Gas Price
 

if the gas prices were to suddenly go DOWN !!!
would you still keep your Honda Fit? or buy/trade it?for a higher HP car
Did you buy the Fit just for gas economy? or did you really like the car itself?

If gas were to go down to where premium was consistently under 2 bucks I'd be tempted to either supercharge the Fit or just step up to a different, a bit more powerful car. Like an '01 or '02 Pontiac WS6, '04 or '05 Pontiac GTO, BMW 128I (with M Sport package) or a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Basically if I'd get a different car it would be something rear wheel drive, 6 speed M/T, and has a fair amount of torque in the lower half of the RPM range.

I'd still like to be able to keep the Fit though because its such a reliable and functional car as well as very cheap to maintain and fuel efficient.

i just like the car. if you want to be serious, i don't even think the fit gets THAT good of gas mileage. even if it did, i'm still stopping at the gas station anyways because it bearly holds any fuel to begin with.

I'd still keep it. Driving around downtown Seattle in the fit is a breeze and the convenience of a small car has grown on me. I'd possibly get a VW GTI if I were to move to a new less fuel efficient but small car.

gas price/fuel economy was not the main reason why i got the Fit so will not change my decision. it's a great practical car for the price and looks great.

No. I would just enjoy paying even LESS for gas. Plus, the Fit is fun day to day.

If I want to go fast i'll build a racekor and pay $8 a gallon for racegas to make up for my savings.

I'd keep the Fit because I like the Fit. I'd just drive it more if gas were cheaper.

I have one question about price of gas. Im from brazil, and here we buy 1L of gas for R$2,80. If 1 gallon have 3,78L(im correct ?), we buy 1 gallon of gas for R$:2,80 x 3,78L = R$:10,6. In american dollar we buy gas for R$:10,6 x U$:1,58 = U$16,75 a gallon.(R$:1,00 = U$:1,58). Is that correct ? OMG we are being robbed here.

not sure about your calculations.....but i paid $3.69/gallon today at Shell.

Well, I already got rid of mine... but since my new car is doing about the same as far as real world city fuel economy:

No. When you are paying for the cost of a car, who gives a flip about the price of gas? If gasoline is really putting any sort of pain on my wallet, I wouldn't have bought a new car to start with. A tank of gas costs less than grabbing the bill first when I'm out for sushi, less than a night out drinking, less than my monthly bills for my iDevices, less than my cable, and a month of gas costs less than my car payment or insurance... Or child support for that matter. Yes, people like to whine, but it's still a pretty small expense in the grand scheme of things. If the cost of gasoline makes you squirm, you should probably have bought an old beater of some kind.

My big conundrum at the moment revolves around paying off the Scion. I could pay it off right now, just dump my savings into it and have the title. However, I don't really want to take that big a chunk out of my savings account. My big question is: will the combined effects of the economy and fuel prices drive inflation up over the next few years? I have a 72 mo loan (I was planning to pay it off after a few months when I bought it, so the loan length didn't matter that much). If inflation is more than my interest rate (3.39%), or inflation + the interest rate I can get through a money-market account, then I've lost out by paying it off early.

Anyway, back on topic... I traded the Fit for the tC while the gas price was rising, earlier this year. The highway mileage isn't as good, but the car is so much more comfortable on the highway (and the A/C actually cools when crossing the desert into Vegas with the temp at 110 outside, even with the black leather Clazzios) that I haven't thought twice.

If the price of gas is a big factor that is going to determine whether you will keep driving a Fit or switch up to a more performance-oriented car, then you probably can't afford such a car. Maybe gas prices have come down a bit again, but it's not going to stay this way forever, as it can go either way.

For me, high HP cars are for racing and a waste as a daily driver. So, no I would not change from my DD fit. Lower gas prices would just mean a bit more pocket change.

I'm willing to bet I'm in the minority on this, but I'd rather see gas prices go high enough to potentially shift car sales, manufacturer designs, and political decisions (re: transportation funding and infrastructure planning).

Basically, it comes down to this:

at $2/gallon, I spent about $1000/year in fuel. At $4, I spend around $2000.

Is it annoying to see the price higher? Sure. Does it really impact my bottom line? Eh... theoretically sure, but a small difference in my annual expenses is masked behind a ton of other stuff. Hell, I more or less get my gas for free by claiming residency in Cali and paying the 0% state income tax from Florida.

I'm between bikes at the moment, but if I was that concerned about fuel costs, I sure as hell wouldn't go out for 200-400 mile rides on the weekend and burn through 10 or so gallons just for fun.

I think gasoline is different because of the very public, very direct reminder of the prices: Imagine if you could watch the depreciation, wear items, insurance, etc, clicking by the way gasoline does on the meter. Intellichoice tells me that the difference between the Fit and my tC comes up to about $4000 over 5 years. (About 1200 of that is fuel). $800/yr $66/mo. I pay a WHOLE HELL OF A LOT MORE than that in child support.;)

For someone on a limited budget (i.e. working a service job by the hour and trying to make it through school), these things matter... but then, these folks probably aren't going to be buying brand new cars, unless mommy and daddy are picking up the tab and letting them schlep along on their insurance... in which case, they probably give less than three shits about the cost of gas anyway.

You are right about gallons to liters... 1 gallon = 3.78 liters.

But you are wrong about the reais to dollar conversion. 1 reais = .6353 dollars. So 2.8 reais = 1.77 usd.

So it's more like 6.77 usd per gallon for gas in brasil.

Bad but not 16$ bad

Of all the small vehicles I have owned the Fit is definitely the best.

I don't need a tire burning high HP engine under the hood for the type
of driving I do now... besides that would only get me into trouble with
the patrols around here.

I fill the gas tank on the Fit every 4 to 5 weeks... then say good bye
to the pumps for a while and the cute girl behind the counter.

yah, when i had the GD as my dd i only filled up once a month too. i hate going to the station (just another chore to do) so the less i go is better for me. :D

if the Fit came with a 15gal tank that would be even better. lol

wife mentioned gas price went up again this am. i wasn't paying much attention...

I enjoy The added horsepower from a Kraft Werks supercharger kit and a few other things under the hood.. I got my first speeding ticket in 27 years in my Fit before I got the kit, so my opinion is that horsepower doesn't have that much to do with getting tickets because I was riding some very fast motorcycles between tickets... Come to think of it my ticket in 1982 was in a diesel powered VW pickup.... It isn't the gas prices that are high but the rate of inflation that is making everything cost more.... It's been about a month and 300 miles since I filled up and I had planned to Friday when I went grocery shopping for the first time in months since my wife usually does it on her way home from work. I was really surprised at how much things have gone up and I didn't have the cash to fill up so I guess I'll do it next time i'm in town... I think I'll drive the Fit as long as it and myself are still up to it or gasoline is no longer available.

Well, IF gas prices were to drop precipitously, it would be because the world economy had collapsed into a depression. In that case, I'd have no choice but to keep the Fit, as it's paid for. At least until I HAD to sell it for something more important, like food.;)

I will give up the Fit if it goes down to 80 cents per gallon (which is the lowest I remember it).

My Fit's a keeper regardless of gas prices.