"One way or another we're going to go"

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