Attrage from Austria

[inuvik]

Interessting, i drove a couple of them but never had issues. But you are right, the market for little cars is huge here in Europe.

With fuel costing upwards of €2.00 per liter I can understand that completely.

[Mark]

With fuel costing upwards of €2.00 per liter I can understand that completely.

Sometimes, I am guilty of not doing the math. I don't think of purchasing gas in liters.

2 euros = $2.27 approximately (today's exchange rate) & 1 gallon = 3.785 liters

$2.27 x 3.785 = $8.59/gallon

Imagine what $8.95/gallon would do to the U.S. automobile market?

I paid $2.09/gallon (approximately $0.55/liter or 0.49 euro/liter) to fill up my Mirage yesterday. Some places nearby are as low as $1.99/gallon. Overall, gas has been lower than it has been for quite some time. My Mirage was on the last bar when I filled up, and I couldn't get it to $15 on the gas pump even.

I believe the day will come when GM & Ford will regret dropping their small cars. When that happens, the small cars of the world market will find their way into the United States. In the meantime, Americans are guilty of driving way more vehicle than they need & public transportation is not utilized like it should be.

U.S car companies have been gambling on low gas prices for quite some time. Sales of large trucks, crossovers, & SUV's have kept them going. Should gas prices suddenly rise, the U.S. automobile companies will crash!

[Interceptor]

In most countrys its not as bad as 2 Euro per Liter.

Here in Austria 95 Octane Petrol cost around 1,20 Euro per Liter. ( around 5,16 USD per gallon )
95 is the regular Petrol here, 98 and 100 octane is premium.

Germany is a little bit more expensive at around 1,40 to 1,50 per Liter 95 octane.
( around 6,03 to 6,46 USD per gallon )

Italy and France can go nearly 2 Euro per Liter in some regions.

[Mark]

In most countrys its not as bad as 2 Euro per Liter.

Here in Austria 95 Octane Petrol cost around 1,20 Euro per Liter. ( around 5,16 USD per gallon )
95 is the regular Petrol here, 98 and 100 octane is premium.

Germany is a little bit more expensive at around 1,40 to 1,50 per Liter 95 octane.
( around 6,03 to 6,46 USD per gallon )

Italy and France can go nearly 2 Euro per Liter in some regions.

Thanks for sharing all that! I realize 2 Euro/liter is an extreme. $5/gallon for gas would still be a shock to Americans.

[Eggman]

Imagine what $8.95/gallon would do to the U.S. automobile market?

Isn't the European model of fuel pricing set up so that the fuel tax supports road and highway infrastructure? It makes a whole lot of sense to me anyway, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of that here in North America. I think it would eliminate the need for fuel economy regulations as the price of fuel would drive it instead. I see it as a simple and elegant solution to a huge problem facing all humanity.

Overall, gas has been lower than it has been for quite some time.

Has anyone heard of Peak Oil? Not that long ago, fuel prices got pretty high here in North America to the point where folks had to decide to fill up their tank and get to work, or pay their mortgage. Well, from my understanding it lead to two things:

1. The Mortgage crisis & subsequent economic recession and
2. Fracking

The high fuel prices made fracking economically feasible. With the new oil reserves unlocked, oil is plentiful and cheap once again.

But it won't last. At some point, the cheap, easily transported fuel source we all have become addicted to will once again become scarce.

I figure that these events were happening when this current generation Mirage was in it's design concept phase, and helped drive the decisions to bring us our Favorite Little Car.

I believe the day will come when GM & Ford will regret dropping their small cars. When that happens, the small cars of the world market will find their way into the United States. In the meantime, Americans are guilty of driving way more vehicle than they need & public transportation is not utilized like it should be.

U.S car companies have been gambling on low gas prices for quite some time. Sales of large trucks, crossovers, & SUV's have kept them going. Should gas prices suddenly rise, the U.S. automobile companies will crash!

I agree. And when it happens, it's gonna hurt a lot of people big time.

[Mark]

I agree. And when it happens, it's gonna hurt a lot of people big time.

The U.S. automobile market has the potential to remind us of the housing market crash in miniature somewhat. Whereas people were allowed to finance way more home (mortgage) than they could really afford, people are buying vehicles the same way. Sadly, vehicle aren't investments either. If it takes 6, 7, or 8 years to pay off a vehicle, it doesn't become more valuable at the end of payments. It's not worth much at all in the end. Add in interest paid, & it becomes a lot of money for something that still needs to be replaced in the end.

If a person can't pay off a vehicle in a year or two, they are probably buying to much of one in my opinion. A highly discounted Mirage sort of goes against the trend we see in other vehicles, & I find that appealing. I hope the Mirage sticks around, but that's not the trend for small cars in the U.S. either.

[daleWV]

2. Fracking

The high fuel prices made fracking economically feasible. With the new oil reserves unlocked, oil is plentiful and cheap once again.

But it won't last. At some point, the cheap, easily transported fuel source we all have become addicted to will once again become scarce.

Just to be perfectly accurate, Fracking (oil well fracturing) isn't really the innovation that made oil plentiful now, but horizontal drilling in concert with more modern methods of fracturing. Fracturing is almost as old as oil wells but when used in a vertically drilled well results are limited. Technically speaking, all oil wells are initially fractured and then as they age and become less productive they may be refractured. Horizontal drilling has opened huge reserves and they are still discovering more and more oil accessible by this method, that wouldn't have been economical with the old drilling methods. I doubt we will see much of a reduction in production in the foreseeable future.

[Eggman]

I doubt we will see much of a reduction in production in the foreseeable future.

Forseeable future yes, I agree. But at some point, it will run out. Problem is, we are burning through petroleum faster than ever, and at an accelerating rate. Not to mention the harm it causes our environment.

Thanks for chiming in.