So $4 is what it takes to get Americans to drive less
 

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008...mile.html#more

I imagine as more fuel efficient cars are bought that graph will start climbing again until we reach a point were no more MPG can be squeezed out of a 2500lbs. car. (assuming Americans keep down sizing)


http://bioage.typepad.com/photos/unc...05/28/vmt1.png

I guess they found the tipping point.

Dan

Gotta remember that there are alot more people living in America than there were in 1983 including people who shouldn't be here (illegal aliens).

Exactly. And i'd like to see how they "estimate" that graph to be honest.

not to mention the state of the economy
if the economy were booming and gas were $4 im sure it would still be on the rise

They should add the price per gallon of gas, average, to the top. Looking at the dips seem to correspond to recessions or gas spikes.

But if the economy was booming, gas wouldn't be $4/gal. The reason the price of gas is up is because the cost of oil is up, and the reason the cost of oil is up is because the price of oil is tied to the US dollar, and the US dollar is falling because the economy is in the toilet.

Get the US out of a recession and gas prices will stabilize once the dollar raises in value vs. the international market.

Three trillion miles per year in this country alone. Incredible.

How do they know how many miles we drive? I'm certainly not reporting my miles to anyone....

They know and don't ask who they are because they know that too.. :leaving:

OnStar reports it. ;)

Seriously though, I am guessing that it is an estimation much like the Nielsen TV rating system....they get data from a small sample group and extrapolate it out.

I was doing some math the other day and calculated that I use roughly 50% of the gasoline per year as I did in 2003. First of all I average about 4-5mpg better in my C5 than my LT1 cars did (23-25mpg versus 18-21mpg). And I drive roughly 8,000 miles per year (2008 estimate based on current driving habits) versus about 14,000 miles in 2002-2003.

Some of the thing I did to cut the miles driven:
-Work from home once per week (20% right there)
-Work out @ home (12 miles round trip to gym several days per week)
-Don't drive across town to hang out with friends @ coffee shop's, bars etc. (i do all my drinking @ home)
-Eat out less (save money on driving to restaurants AND buying food)

So while gasoline has more than doubled in price versus 2002/2003 I am acutally spending about the same per month. I wonder how many other people put 5-6k miles on their car each year that is completely unecessary?

The unfortunate downside is the local coffee shops and restaurants are gettnig less business from me.

These numbers are skewed a bit.

March 2008 had the big giant ice storms/blizzards that covered much of the midwest and northeast for days or even longer that forced many people not to drive by no conscious effort of there own. In short: They were snowed in and couldn't drive their cars.

I don't own any Onstar-equipped vehicles, and neither do many, many other people.

# gallons sold in US * average fuel economy = something close, and/ or surveys of a a statistically representative group.