I no longer have my 4Runner (turned it in when the lease ran out), but do have a "gas guzzler" 2004 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. On a bad day, it gets 14 mpg and on a good day, perhaps 18 or even 19 on the highway. I'll keep it a long, long time and it will be paid for by this upcoming fall.
My "economy car" is a 2002 Nissan Sentra - 30+ mpg - that has been paid off since 2004; and now will be with me for a long, long time. I enjoy the V8 truck more than the Sentra, but have been driving it less and less with fuel costing more. I am on vacation right now and had to take the truck because we needed the space, but the Silverado will go into dry dock for awhile when I get home.
Fuel is cheap here in SC (<$3.60 per gallon) and a little worse in VA (~$3.79 per gallon); but I know it has crossed the $4 mark in other parts of the country. I see things getting worse before they get better; with the onset of "summer blend" fuels, the peak vacation driving season and our government continuing to prohibit more domestic oil exploration. WTF??
:wtf:
I suppose the breaking point for most people will be $4.50 to $5.00 - no matter what kind of vehicle they drive. For the average "working man" out here, is it going to pay to spend $150 a week in gas for folks making just $700 or $800 a week? Tough times ahead; no doubt.
I drive big rigs at work, and they get about 6 miles per gallon (diesel, of course). With ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel - what "on road" diesel engines must use) going for close to four bucks a gallon, that is more than 65 cents a mile just to move the truck! That doesn't even include driver's pay, insurance, tax, tires, maintenance and the actual cost of the truck. Since nearly everything we buy arrives on a truck, train or ship (all of which use diesel fuel), look for the cost of consumer goods to go through the roof soon. Think of the meat, froze produce and dairy products at your supermarket; which all arrive on a refrigerated trailer powered by diesel fuel.
Additionally, our government is playing "fast and loose" with the US Dollar - mostly by 'printing more money' and thus devaluing the real purchasing power that you and I have. Unless we get some integrity and honesty in Washington (from the White House to the Capitol Building, etc., etc.) and put some people up there with gusto, this imbroglio will continue to worsen.
:spider: