Are you driving less?

[knightfan26917]

So, with all of the talk of high gas prices, are YOU actually driving LESS?

Apparently, I am (road trips, not included). Since November 2007, I've driven my cars a cumulative total of ~750 miles less than the previous twelve months (not including, of course, road trips, for which I currently rent). However, I do have about 2 more months to go since I last noted mileages for my MCs in November 2007....

BUT...if you break it down by car, only one of mine has been driven less. Since November 2007, the "count" looks like this...

'87 MC LS (daily driver) ... driven 1700 miles LESS

The rest ... have all been driven MORE miles than I drove them in all of 2007, with at least another month to go in 2008....

'81 MC SC ... 245 miles MORE

'79 MC Landau ... 260 miles MORE

'76 MC Landau ... 210 miles MORE

'72 MC ... 245 miles MORE

...AND...if this trend continues, I may end up driving my older 4 MCs more miles THIS year than I have each of the last few years....

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"The clock ticks life away" ... Linkin Park ... 'In The End'

[jlgolden]

I still have places to go (work / school / groceries / errands) and I make leisure trips around town. Depending on the weather and the mission, I often take my fun & economical motorcycle instead of the thirsty Sierra. Overall, at least for the time being, I'm feeling very little economic pinch from the higher gas prices, since they crept up slowly enough for me to adapt. I'm certainly not staying home counting spare change... trying to put together enough $$ to buy gas or groceries. But don't get me wrong, it would be lovely if my Sierra got better that 18 mpg on the highway...and I sometimes feel that I'm flushing money down the toilet when I drive the truck instead of taking the moto.

[Paolino]

Not driving less at all.

[Sixty8panther]

Driving MORE for work, less for pleasure, that has to do mostly

with my lack of time, & to a degree price of gas doubling again.

[Drew Dowdell]

Don't even have a car anymore.....

[Satty]

I'm driving the Prius as much as I possibly can, partly because the LeSabre gets like 10mpg and partly because I still haven't gotten around to putting a working radio in it.

[ocnblu]

I have a For Sale sign in the passenger side window of my beloved Sierra ($16,800 negotiable, and it's on AutoTrader.com). I am definitely driving less due to the cumulative effects of higher gas prices (which rolled over into almost everything I buy on a regular basis) and our pay cut @ work.

[CARBIZ]

I drive the same amount to work every day: 38 km round trip (about 25 miles.) This summer I drove to Chicago (about 8 hours each way) and to Niagara Falls about 2 weeks ago ( 90 minutes each way.)

My cross-continent trips (have driven to Vancouver twice and Florida 3 times) are over. I get bored after the 2nd day of driving. I used to drive to Montreal nearly every weekend. Flying is faster, more convenient and lets you do more once you are at our destination.

Today, we may go hiking on some cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment .... if it doesn't rain!

Buy a car that gets 30 mpg and you won't care about gas prices.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Yes, I've cut back this past summer on most of the long-distance car & truck shows I usually attend, focusing on attending more local ones instead and picking out the ones farther ones that I know were "good ones". We didn't travel as much this summer (like day & overnight trips, such as to amusement parks & the NJ shore) as in past summers. However, now that the Envoy is gone, I can travel to long-distance car shows and still have half a tank of gas leftover for a couple of days worth of going to work (with the Envoy, a trip to Hershey & back would use 3/4's of the tank; going to Carlisle I'd come back just about empty). We have combined short trips (errands) to make the most out of our gas use. Unfortunately, the wife's 32-mile one-way commute to work can't be changed, so she's been using the same amount of gas as before the summer, it's the weekend use that has been cut back.

[Oracle of Delphi]

I have a For Sale sign in the passenger side window of my beloved Sierra ($16,800 negotiable, and it's on AutoTrader.com). I am definitely driving less due to the cumulative effects of higher gas prices (which rolled over into almost everything I buy on a regular basis) and our pay cut @ work.

I would like to bid a dollar. After all it has been in 2 accidents that I know of, and there are those odd stains on the seats.

[Robert Hall]

I'm driving less because my commute is much shorter now than it was a few months ago...was about 40 miles a day, now about 12 miles a day. Will probably do more weekend running around and short trips with cooler weather..the disgusting 105-115 degree summer heat of the last 4 months have kept me inside or in the pool on the weekends. Fall/winter will inspire me to do more road trips.

[Lamar]

I actually drive MORE due to my commuting schedule. I commute to DC via MARC three times a week, but that means that I have to drive to the train stop.

[ocnblu]

As a smart woman once said, Thanks but No Thanks, Borger, on your less-than realistic offer to buy my pickup truck.

[Oracle of Delphi]

As a smart woman once said, Thanks but No Thanks, Borger, on your less-than realistic offer to buy my pickup truck.

Yeah but for a dollar, you would actually get to meet me when you hand the title over to me. That should be worth 16,799 dollars I would think. :AH-HA_wink:

[daves87rs]

Not really...

I am driving less, but that is because of the baby. (Someone has to keep an eye on him )

My commute to work is a little farther since the move...but not much.

That, and driving two compacts, gas has not really impacted me as much....

[mustang84]

I actually drive more now that I'm out of school and have to commute to work each day. It's about a 7 mile round trip every day, plus I still do some weekend travel. Gas really hasn't affected my budget; I've never had long enough commutes that I've ever really felt the pinch. Even when I was driving 70 mile round trips twice a week to go to work while I was in school, I was pretty oblivious to how much I spent in gas. If anything, I don't cruise as much as I did in high school...mostly because I'm too busy anymore.

[NOS2006]

I can't possibly drive less. I'm forced to drive about 50-60 miles a day to/from work and going to lunch. Add another 30 if I drive my girlfriend to my place and back home that night.

I have, however, been driving smarter. I've learned what's said to be the optimal way of driving my particular car (certain RPMs, stay out of boost, never drive in neutral) and it's been saving me quite a bit of gas the last couple weeks...

[trinacriabob]

Two words: HELL YES. I have really cut back.

[Robert Hall]

A big part of my cutting back wasn't planned; partly it was being laid off at the end of July and being on the job hunt for a few weeks, naturally, I drove less staying at home; my new job is 6 miles away instead of almost 20 like the previous; and August was really, really hot--most days 105-115...when it's that warm, I don't really feel like driving anywhere...just stay inside with the A/C on and spend the evenings in the pool.

Now that fall and cooler weather is here, I'm looking forward to some weekend road trips up to the mountains and out into the desert..

[Oracle of Delphi]

Add another 30 if I drive my girlfriend to my place and back home that night.

NOS, you could save money by having your GF spend the night!

[knightfan26917]

Driving MORE for work, less for pleasure, that has to do mostly

with my lack of time

See...the ironic thing is, that's the case for me, too ... mostly to do with my lack of time. Which is why I was shocked to see that I have actually driven the older 4 MCs over 200 miles more EACH than all of last year...and still have at least a month to go!

[trinacriabob]

Now that fall and cooler weather is here, I'm looking forward to some weekend road trips up to the mountains and out into the desert..

Sounds like you're hanging your hat in PHX for a while...how far is Flagstaff and those cooler mountain places from PHX, in terms of hours in a car, and what practical choices do most Phoenicians have to escape the summer heat?

[Robert Hall]

Sounds like you're hanging your hat in PHX for a while...how far is Flagstaff and those cooler mountain places from PHX, in terms of hours in a car, and what practical choices do most Phoenicians have to escape the summer heat?

Flagstaff is under 3 hrs, IIRC, as are Payson, Pinetop, places like that up north. San Diego is also a popular getaway in the summer...

I should have driven up to the mountains this summer, but just didn't feel inspired. I'll definitely head up this fall and winter. I'll be back in Colorado for a few days in October, that should be good.

My new gig is a 6-9 month contract, I'll see how my opinion is of AZ next spring..not sure if I want to do a second summer here.

I couldn't imagine living here without a pool. I like swimming, and just enjoying hanging out in to cool off in the evenings after work.

[Satty]

Anyone driving more with gas falling? I'm not, and according to the (non-scientific) poll on CNN's website, neither are a lot of other people. We are using the LeSabre instead of the Prius for Christmas shopping because it will hold more.

[Drew Dowdell]

Anyone driving more with gas falling? I'm not, and according to the (non-scientific) poll on CNN's website, neither are a lot of other people. We are using the LeSabre instead of the Prius for Christmas shopping because it will hold more.

Amazon.com and Overstock.com and Buy.com will all ship it for free if your order is large enough. Target will sometimes as well.

With those three websites, there is pretty much nothing you can't buy instead of going to the big box. My goal this year is to do all of my holiday shopping online.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Amazon.com and Overstock.com and Buy.com will all ship it for free if your order is large enough. Target will sometimes as well.

With those three websites, there is pretty much nothing you can't buy instead of going to the big box. My goal this year is to do all of my holiday shopping online.

Am I on your Christmas list this year?

[Satty]

We're doing some online, but other we're just getting now cause there are some toys for my son that I want to play with before he gets the chance to lose pieces.

[ocnblu]

I prefer to browse, see and touch something before I buy it. Online shopping is for the birds, unless I've already seen and touched the item while browsing in a real store. It's part of the fun of Holiday shopping.

[Robert Hall]

Amazon.com and Overstock.com and Buy.com will all ship it for free if your order is large enough. Target will sometimes as well.

With those three websites, there is pretty much nothing you can't buy instead of going to the big box. My goal this year is to do all of my holiday shopping online.

I've done most all of my xmas shopping online for several years now... Target.com, BestBuy.com, Amazon, etc.. I try and steer clear of malls and other retail places during Nov-Dec and avoid the crowds, lines, etc.

[Paolino]

Amazon.com and Overstock.com and Buy.com will all ship it for free if your order is large enough. Target will sometimes as well.

With those three websites, there is pretty much nothing you can't buy instead of going to the big box. My goal this year is to do all of my holiday shopping online.

I've done all my holiday shopping online for the past few years. Around the holidays (starting on Black Friday), shipping is free on most sites.

[daves87rs]

I've done most all of my xmas shopping online for several years now... Target.com, BestBuy.com, Amazon, etc.. I try and steer clear of malls and other retail places during Nov-Dec and avoid the crowds, lines, etc.

Thinking about doing that myself....

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Nope...

The Focus gets excellent gas mileage! Even better now that I rebuilt the fuel system.

[Drew Dowdell]

Nope...

The Focus gets excellent gas mileage! Even better now that I rebuilt the fuel system.

Does it run on moonshine now?

HAH... I kill me....

*cough*

Did someone say something? :alcoholic:

[gm4life]

I have been driving a little more over the past year even with high gas. I am driving alot more now with gas under 2.50 a gallon.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Does it run on moonshine now?

HAH... I kill me....

*cough*

Did someone say something? :alcoholic:

LOL.. It doesn't, but I do.

Actually, in all seriousness I looked into producing my own fuel (basically moonshine) a few years ago. I even found a botany professor to help me out. But he said that I probably couldn't do it in mass quantities because the government wouldn't let me (even if I distilled it for my personal use only, the fact that I would have to buy pounds of raw sugar would raise suspicions and probably eventually lead to me HAVING to go commercial just so they can tax me) Because I didn't have deep enough pockets for a lot of materials, much less taxes, I left it at that.

Edited October 27, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[daves87rs]

LOL.. It doesn't, but I do.

Actually, in all seriousness I looked into producing my own fuel (basically moonshine) a few years ago. I even found a botany professor to help me out. But he said that I probably couldn't do it in mass quantities because the government wouldn't let me (even if I distilled it for my personal use only, the fact that I would have to buy pounds of raw sugar would raise suspicions and probably eventually lead to me HAVING to go commercial just so they can tax me) Because I didn't have deep enough pockets for a lot of materials, much less taxes, I left it at that.