon I’ll hop on a motorcycle.
I miss my 1994 Eclipse. Those 92 horses sure knew how to propel a lightweight car. Also, that thing was amazing on gas (back when it was 99 cents). Granted I love the car I drive now, but if I had that I would be taking it on my 60 mile commute on all the nice days.
I don’t think there is a breaking point for me. No, I’m not made of money; I’ll just have to do without other luxuries in order to keep the tank filled. I *have* to drive to work (though I work from home four days a week now) and I *have* to drive my daughter to daycare. Today I paid $82 Canadian to fill my Volvo XC70 with premium. This is the first time I’ve broken the $80 mark. I suspect I’ll be breaking the $100 mark within the next year.
Breaking point? Poorly defined. I still need to drive. Maybe at 20$/Gallon I would start doing my groceries on a bicycle.
I take a long term view. There is no question price is heading up. My next car will be something near the top end of mileage capability. Real world 40mpg+.
10$-12$/Gallon. I will just have a good belly laugh at the folks in big SUVs paying a dollar/mile to drive.
Long before we hit $20/gallon all kinds of alternatives will make more sense.
China (along with many developing countries and oil producers) subsidizes oil to help appease the unwashed masses.
The subsidies are getting to be crippling in many of these places and are gobbling up larger and larger slices of GDP. Some of them are going to face the ugly choice of riots in the streets vs bankruptcy.
My breaking point is around $6 or $7/gallon.
I drive 12 miles to work and share the ride with my wife so we generally do around 150 miles a week so my breaking point is a little higher than most.
However, gas alone is not the issue – it is the inflation that it causes on all items that we need. Just look at how food prices have risen in the past year. A number of economists have been speculating that the real rate inflation this year could reach 8-10% (as opposed to the 4.5% CPI which cleverly exludes most essential items). If you are retired on a fixed income that is bad news indeed.
Never mind how you will manage to fill up your tank, how will you be able to afford everything else?
I’m tired of all this complaining. What I want are solutions! What about cadavers? We’ve got hundreds of thousands of acres of green lawn covering untapped resourses throughout the nation. Hey smart guys, isn’t there a “Soylent Green”-like solution for our petroleum needs? Isn’t there a way to boil a body down into something than runs in a GreaseCar? Screw MPG, I want MPB…miles per body!
Egypt’s steam locomotives were often fueled by burning mummies…..
When gas hit $4 a gallon (Premium that is) I took the spare tire, jack, and floor mats out of my car for local driving. About 50 LBS of weight. I read that on average you save about .3 mpg for each 100 pounds of weight you lose and that adds up over the long haul. In addition I dug out my old portable battery air pump and have been much better about making sure my cars tires are inflated and also next oil change I am switching to synthetic. I’ve got a 2006, 6 speed Corolla XRS. It has the 2ZZ engine in it that you find in the celica GTS and Elise, just detuned. The 6th gear is extremely tall and I average between 36-38 MPG on the highway if i stay under 65 and lay off the accelerator. Having no low end torque is great on gas but sucks for highway crusing. Also I try and stay in the highest gear possible around town.
I would imagine that this is a sort of breaking point. When you change your driving, maintance habbits to minimize the impact of gas prices. However, every now and then i do hit lift (the car switches to a more aggressive cam profile from6,600 – 8,200 RPM). That’s just the automotive geek in me that regardless of gas price sometimes needs to experience some hoonage.
$30 a gallon, maybe. I only use about a hundred gallons a year. All I know is Zillow is loving my humble intown abode lately, so color me conflicted.
I own a Suzuki Swift (Geo Metro) so for me it’s somewhere around $20/gallon.
No breaking point. Fuel costs are such a (relatively) small part of the overall budget that, well, I’ll go with the flow. (pun intended) An extra 50 bucks a month won’t change a damn thing. It’s great for political posturing tho.
So is that 0.15 mpg difference helping at all? I keep out of the accelerator and use CC when I can, that helps quite a bit more…especially if you know how to time traffic lights and when traffic is sparse! But I’m not going to hold up traffic either when I leave a stoplight.
Will the price difference between syn and dino oil pay off for the less fuel consumed? I’m curoius…also, will syn oil become cheaper (per qt) as dino oil rises in price? It’s an alternative for several other reasons, but will price become one of them?
losgatosCa:
For some of us it would be an extra $800 per month.
Which, while I don’t know what it is, sure as hell ain’t “posturing.”
I think it’s a vacation home in Baja.
There is no real breaking point for me.
Due to the woeful lack of real public transit in this country’s cities (except for NYC and Chicago) I simply have no choice but to drive.
Believe me I would love to be able to board a bus from my neighborhood or walk to a train station and get a nice ride to work in the middle of the city each day instead of putting that wear and tear on my car sitting in daily gridlock.
All we can do is cut back on the amount of unnecessary driving we do and pleasure spending on things like eating out.
Even if fuel is $6+ per gallon I will still go road trips, take a scenic drive through the mountains every now and then, cruise a little at night or visit the drag-strip.
As far a driving goes, I have no breaking point. I’ll sell everythinng I own and move into my car before I give up driving.
Even though every time oil prices go up I make money on my Energy Fund investments – a LOT of money – I still feel a bit weird putting $40+ into the tank. I know I’ve made $100K plus on the rise in energy prices, and that will buy a LOT of gas, but I still remember filling the tank on my first car for $3 – with change left over. Of course it was an Austin A40 that had a 8 or 10 gallon tank, and gas was around $.27 so a fill was cheap.
Anyway, I find that I am trying to be easier on the turbo to try and keep my mileage a bit better on the WRX wagon – the Scanguage that reads out actual mileage and such is a great reminder. I’m even a bit more loath to go out to garage sales or the other side of town.
But really while I suppose $4-5 gas is changing my driving style, there’s NO price that will “break my bank” – heck I’ll be better the higher it goes – but if it gets to $7 in the US it will radically change the way life is experienced.
@ TEXN3
.15 mpg improvement over a year adds up. As I would also imagine keeping tires better inflated and cruising at a taller gear. Timing traffic lights would be a neat way to cut down on idle time but my back and forth driving to work is mainly rural roads.
And what does it hurt keeping the spare out of your car for local driving. If i get a flat I just call a friend to pick me up and we’ll get the spare and jack from my house. The benefit of reduced weight shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. It’s not like i am stripping my car down.
For some of us it would be an extra $800 per month.
Which, while I don’t know what it is, sure as hell ain’t “posturing.”
I think it’s a vacation home in Baja.
800 bucks a month EXTRA isn’t posturing, for sure. It’s a hell of a lot of driving, but not posturing. My point is that it depends on how much we drive or have to fill up per month. My off-hand 50 buck amount is probably, for ME, MAYBE 150. Maybe. An extra 17 dollars a fill-up. Now 800…hmm. Now if your point is that 12 DOLLAR gas would cost you and extra 800/mo. then…point taken.
The upside to $12 gas is I could finally safely ride my bike to work b/c the roads will be empty. Of course that assumes there is a job for me to go to…
I’m not going to be very enthusiastic on 27 degree mornings though…
losgatosCa:
Hmmm, I tried to catch the bus to Los Gatos, CA last night in order to save gas, but it never turned up. I drive such relatively few miles that the price/gallon tipping point is still way off, but while public transport remains somewhat unreliable the options to do anything but drive are limited.
wheelbarrows full of money….
is that what were in for as the dollar drops in value.
I guess ill have to put one in the trunk!!
the current state of affairs in this country isn’t even funny anymore……………
Its SCARY
There’s no real breaking point for me. Currently I’m using my bike more around town and I’ll limit myself to 55 mph on the highway next time I take a trip. I had been limiting myself to 62 mph the last time I left town a couple of months ago. If prices keep going up, I’ll just drive even slower on the highway and less around town, and next time I need a car I’ll go even smaller.
Dose anyone care to guess at what price per gallon fast food drive thru’s will become a thing on the past?4.00 per gallon is not it!Not enough pain yet.
What do you mean by “breaking point”? You mean at which point I stop going to work? And then what? As for other driving, I don’t. Commute to work (and I already either telecommute or fly 50%) and to a trailhead to hike. Everything else I can walk to.
At $30 per gallon the flying part would pretty much collapse, so most of my work would have to be done virtually (online). We would just have to adapt technologically to that.
I really do not see the fuel price rise as such a huge deal. Country as resourceful and resilient as US will find technological solutions and ways to adapt. Ultimately, we will be better for it.
ten
Breaking point is tough to define. I will say that I carpool to certain things that I didn’t used to. Also, my view on my next car has changed somewhat. Where before I would have sucked up the fuel cost difference for something like a Mustang GT, I’ll probably instead be looking for frugal fun like a GTI or Mazda3.
Already there.
For the summer vacation: we’re not flying this year. Instead we’re driving…
Flying uses a lot of fuel: our family of 4 people uses less fuel when we drive somewhere than when we fly there. But, of course, when we drive this summer we won’t be going as far as we would be flying otherwise, so we get double gain in fuel. It’s also cheaper.
The question for really isn’t at what point the “bank will break” but when I will drive less and ultimately buy a more fuel efficient car. I alread drive less and take public transportation more. I am ready for a new car and for the first time in my life fuel economy is a significant consideration, although still less important that how safe the car is. I am still not ready for a Prius. I am hoping for a vehicle that gets pretty good mileage, has some style and comfort and is relatively very safe. Slim pickings at the moment in my opinion.
Even though all of my cars are (relatively) small and efficient, even at $4/gal it’s starting to affect me. My Quad-4/5-spd Sunfire gets about 21-23 MPG in town, but refilling the tank is becoming painful. The last time I did it, it was $55. Multiply that over 3 cars per week, and it starts to add up.
I have been driving like Grandma lately, and keeping up with tire pressures, plugs, oil and filter changes, but after a while, you can only improve so much on any given car. I think when the lease is up on the Maxx, I may look into a 4 cyl. Malibu instead.
What bothers me more is not the cost of fuel today, but like other posters noted, is the cost of everything else in the near future. My wife works for a trucking and logistics company, they have fuel surcharges for almost every run. Sooner or later (and I think it will be sooner) those costs will be passed on to us.
It won’t be the cost of daily driving, it will be the cost of eating that will be the real breaking point.
I don’t know if I really have a breaking point, but it does suck to fill my car up. I pumped about 15 gallons of diesel into my Jetta yesterday at $4.66/gallon. Last time I filled up on April 18, I paid $4.22! Luckily I don’t drive much, but I am planning a trip in June that will be about 1400 miles roundtrip. I figure it’ll cost about $150 in diesel to do that, which I’m not happy about.
I’m more concerned about heating oil this coming winter. My contract is up for renewal in June and I don’t even want to guess at what the cost/gallon will end up being. Oh well, I guess we might have to keep the heat low and use a space heater or something.
Like others have said, it is hard to define a breaking point. If you mean at what price does your behavior change, Our family is already there. Not in a drastic all-stop kind of way, but we are driving less. Our current daily drivers are all over 20 mpg vehicles (TSX, Accord and Volvo 240)in local driving, but when it comes time for new ones several years from now I expect to be shopping the over 35 offerings.
I have a gas-powered transport for every era. A 15mpg Caprice wagon on one end, and a 250cc Ninja on the other. Speaking of those two, the Caprice has enough gas in it right now to last me for 1500 miles if I were to use it in the bike. Oughtta carry me through the summer if we get Katrina-style fuel shortages :P
Nevertheless, I just got a full tank in that said Caprice last week, and it didn’t break my bank. Considering all my other cars get twice the gas mileage, I’m safe for $10 gas for sure. Past that point, I’ll be more than pleased to drive the bike on (hopefully by then) SUV-free roads.
Oh, regardless, I live 3 walking minutes from work, and worst comes to worst, I can do a 15 minute walk to the store as well.
Only problem, looks like I’m gonna have to stock up on local potatoes and fill the Caprice with home-made preserves for the winter. With $10 gas, out-of-state food prices are gonna be a bitch.
I regularly pay $170 to fill up my diesel pickup, and $60 to fill my car with premium.
$8 per gallon gas (or diesel) is my mental “breaking point”.
I ran an experiment last weekend. My car usually gets about 27mpg highway, driving moderately aggressively but not crazily. Last weekend I drove 400 miles, all highway with cruise control on, at 60mph. I got 34mpg.
Based on the number of people passing me at high speed, I can only conclude that high gas prices aren’t impacting many people, or that they simply don’t realize how their driving impacts their gas mileage.
How’s this for a crazy idea; I’m not a big fan of government regulation but I bet if the government required every automaker to include a mileage gauge on their cars, shown as prominently as the speedometer, gas usage would decrease substantially.
I think a large part of the success hybrids have in increasing mileage is that they show you your mileage at all times. People can see when they floor the pedal that their mileage drops substantially.
@RGS The savings of fuel would be gone if your friend had to drive and pick you up and burn their fuel. I’m not trying to be rude at all, but it’s a diminishing return in my mind.
However, keeping a can of fix-a-flat on hand wouldn’t be a bad idea, but would be approximately the same cost as the amount of fuel you’re saving!
I do like the idea of having less “stuff” in the car and often do…I’m not a fan of clutter, whether I can see it or not. I don’t know how the little lady puts up with me!
I can cut back some driving, but not much. The wife and I still have to go to work. It just comes out of our play money.
I’m not going to go out and buy a higher MPG car just because of it, not at least for just that reason.
I already combine several trips into one, e.g. stopping at the store that’s immediately on my way home from work. And, I gave up “going for a drive just for the fun of it” about $2/gallon ago. Since there is no usable public transportation where I live, I guess the real question for me becomes “When do you start riding your bike to work sun or shine?” I’m thinking $8/gallon to get me riding to work in good weather and $12/gallon to get me riding in most weather.
We’re going squish the family (with 3 little kids) into Mazda5 instead of the Sienna for a 500mi round trip this weekend. I’m guesstimating savings to be in the $16-$20 range at $4/gal.