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I miss cheap gas

Cassie said:
Well, I may not be able to drive yet, but that doesn't mean I don't pay attention to gas prices.:)

Yeah, cheap gas was great.

But I'm waiting for hydrogen powered vehicles to be mass produced.
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yeah Hydrogen powered cars is all hype and good example of how the media screws up good science and makes it seem like hydrogen is such a great thing.
There are really good sources of hydrogen in this world. One is from oil and natural gas and stripping the hydrogen off those is just a huge waste. It takes a lot of energy and it still uses up the resource and you get even less in return so just use the oil and natural gas where you have a lot more energy to work with.
2nd source is from water and to break the hydrogen off water takes a huge amount of energy and most of our power planets are fossil fuel base so really it would cause more pollution that using current systems. Plus we already are facing a water shortage world wide include almost everyone in the US and in what you think would be water rich areas are really struggling to find enough water. So not only would we need to find more water to make the fuel. We also are going to need more water to cool the power plants that supply the energy.
Hydrogen power cars are a very very bad idea and will never happen.

As for fuel price yeah I hate them as well. I remember filling up my car for less than a dollar a gallon. Hell I remember complain about a 1.60 a gallon being expensive and now I think $2.60 a gallon seems dirt cheap and a very slim chance of seeing that price again. I remember filling up my car from empty to full for less than $15 bucks. I just filled up my car last week and it coasted me $36 bucks and the tank is the same size. I miss the days of cheap gas.
 
I like how American's moan about fuel being expensive when it's actually very cheap compared to, pretty much, the rest of the world.
In the UK it's about $7 a gallon ($7.42 per gallon of Premium)
 
bartelby said:
I like how American's moan about fuel being expensive when it's actually very cheap compared to, pretty much, the rest of the world.
In the UK it's about $7 a gallon.
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While this is true, keep in mind that things are generally more spread out here. The average commute for an American is much more than for a European.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
yeah Hydrogen powered cars is all hype and good example of how the media screws up good science and makes it seem like hydrogen is such a great thing.
There are really good sources of hydrogen in this world. One is from oil and natural gas and stripping the hydrogen off those is just a huge waste. It takes a lot of energy and it still uses up the resource and you get even less in return so just use the oil and natural gas where you have a lot more energy to work with.
2nd source is from water and to break the hydrogen off water takes a huge amount of energy and most of our power planets are fossil fuel base so really it would cause more pollution that using current systems. Plus we already are facing a water shortage world wide include almost everyone in the US and in what you think would be water rich areas are really struggling to find enough water. So not only would we need to find more water to make the fuel. We also are going to need more water to cool the power plants that supply the energy.
Hydrogen power cars are a very very bad idea and will never happen.

As for fuel price yeah I hate them as well. I remember filling up my car for less than a dollar a gallon. Hell I remember complain about a 1.60 a gallon being expensive and now I think $2.60 a gallon seems dirt cheap and a very slim chance of seeing that price again. I remember filling up my car from empty to full for less than $15 bucks. I just filled up my car last week and it coasted me $36 bucks and the tank is the same size. I miss the days of cheap gas.
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Good points, but deriving it from water; don't hydrogen powered cars produce water as a bi-product?
 
DigitalAx said:
While this is true, keep in mind that things are generally more spread out here. The average commute for an American is much more than for a European.
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Are you sure?

European commutes
Italy: 23 minutes
Spain: 33 minutes
France: 36 minutes
EU average: 38 minutes
Netherlands: 43 minutes
Germany: 44 minutes
UK: 45 minutes

US:
Commute Time: Average 26 minutes

So if Americans cover larger distances in a shorter time then the average speed is higher and likely more fuel efficient.
 
bartelby said:
Are you sure?

European commutes

Netherlands: 43 minutes
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I suspect cycling slows their commute down! Can't get more fuel-efficient than that.

To OP: I get your point, driving is a way to get some release. I think you just need to find another, cheaper, more socially acceptable way to get that release! ;)
 
My commute is 57 miles one way. Just about an hour without traffic. Usually more. Traffic into and out of Boston sucks.
 
bartelby said:
Are you sure?

European commutes
Italy: 23 minutes
Spain: 33 minutes
France: 36 minutes
EU average: 38 minutes
Netherlands: 43 minutes
Germany: 44 minutes
UK: 45 minutes

US:
Commute Time: Average 26 minutes

So if Americans cover larger distances in a shorter time then the average speed is higher and likely more fuel efficient.
Click to expand...

You're assuming distance = time. You spend more time in traffic.

I'll freely admit if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure our overall travel costs are more.

Edit: missed your last line. There's other variables there too though, like overall fuel efficiency of the average cars in each area.
 
DigitalAx said:
You're assuming distance = time. You spend more time in traffic.

I'll freely admit if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure our overall travel costs are more.
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Well, fuel in the US is about 1/2 the cost it is in the UK, but they travel under double the distance so don't quite come to the same cost.
 
bartelby said:
Well, fuel in the US is about 1/2 the cost it is in the UK, but they travel under double the distance so don't quite come to the same cost.
Click to expand...

Not disputing that dude.

Just saying you've got to take it all into consideration, it's not quite as bad as it seems on the surface, but yes relatively speaking, you're getting screwed. I won't debate that.
 
My roommate from london can not believe the distance we all have to travel for school, groceries, and junk.
 
DigitalAx said:
Not disputing that dude.

Just saying you've got to take it all into consideration, it's not quite as bad as it seems on the surface, but yes relatively speaking, you're getting screwed. I won't debate that.
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:)
If public transport didn't suck, cost more than running a car and take 5 times as long I'd use it.
 
dynamicv said:
Not always. Crawling in a jam takes a lot more fuel to cover the same distance.
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Exactly.
If you can see instant consumption figures as you're driving watch what happens when you're crawling along in traffic.
 
bartelby said:
55mph is more fuel efficient than 20mph.
Quoted efficiency figures from car manufacturers are usually calculated using 55mph.
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Woah. I underestimated just how bad your traffic is. You drive 20mph to work? I thought we were talking about the difference of 45 - 55 mph (optimal) vs 70 mph.
 
DigitalAx said:
Woah. I underestimated just how bad your traffic is. You drive 20mph to work? I thought we were talking about the difference of 45 - 55 mph (optimal) vs 70 mph.
Click to expand...

For me personally I have a nice easy drive to work. It can take between 10 - 15 minutes as I start work at 7 am.
But for a huge number of people the greater proportion of their commute is done at very low speeds.
 
MACDRIVE said:
Don't forget the people that live in San Diego and commute to work to Los Angeles.

If I'm not mistaken, that's about a 1.5 hour drive each way.
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And there are people who commute from Coventry to London. That's about 2.5 hours each way.
 
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