Americans use 50% of petrol!

[Sam Slater]

Or about '$8 a gallon' for c.j.jaxxon!

[c.j.jaxxon]

Who called my name?! !laugh!

[myson]

You're right Jeff, typo on my part !oops!. There's 4.55 litres to a gallon, I used ?0.96 a litre which works out to ?4.37 so, at a rate of $1.60 to the ?, that's $6.99 a gallon (that's Imperial gallon not US gallon).

Myson

[Sam Slater]

Also remember the dollar goes further than the pound -in real terms- regardless of the exchange rate. So I'm guessing it's like an american paying about $10 a gallon!

[Arginald Valleywater]

Much of the blame lies with Detroit. The average American car is big, thirsty, badly built, handles like a barge and costs about ?12k. A mid sized European car will have a 1.6 to 2.2 litre engine, be very fuel efficient and aerodynamic. The difference between a new Ford Focus, built in the UK or Belgium, compared to the 16ft long Ford whatever, thrown together in Detroit is scary. The Euro car is about 15 years ahead on technology, will do at least 50% more to a gallon and give off far less emissions. Detroit thinks state of the art is a F150 pick-up with live rear axles and a pushrod engine, we had that stuff on Hillmans and Austins in the 60s and have moved on. If Detroit can realise the future lies in more efficient, smaller, better engineered cars it has a cahnce, otherwise Toyota will fuck GM, Ford USA and Chrsyler and it will happen in the next 2-5 years max.

[Genie]

The trend for those fucking 4 X 4's (worldwide sadly it seems, another trend we've probably inherited from america) isn't helping either...

[c.j.jaxxon]

I agree with you guys for the most part. But I hate to tell you, big cars and pick-up trucks and full size vans sales has slowed since gas prices went up, but it ain't gonna stop as long as we like our 4X4s, SUVs, Caddys and Lincolns. Let's face it. We all would love for a better, less gas useing car but to tell you the truth, they just don't appeal to Texans and any other country bumpcan who likes pick-ups and 4X4s and the drug dealer in the big cities who gotta have an Escalade, Expedition, Navigater, or some hooked up older car with the latest chrome rims. And they all have the money to spend. These less gas useing cars usually don't look good and are cheaply made. To somebody who can't deal with the price of some of the bigger cars we have not much of a choice. And these new hybrids aren't that great either. We love our cars and as long as there is a demand for those gas guzzlers, they, the car makers will pump them out. Just study the gas crunch in the 1970s US and as much as the little cars was a hit, musle car fans hated them because putting all those things that would clean the emissions coming out of cars robbed them of their power.

[Genie]

They used to say that men who liked big powerful cars were making up for lack of size and power in other areas!

However of course it's not just men who go for 4X4's...over here in england those and "people carriers" are the curse of housewives taking one kid to school which the rest of us have to navigate around...

[c.j.jaxxon]

Yep! Well that's what they made mini vans for here in the states. They were made perfect for the family who didn't want the gas guzzling full size van and it was smaller in size but can still haul the family around. And if you're in the snowy regions of the states, smaller and mid-sized 4x4 SUVs were even better.

[Genie]

"And if you're in the snowy regions of the states, smaller and mid-sized 4x4 SUVs were even better."

That's the worst thing. In the majority of places in Britain there is neither the climate or terrain to dictate that more about 5% of people who get 4X4's actually need them...