"Seventy One dollars!" The woman at the pump next to me seemed stunned when she saw the total for filling up her minivan. Moments before she had been concerned with wrangling her children into the vehicle. But the price of gas at this suburban Washington DC WAWA grabbed her attention. "I never thought it would cost that," she mumbled as she got in and drove away. I could empathize. But just to be sure, I checked the pump, and sure enough, she had dropped $71.00 to fill her 23 gallon tank.
My VW Passat cost $43.00 the last time I filled up, but it takes premium. (I haven't thought of putting anything but that in the thing; when the Germans say it takes premium, I believe them. That's because VW is so proprietary that you have to use Audi coolant or the engine will blow up!)
That has made me look more seriously at trading in this gas-drinking wallet shrinker for something along the lines of a soda can with wheels. And the Passat gets an average of between 20 and 25 miles a gallon. But anything that needs replacing on it - from the transmission to a fuse - is expensive. So is it worth it to keep it or should I sell? That is the question!
But the lady at the pump can take comfort in one thing - we are not paying the highest gas prices world wide. Seven years ago when my wife an I honeymooned in France gas was five dollars a gallon.
The Netherlands has the dubious honor of having the highest gas prices in the world - more than $10 a gallon! But the pain at the pump is making me look more longingly at my bicycle and public transportation. And less favorably at the Republicans come November.
1 comment:
I heard from someone in England this morning who said gas there was 2 pounds per liter. That equates to $8 a gallon. If we were in England with our van, it would cost $160, or thereabouts, to fill our tank. I'll take the $60 we gotta pay over that! Actually I'll take just staying home with good friends over the $60. :)
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