OK, let me put this disclaimer out there, this is by no means a post about the fuel efficiency of the JK, we all know it's bad, we all knew what we getting into. I just don't want to be flamed for bitching about the MPG

This post is about the bigger issue of gas prices in general. OK here is my theory, Europe has been paying through the nose for gas for years and years, upward of $5 per gallon. If you look at most of the cars in Europe, they are all tiny vehicles with engines the size of the average lawn mower here in the States. There are also a lot of Insurance issues that dictate engine size in Europe, but I believe the price of gas is the major player. Anyway, I believe gas prices will continue to rise, and rise quickly, until people in this country make huge changes to the way we live our lives. Like start buying vehicles that look like something made by Mattel!! And I don't mean a few celebrities in Hollywood driving a Prius, I mean EVERYONE!!! My cousins in England didn't believe me that my previous Jeep Grand Cherokee was a 5.9l engine. Their largest vehicle between them was a 1.6l engine and that was huge to them.

My question is: At what price per gallon will y'all start to seriously consider thinking about getting a fuel efficient "run about?" Not saying selling your JK, but just have a car that is efficient, and possibly keep the JK for the rare wheeling trip. Or taking the bus to work on a daily basis? Or setting up a car pool?

It hurts at the pump these days for everyone, I think everyone shakes their heads when filling up . For me, 10 seconds after pulling out of the gas station and agonizing about the price, I'm already thinking about the next time I get to drive two hundred miles just to go wheeling! It'll take a big increase for me to make that shift, but I honestly think we'll get there sooner than later. I think my threshold is $5 - $6 per gallon, once we get there I might have to start thinking about changing the way I go about my daily life.

What's your price?

 

I'm there right now, if this jeep doesn't pan out soon I'm seriously considering waiting on the Chevrolet Volt in 2010. I've got a 16 yr old driving recently and a 13 yr old will be driving in 3 more years then I'll have 4 cars go gas up and College to pay for on the 16 yr old by the time the 13 yr old is driving. We have already downsized once last year from a loaded out 06 suburban ( hers) to a 4 dr Honda Civic. And my 06 CC Z71 with 35's and a 9" lift to an Xterra. I've been looking at getting rid of the Xterra and getting a Jeep but that may change if gas does not.

 

Honestly, I'll pay a premium for performance (not that the JK is even close to a sports car )... given a choice between buying a 400hp car that'll cost me $100 for 200 miles, or a 110hp car that'll cost me $10 for 2000 miles, I'll choose the 400hp car every time.

So to answer the question, I guess I'd pay $8-9/gallon if I had to... yes, I'd bitch about it all day long, but hell: I smoked for years, and the money I saved by quitting can go into my gas tank.

A prediction: When regular gasoline is priced around $5/gallon in this country, you'll see a large increase in the telecom infrastructure, allowing millions of Americans to work from home the majority of the time... this will help our dependence on foreign oil.

 

Was in Manhattan last week and had the misfortune of having to put gas in a rental...$5.98 per gallon for regular...whiskey, tango, foxtrot, over.

 

I traded a fuel efficient car and another Jeep just to get my JK. I'll pay what it takes but unless I'm traveling, a full tank lasts me two weeks. I take public transportation to work - who wants to pay $14+ a day to park?

 

My JK is my daily driver and I already find ways to conserve fuel. I mind how I drive around town and I find that I'm getting about 19 to 20 mpg. But most importantly I don't drive unless I absolutely have to. I plan my trips to take care of everything in one big loop as it were.

The sad thing is, there's no reason for gas to be this high except for the greed of some speculators and commodities purchasers. Supplies are up, demand is down but the cost keeps going up. The only way for us to bring it down is to control our useage to the point that demand drops off enough that a bunch of speculators get burned on their turn times and have to sell at a loss. Then the prices will come down.

This is how it works. Some guy how doesn't own a refinery, or even need the oil will buy a certian quantity of oil from someone who has pumped out of the ground and wants to sell it. He basically buys a promisory note that says "I will give you the money for this oil by X date." He's hoping that before X date comes due the price of oil will go up again. He will then sell the oil that hes never laid eyes on and doesn't even have a place to store it if he did, to an oil company for quick profit. The oil gets delievered, they pay the commodities broker his price, he keeps his profit and pays off the person he owes that pumped it from the ground. And we get screwed.

I think we should all follow Bill OReileys original plan and everyone don't buy gas on Sundays. If you take even one day a week out of their sales, the prices will fall.

 

Im getting there already....
I drive 72 miles round trip a day to go to work and back, so I find myself driving my other car a lot more often now.
I have a very nice condition 96' Dodge Neon with only 90k on it now, I stoled it 5 years ago for $2500 with only 50k miles on it
The only reason I still have it is because its not worth anything to sell it, it still looks great for it age and it gets 32 MPG, twice what the Jeep gets
$70 to fill the Jeep to get 250 miles is starting to effect my fun lifestyle for sure.

 

I have a simple solution to rising gas problems. I ride motorcycles to commute most of the time. One of my commuters:



It gets about 40mpg and has been fun to build and mod. My other bike is a little Suzuki sport bike.

I have plans to build a military style rig with a sidecar in the next couple years. It'll be cheap to operate and maintain and look really cool too! I'll be able to build it with a NEW bike and NEW sidecar for about $8500. It'll get in the 40 to 50 mpg range and be able to be driven in more adverse conditions then my current bikes.

Anyway, my Jeeps are for bad weather (when a bike just won't cut it), for road trips, hauling stuff, and to just plain have fun in. In the end, I can have a Jeep and not be real concerned with mileage.

I think doing the Bike + Jeep thing gives you the best of both worlds, if you don't mind living a little dangerously sometimes. But that's just part of the game. Playing it safe all the time just means you'll arrive safely at your death.

 

You cannot do a one to one comparison between U.S. and Europe's gas prices, because their gas prices include allot more taxes than ours do. In fact, about 60% of their gasoline cost is taxes in Europe on average. In Britian its about 75%. The prices work out to be similar when you remove the tax wildcard.

That said. I don't commute daily. I go to the office once a week and we try to combine our shopping trips. All in all we probably use about 40 gallons of gas a month between her Exploder and my Jeep. Based on that usage, I don't think we'd ever get rid of the Jeep based on fuel prices, but we might get rid of the Exploder if the gas pushes $6.

 

Nice to see someone who understands this mess.
Though, I'm not convinced not buying gas on one day will work... we need to put the speculators, commodities traders, and Bernake in a room, drop in a couple of lions and then post it on YouTube.