Gas Station Twerp

[Kiwi]

We were filling up the other day and I looked over and watched two soccer mom types filling up their minivans while talking fairly loudly, enough so that everyone could hear them. It was obvious they wanted to be heard (they were standing 3 feet away from each other and SHOUTING practically. I was two bays over and still heard them. The station was right off a main 4 lane highway and traintrack but there wasnt any traffic or trains so they had no need to shout.

One went in to pay and when she came back the other one said to her "Did you tell them off for price goughing?" and the other one looked confused and said "no I didnt" and the other one laughed and said "dont worry I'll give them your share as well as mine" and cracked up as she walked past.

She looked over and smiled as if to suggest how funny and witty she was then said as she past "well the prices are digusting arnt they, i'll give em hell" and cracked up once again as if she was the funnyest thing since doogie houser in a stoner movie. I said "somethings disgusting" and hopped back into the car. She didnt like that... what a pity.

Looking back I wish I had said more.... given her a taste of her own medicine but I realised, if shes stupid enough to blame the clerk behind the counter, I dont think she could actually grasp the concept of "upper corporate management".

[ditchdj]

Oh how I wish I was there filling up my moped. I'd start off with a mock rant...

"Holy shit! Three dollars and thirty CENTS to fill up MY gas tank! This is outrageous. If this keeps up I'm gonna end up in bankruptcy court!"

[blas]

Good thing those mini vans come with a 5 star safety rating. Get a pissed off enough soccer mom driving one of those and they become practically kamakazes!

[powerboy]

I actually want to get a moped. I am thinking about getting one, for a while now. Just so I can drive that to work and back.

[LonelyStr8manInSF]

I actually want to get a moped. I am thinking about getting one, for a while now. Just so I can drive that to work and back.

I drive an Aprilia scooter at the moment - 70mpg is just too good to beat. I'm getting a Kawasaki Ninja as well, but $6/week spent on gas is just sooooo nice. Plus, I can get most anywhere 30% faster than a car, just by splitting lanes

[tollbaby]

ugh. I hate that. I nearly hit a couple of girls on a scooter last night because they were weaving through traffic. Where I live, it's a lot easier to get a permit to drive a scooter than it is to get a driver's license (plus, you can get a scooter permit at age 14, driver's license is 16). *grumble*

Gas prices are ridiculous right now, but why should they lower them? We're still PAYING the prices they set *sigh* I can't wait until I can afford an alternative fuel car.

[blas]

I've been considering getting a mailbox with wheels jet fueled by mini rockets....

[protege]

Nearly every time I head to the gas station, I get to listen to some idiot, usually a truck or SUV owner, bitching about the gas prices. What they don't realize, is that yes, I drive a car...but I pay exactly the same prices they do per gallon. What they don't realize, is that my (hopefully) soon-to-be-gone-Mazda isn't running too well because of failed O2 sensors...so it's not exactly economical right now on the highway. Do I bitch? Nope.

[Spiffy McMoron]

What I don't understand are people who talk about buying a Camry, Prius, or an Accord so they can save money on gas. OK, I can see about you buying that kind of car because it's better for the environment, pollutes less, and tends to be easier to drive. I agree with and applaude all of these reasons.

But why would you spend $25000 on a car to save $20 for a fill-up? That's the part that doesn't make sense to me.

[Boozy]

But why would you spend $25000 on a car to save $20 for a fill-up? That's the part that doesn't make sense to me.

I agree that the hybrids are still too expensive to be a sound financial investment, unless you have a very long commute every day. In which case, after a few years, you may start seeing some returns on your investment in the form of gas savings.

I think a lot of people buy hybrids because they want to be environmentally friendly. If that's your reason, though, a word of caution: Hybrid engines currently require a lot of nickel to build, which is detrimental to air quality to produce. (Anyone who's been to Sudbury will know what I mean.) There is also more shipping involved....the nickel is smelted in Sudbury, shipped to Japan, the engines are built, and then shipped back to North America to get put into the cars. This uses a lot of fuel.
The best cars for the environmentally-conscious and for people who want to save money remain small, non-hybrid commuter cars like the Civic and the Corolla.

[tollbaby]

I got a Chevy Aveo because I wanted a small, fuel-efficient car to drive around town and do the occasional road trip. Sadly, the damn thing is costing me about $30-$40/week in gas. Now part of that is the fact that my kids now take karate lessons 3/week in the next town over, but seriously, this thing seems to get sucky mileage. *le sigh* Maybe it's just that the cars I've driven in the past had much larger tanks, so I seemed to get a lot more mileage out of a fill-up. When we do our road trip to Wisconsin next month, I'll be keeping close track of my gas mileage so I can judge a bit better how my car performs (this is my first car.... I'm obsessed!)

[blas]

I'm so obsessed with my odometer and gas gauge that I've nearly gotten into accidents watching them both.

I use the calculator on my cell phone to calculate my mileage. Nowhere near what I thought a Neon would get. But I guess about 23 1/2 miles per gallon isn't that horrible i guess. I have my air filter and everything checked every 3 months when I get my oil changed. I cannot think of why I am getting such shitty mileage.

I do use a gallon a day in driving to work and then home, and then 2 1/2 miles. It sucks. A 10 gallon tank that still needs to be filled once a week.

[protege]

I agree that the hybrids are still too expensive to be a sound financial investment, unless you have a very long commute every day.

Since I'm planning on getting a new car soon, I've looked at the hybrids...but not very seriously. Too expensive compared to a 'regular' car. It's a good idea, but until the price comes down (roughly $7,000 US onto the MSRP for a Civic) I'm not getting one. Right now, I'm looking towards getting another Corolla. Hybrids just don't seem to handle the hills here all that well--I usually end up passing them

[tollbaby]

I'm so obsessed with my odometer and gas gauge that I've nearly gotten into accidents watching them both.

omg I thought I was the only one who did that *blush* I haven't really gotten the chance to test out the mileage difference with the cruise control either because I do VERY little highway driving (I literally live 10 minutes down the street on the same street I work on LOL).

I use approximately 3/4 of a 10 gallon tank per week. Before I started having to drive the kids to karate 3x/week, I only used half a tank. *sigh* But it makes them happy, and it's good for them, so I'm willing to sacrifice my 1/4 tank of gas for it.

protege, if you're looking for a fuel efficient car, the Civic still has the best gas mileage rating on the road, except the Smart car which supposedly gets TWICE the mileage a Civic does -- but I dunno if that would suit your lifestyle (doesn't suit mine because I have two little kids).

[Primer]

I know everybody is going to hate me for this, but my next vehicle is going to be a full-sized pickup truck with 4 doors and 4 wheel drive. No, it won't get great gas mileage; yes, I'm willing to pay the $$ for gasoline.

Why? because I feel I need the extra size on the roads where I drive. Last fall, if I had been my little Nissan Frontier instead of my husband's big Dodge Durango when the 18-wheeler rear-ended me, I would not be here. Statistically, the odds are against me being involved in another wreck, but I still want to be in something BIG just in case.