How to double the value of your SUV? Fill the tank up with gas 
Actually, I filled up just before the weekend at $1.46 /litre. Two days later it had dropped to $1.38/litre. I keep hearing rumours that we have maxed out, and that prices are going to start coming back down. Somehow I just canât believe it.
djm
-D.A. here ( 
Devilâs advocate, not District Attorney) observing humongous, canât-getâm-off-the-lot SUVs can be a good deal for people with really, really short commutes whom might avoid walking or cycling due to age issues, infirmity or the natural terror of navigating a bicycle through a hostile, motor-oriented road environment. Use for short commutes/ chores may be the final niche for the once-mighty herds of roving beasts.
Pro: beefy vehicles often come out ahead when struck by smaller vehicles, available at discounted prices/credit
Con: poor resale value, higher cost to environment to manufacture, higher consumer & environmental costs to use if used outside of short-distance use envelope
-B.
Have one, getting ready to go fill it up and pick up some plywood for new kitchen counters, but itâll cost me $80.00 before I get to the lumberyard five miles away 
Those big giant gas guzzlers are sometimes forced on the poor, trapped rental car customer like me when I wanted to leave a small desert town and go home. âNo, we donât have any economy cars. You have to drive the big olâ honkinâ truck from hell that gets 1 mile per gallon.â
You lot just donât know youâre born. Iâd be really happy if my juice cost only three times as much as yours.
Iâm afraid youâre out of your league, here, Steve. Of course, itâs not your fault the roads in your country are no bigger than our sidewalks. I can see how real vehicles might overwhelm your sense of perspective.
djm
on a somewhat related topicâŚ
I had a âSmartâ Car pass me on the highway one day last week. Yes, I said pass me, I was going 65 (the speed limit), and it went flying past UNTIL we got to the uphill, then it slowed down (I have no idea if it was the car or the driver that caused the slow down).
Anyway, I watched it go in between two 18 wheelers.
No thank you. I do NOT want anything that small around all the trucks and things on the highway with me. While I drive defensively, donât stay in the âblind spotsâ of trucks, etc., I want at least a small chance that theyâll see me. That thing is just too darn tiny!!!
I would be glad to tell you my mechanic cost and my petrol consumption for the year, if you want a pissing contest.
Oops! Darn, another Smart Car.
djm
A rather abrasive post if you donât mind my saying so, in spite of your two edits of what is a virtual one-liner. When it comes to urinating-distance contests, we Brits have at least three inchesâ start on you lot, at least if the usual adage is to apply (you know the one - big wagon, small willy).
You wouldnât have even noticed if the Canadian wasnât such a quick shooter.
In this case I thought you were bragging about using less than us sloppy Americans, and I bet you donât fair much better.
I havenât said anything in this thread that could even remotely have you thinking that. You lot are a bit sloppy, now you come to mention it thoughâŚ
The price of oil dropped last week, so obviously the crisis is over. I went out and bought two GM Suburbans, loaded. When gas gets back down to $1.25, and you guys are puttering around in your little subcompacts & sissy hybrids, Iâll be rolling phat.
Suckers!
Your wit is sharp and I fear I must retreat for the time and concede defeat.
Off for the nightâŚ
What are gas prices now?
It helps to keep the post count down.
My actual current ride:
<img](http://picasaweb.google.com/dalewisely/Dale/photo#5225628362737656306%22%3E%3Cimg) src=âhttp://lh4.ggpht.com/dalewisely/SIUpTzEvIfI/AAAAAAAABds/Oh_kZNautEk/s144/20071024005432%212007HondaFitSport.jpgâ />
That is very red.
Regards,
Owen Morgan
Yacht Magic
Anchored in the lagoon, St Maarten
My new blog.
Click here for my latest reported position. (Use the satellite view.)
We were thinking of getting a hybrid SUV. Both our Prius or Civic are a bit cramped when we head out to a festival with fiddle, banjos, and guitars in addition to clothing, food, and camping stuff.
We drove back last Saturday from NY. It was about 840 miles. It took us about 16 hours.
In the past (in a regular car) we might have stopped to get gas every hour or so, but with the Prius we resorted to stopping for gas when ever we were a couple gallons down and occasionally pulling over to visit some âroad side attractionsâ least the length of driving time between fill ups would have been too brutal.
We averaged 45 to 50 miles per gallon.
Oops! Darn, another Honda.
djm
Even more in person.