It wasn’t that long ago that the thought of a $100 barrel of oil was ridiculous. But how about dropping a hundred bucks every time you hit the gas pumps?
“I pick my shows where I want to go on account of the gas prices,” Rick Gallivan, membership chairman of the Halifax, Nova Scotia Antique Car Club, said Thursday.
“It doesn’t make the hobby as enjoyable as it should.”
Mr. Gallivan drives a 1967 Ford LTD with a 390-cubic-inch engine, packing about 260 horsepower. The gas tank holds about 114 litres.
Last year it cost Mr. Gallivan about $60 to top up when his tank was one-quarter full.
Now it costs more than $100.
Mr. Gallivan travels to fewer car shows now. He tries to stay within 200 kilometres of his Terence Bay home, making about one major trip every year. He notices there are fewer cars at the shows now.
“Everyone is just laying back, and the old cars aren’t rolling as much as they used to,” Mr. Gallivan said. “When gas was cheap, you didn’t think of going anywhere. You didn’t care.”
Old cars aren’t the only ones guzzling gas. Filling a brand-new Chevrolet Suburban will run you more than $200. Do you like pickup trucks? Ford F-150s will take almost $150.
Even a fuel-efficient hybrid like the Toyota Prius can hold more than $60 of gasoline.
If you think that’s bad, try touring with a motorhome. Filling a Winnebago Adventurer’s tank (300-plus litres) will set you back $500.
The $100 fill-up is hurting soccer moms and dads as well.
George Athanasiou, CEO of Soccer Nova Scotia, said he’s hearing complaints from parents. He said it hasn’t affected game turnouts yet, but it might in the future.
Players might prefer to stay in local leagues instead of travelling around the province, Mr. Athanasiou said, and parents might choose not to send their kids to tournaments outside Nova Scotia. If the price of gas goes high enough, they might even skip a few games.
And that’s not all, he said.
“Referees may become hesitant to get in the car and travel to games. It may very well come that we have to pay mileage. It may come that we have to increase fees again.”
While the Ecology Action Centre doesn’t want referees to start missing soccer games, it says high prices may be good news for the environment.
Transportation co-ordinator Scott Gillard said that when people cut back on gasoline use, it means a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.
“There’s a limited supply of oil. We’re running out, and the prices are beginning to reflect the true cost,” Mr. Gillard said in a telephone interview.
“We need to look to the provincial and federal government and ensure they take the need for stringent fuel-efficient standards very seriously.”
The less fuel your car uses, the less it will cost you, Mr. Gillard said. Simple things like keeping tires inflated, cutting out idling, stopping and starting gradually, and keeping speed down can save two-thirds of a vehicle’s gas usage.
Tips like that may be the only hope for Mr. Gallivan and his LTD. Classic cars won’t get any more fuel-efficient and he’s not planning to stash his wheels in the garage.
“We’re car buffs and one way or another we’re going to go,” Mr. Gallivan said.
Original story from the Novia Scotia Chronicle Herald
We just need to rebuild our classic vehicle’s drivetrains. I’m seriously thinking of replacing my 5.8L V-8 with a 2.7L V-6 diesel & fit it to my automatic gearbox in my 1980 Ford F100 to cut down fuel consumption. I live in the UK too……Hell, the 2.7L V-6 was good enough for Jaguar X-types . [maybe I’ll get the twin-turbo pkg. too, just for fun
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By Al P.. August 26th, 2008 at 11:56 amI have too believe this is all “social engineering” and that it is backed by several interests. There is a real desire in government to get people out of their cars and promote green?? regardless of what is the cost. The reasons vary but there are a lot of people not terribly unhappy with the current state of affairs. Some people will always find a way too make a buck.
By ranchero67. July 21st, 2008 at 8:24 amI still go to car shows and still drive my car around. I still see a lot of people at the shows. It will make me rethink how I set up a car for street driving. Those 3:00 gears for the 9 inch are going back in the ranchero.
It’s hit $9usd per US gallon here in UK for unleaded .
Thats not the worst of it . They have pushed through plans to raise the annual road tax for older cars by as much as 500usd .
The justification they claim is because ‘old cars are more poluting’ .
Anyone who has done basic chemistry knows that if you burn hydrocarbons the result is carbon dioxide and water .
It doesn’t matter whether you burn 2lbs of fuel in a lawn mower , jet plane or latest hi-tech engine it produces the same amount of Co2 . It must be a media conspiracy that nobody has ever called them on this .
I’m seriously considering getting out of the UK cos it’s going to the dogs .
By Striebs. July 15th, 2008 at 9:43 am..and yet they’re supposedly still paying 80 cents a gallon in some parts of the Middle East. But we’ll blame this on the “ay-rabs” instead of the oil-industry leeches in charge of our government.. because no one who works for us could ever possibly betray us, right…?
By Ben. July 15th, 2008 at 5:02 am