Holding Court at the Gas Station

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 06:15:22 GMT

A week ago was the first time I've ever had to spend over sixty dollars to fill my gas tank. Actually, it was the first time I ever had to spend over sixty dollars to fill any gas tank on any car I ever owned. Here it is, early September and gas prices are over $6 a gallon already. I try to drive easy and manage to get 35 mpg, using just under ten gallons for the whole week. I made all the sacrifices: no air conditioning in 95-degree heat, tires inflated to an uncomfortably bumpy 36 psi, creeping away from a green light at speeds rivaling those of a fully-laden Mack truck. Sure, it's the best mileage I've ever gotten in my 3500-pound Sebring convertible, putting the 26 mpg EPA highway estimate to shame, and I am right to grin about my achievement. Seeing that digital display on the pump reading $52.06 made my week-long exercise in thrift a pyrrhic victory, to say the least.

I felt momentarily upset about it, until the young man filling his Ford Excursion started cursing at his $164 fill-up. I thought of the three children in his back seat who should not be exposed to that sort of language, but figured this weekly barrage of expletives would become a familiar song in a time of rising gas prices. He stops cursing for a moment, looks at me and asks "Do you believe these gas prices? I spend a third of my take-home just to fill the damn tank! I wish they would do something about this! Every hurricane raises the price a buck a gallon!" Lately, the gas station is packed with people topping their tanks off with just a couple gallons every single day, but that day was slow. I was able stop to address his concerns.

I asked how bad his fuel economy was, and he said 13 mpg, because of his heavy foot. "When I drive easier, traffic backs up behind me," he said, "and I usually just wind up speeding up again." I asked about how he takes off from a traffic light, and he responded "faster than the guy next to me, I don't need someone cutting me off." I explained how fuel consumption based upon vehicle weight and rate of acceleration are drastically different between his heavy SUV and my smaller convertible. If he takes off in his 7,000 pound vehicle twice as fast as I do, he uses eight times more fuel than I do (both are square functions), and gains only twenty seconds on his trip compared to me. I encouraged him to try to purposely drive easier, and to try following a safe distance behind that slowpoke in the middle lane whenever possible for this tank.

Yesterday, I filled up again, and again I got about 35 mpg. $38.60 today, because I only used my car to drive to and from work, and only got caught in traffic once all week. No unnecessary trips all over the county this week; I took my bicycle to the park. My new buddy in the Excursion was just finishing up at the pump when I pulled up, so I stopped for a chat. He was proud that he averaged 19 mpg on that tank, and that he cut down on his driving and used only 11 gallons. He bragged that he only had to put $68 in, since he has his wife doing the local "soccer mom" duties in his old diesel Jetta he kept from his college days. "That's how we're going to get through this," I told him, "by driving smart, and driving easy. Because God forbid we have to resort to the 'C' word: Carpooling." That was good for a laugh, even though it really wasn't a joke.

perdition79

Holding Court at the Gas Station