Tank 308 - 27 February 2K12 (The High Price of High Mileage)

Yesterday on my way home I refueled at the Sheetz in Central Park. I had driven the Mighty Corolla 413.1 miles and used up 10.768 gallons of gas, making for a mileage of 38.36 miles per gallon. This raised my average mileage for the year to 38.33 mpg, currently an all-time high!

Gas was $3.579 per gallon at the Sheetz store, the highest since last May. This is notable because people FREAK OUT over gas prices.

Last year I did some math to determine the actual additional cost of the "expensive gas" over the price of "regular priced gas" and concluded that in the worst case scenario, being my 65-mile round trip commute in a gas-guzzling SUV and driving like a maniac, my additional cost per week for gas would be about $10.00

I suppose it's happy for me that I have the ability to absorb a perceived increase of $10 per week in gasoline cost, but I must be in a minority here, because people absolutely GO NUTS when gas prices go higher than some arbitrary price that we feel is against our natural rights as Americans.

What I don't get is how so many people talk up the price of gas but don't change anything in their lives as a result.

I mean, do car salesmen hold loaded guns to peoples' heads to force them into buying crap-mileage SUVs? Why do so many people feel it's necessary to drive a huge pickup truck alone to and from the office job where they shuffle papers? Why dothese people in sports cars speed up with such enthusiasm just to slam on the brakes when they get to the next light?

Are people generally just that short-sighted that they don't consider such things?

A car gets you from here to there. I don't understand why anyone would spend more than absolutely necessary to achieve that goal. I am surrounded in traffic by Hummers, F-250s, Lexuses, Acuras, and BMWs. And we're all stuck there together. My ride cost me $15,000 and gets 38 miles per gallon. And I am moving just as fast as those people in their $50,000 gas guzzlers with huge engines.