jgr7

iTrader: (1)

I don't think higher taxes would have any affect on more responsible vehicles as the Mfg. would not have anything to do with this. The taxes we pay already seem to be missing the roads now and ending up in someone's pork barrel so I don't have any faith that higher taxes would fix the roads. All I hear about is wanting to build more HOV lanes for the people that can travel with multiple passengers.

Originally Posted by AM1
didnt know that about australia......anyways at least in parts of asia or europe there are alternatives. true we arent that bad off, but conversely you could also say that we are all getting screwed since gas costs like what 70 cents a gallon in venezuela, saudi arabi, etc........

I went to Venezuela a couple of years ago and gas was 12cents a gallon on the mainland and 18 cents on the Island. It was the only place I went were the people were driving old American cars like the big Chevy's and fords and not small Toyota's and the like.
Jeff

Who_Me

I talked with a friend this past week in Bahrain. He pays the equivalent of $0.23 per liter (about $0.95 cents per gallon. However, since he must pay in Bahraini Dinar, the currency exchange rate kills him. He is a U.S. Defense Contractor and is paid in U.S. Dollars, which he must convert to local currency to pay for rent, utilities, gasoline, etc

Kostyan

My wife and I will downsize, or should I say, get into more fuel-efficient vehicle when it will be the time for RX to be replaced. This may occur sooner, depending on the price of gas at the pump, or if lexus will come up with more fuel-efficient RX but without charging the premium for it. $5-6K to get 5 more miles per gallon is just not going to cut it. I am not one of those people that get into POS overpriced hybrid to reduce their carbon footprint.

harleydjce

Gas prices here have just hit US$5.80 per US Gallon

xfirechief

Just bought a '09 RX. Was thinking about gas prices here but when I see $5.80 by you & feel better when we are at $4.19.
Not much better but better.

Who_Me

TJain's chart of world gas prices is a bit misleading. I lived and worked in Germany from 1993-2003 and bought my gas at U.S. Military prices. Although the bottom line was much cheaper at U.S. facilities, the price for the gas itself was much cheaper at German stations. The difference was taxes. Gas at German stations was about equivalent to about $5.00 per gal in 2003 and about $1.65 at tax-free U.S. facilities. However, if you took away all the German taxes, the German gas actually cost about $1.50 per gallon. The only way to make accurate comparisons of gas prices is to compare the product, sans taxes.

Lots of people have snickered at the idea of a "gas tax holiday," saying it might save everyone $30 in 3 months. That is probably true in direct savings for most of us. However, truckers would save thousands of dollars, thus stopping the spiraling cost of all of our consumables that are delivered by truck. I think the indirect savings would be several times what the direct savings would be.

harleydjce

Actually, most countries in the world have taxes on fuel. The US taxes on fuel are ridiculously low in comparison to the rest of the developed world. To render an accurate comparison "at the pump" it is important to compare what the Consumer actually pays (ie inclusive of all taxes). Including pricing for military forces only distorts the picture as it is only military personnel that can access these prices.

A "gas tax holiday" is a joke. It is being suggested as a political ploy by both your politicians and ours. It would, at best, provide a minor short term gain to those who travel significant distances. It will not "stop the spiraling cost of all of our consumables", it will only reduce the rate of increase for the period of any holiday. The cost of fuel is driven by demand. If demand decreases across the board, prices will reduce as supply exceeds demand.

If US citizens want to reduce what they pay for fuel long term, they need to move to small fuel efficient vehicles to reduce overall US demand for oil.

sdbrandon

Actually everyone is screwed.

A lot of produce/wine, etc. is shipped from CA to other states via truck. So although Californians may pay a little more for fuel, other states will see their food bills rise due to higher shipping costs. There is no free lunch.

Also, for those thinking of dumping your RX.

Gas could hit $10 a gallon and it would still be cheaper than taking a depreciation hit on trade and getting into another $30k plus loan/lease. If you run the entire financial numbers, it would take 10-20 years for any payback. You would be far better off buying a used Civic or Corolla for $5k to beat around town.

AlexusAnja

With three kids, I can't trade in my RX for a Prius let's say. I don't even think a sedan is much of a choice for me. I would have to stay with small SUV/CUV (for AWD capability) or minivan, which I'm not ready for just yet. With minivans nowadays, they're only running mid 20's at best (real world, not crappy EPA listing).

sdbrandon

I would buy a Corolla before I bought a Prius. $10k cheaper. That is like 8-10 years worth gas.

jgr7

iTrader: (1)

Have you ever seen a Lexus after a fairly bad crash? Most people walk away with barely a scratch, I'm not sure you would fair nearly as well with one of those gas misers. My money stays with the RX and peace of mind that if my wife is in a bad crash she will be the one walking away unharmed.
Jeff

catdaddylo

I bought the RX350 because I have had SUV's since 1980 when the only folks who bought them were mostly sportsmen who needed 4WD to get them back to remote hunting and fishing sites. Today the SUV has replaced the station wagon as the family grocery getter and kid hauler. They are now as luxurious as top end cars and the unibodies like the RX rides as good as a car. The bad news they don't get the gas mileage as a passenger car especially if you are running AWD but you knew that when you decided to go the SUV route, right Personally I am very pleased with the 26 mpg I get on the highway with my Lexus. As mentioned, safety, comfort and room are the pluses and the price of gas is the minus. I do have a ES330 and a BMW Z3 for when I don't need the RX for SUV duty so that helps.

gopherhock

My lease comes up next June. Originally I had planned to get a bigger Lexus SUV but now I'm over the whole owning a Lexus is any kind of status symbol kind of thing (among other reasons to own a Lexus). I'll be going after something with economy, and if its an SUV (which I doubt) so be it. Otherwise I can make due with a car... its not like I could haul anything significant in my RX anyway.

If it were up this year I probably would have gone with a smart car. I don't *need* to go that drastic, but the thing sure is cool.

I won't buy a prius. Prius drivers are the worst out there as they coast slow to stop lights and refuse to excellerate up to speed... they must spend all their time watching their mpg and not realizing there are other people out on the road.

Boognish

Seems like about half of them drive like bats out of hell around here, as if they have something to prove. Kind of funny actually. I'm pretty sure some Prius owner has posted about how they have "raced" a WRX and won...because I wasn't racing I was doing this:

I will say that I have begun looking at used Prii with the carpool sticker for my commute. It would make commuting much easier. I wonder if I can swap a turbo Busa engine in one of those things?

The G Man

I saw one of those smart car on the road the other day and said WTF, where is the other half of the car