I’ve been reading some analyst projections of $200/barrel of oil in the next few years equating to $6-$8/gallon of gas. Is there a point at which you would consider selling your 8 due to fuel costs?

I drive about 16,500 miles per year and get around 18mpg. So at 3.50/gal its not terrible at around $3,206/yr we get to $6, $5,496/yr is another $190/month in gas. I'm thinking it might be time to start looking at something fun but a bit more frugal.

Hopefully the analysts are wrong and it will level off or pull back a bit, I was thinking of a V-8 next time.... Camaro, S5, etc.

my question is, how high will the gas prices go before the government says enough? we will reach 4.00/gallon before summer, and i'm only 18, and will be enrolling in college so i will be spending too much on gas. and i already spend too much as it is!! but to answer your question, no i am still gonna keep my 8 because i love it too much.

No, I would not consider selling. If it seems liek it will get that bad I will start saving up for a while and find a beater that gets good gas mileage as use that as a DD.

Plus, you have to look at how much would it really save you with buying a new car...having car payments and buying gas for a more fuel efficient car or just buying gas for a less fuel efficient car.

^I'm in college now, and its fine. I dont really drive while I'm out here.

well the thing is, i'll be commuting because my parents don't realize the points i'm trying to make bout living on campus. so i'll be driving 30-45 minutes everyday that i have class! :rant: my mom never went to college and she thinks she knows everything!!!!

lol just syphon her gas every morning if she insists you live at home.

on topic -- I REALLY look forward to making my rx8 a weekend/garaged car within the next few years. It really is a difficult car to use for daily driving... plus driving a focus / escape / protege will just make backing a superclean 8 out of the garage that much sweeter on the weekends :)

By next year gas prices will be over 5 dollars a gallon

Honestly... its one of the main reasons I'm selling mine.

And yes, I love my Civic Si Sedan. Yes I know its FWD. Yes I know it's a Civic. Still love it. Love the 8 too but sometimes you got to prioritize.

well sorry that your selling it. :( it's gonna be up to the next pres to do some butt kickin when it comes to oil. we're gonna have to stiffarm the environmentalists and drill in alaska and the gulf

I had an 03 mazdaspeed protege w/ some mods... pulled really hard (probably around 200 whp or so), looked sharp and got 30-32 mpg freeway...

I may pick up another one in a few years, maybe not the bright orange color this time :)

I'd rather give up junk food than my 05' Shinka. I can live with bread and water only if I have too.....:eyetwitch

Its already 4.09 per gallon in NYC (Premium) , you can still find some places for 3.99 (Premium). but its getting hard.

Meh, my 8 is in the body shop now to fix something up (thx to NYC's fuxking roads), and Im driving a FIT ATM. hah !

For gas prices, you might wanna ask Bush why, look back when his father was president, gas price went up + war. why ?

Get use to it . It ain't getting any better .

Over $ 4 here ....................

Do like the Chinese people...ride a bicicle to work...apart from saving money you'll get in shape and loose that food blister around your waist.

...we're gonna have to stiffarm the environmentalists...

Is OPEC run by environmentalists? Or is it just the traders who are environmentalists?

...drill in alaska and the gulf...

We're already drilling in Alaska and the Gulf.

Ken

being that the government is partially controlled by the oil companies...or, oil companies are major contributors to elected officials...there's little chance of bills getting passed that can substantially cap gas prices for consumers. so what needs to happen is for mazda to drastically improve mpg in the upcoming 16x...

The shitty milage + my '04 falling apart at the seams pretty much forced me to trade mine in this week. I love this car, but just about everything except my compression has gone to shit on it :(

Got a Mini Cooper S though, which is like driving a go-kart that burns rocket fuel. The 32mpg is just a bonus :lol:

Mini S is a nice replacement to the 8. Enjoy.

I've considered selling my 8 because I know gas prices are just going to go up. However, it doesn't look like a car payment plus gas is a good option. I think I'll just keep it. I was thinking of getting a motorcycle, so yeah maybe sometime this year I can make the purchase. Gas prices suck. 4.22 here.

We (italy) pay gas way more than you do so hanging around on this car is fairly expensive.
We pay 95octane around 1,4€\litre and 100ctane more than 1,5€\lt plus possession taxes (based on KW, around 550€\year).
when thinking about gas prices think of us :p

93 octane by me is around $3.60

93 octane here goes for 93.7 cents/liter

There's definitely a point where the 8 would have to be retired. It won't be this year at 4.xx per gallon, but at $6-8 that's a different story. Hopefully that will only mean it becomes a weekend warrior with something better on gas as a DD. Perhaps when I move I can live closer to work and ride a bike. Or perhaps buy a scooter. :lol2:

I take mass transit to work and only drive on weekends, so for me gas prices aren't really an issue.

But... if I had to drive to work every day, I'd certainly consider a more frugal car, like a Miata, a Mini or even a Fit. I'd actually like to see gas prices go much higher. Way less SUVs would make driving safer - and a lot more pleasant. And people would buy smaller cars that use less gas. F*ck OPEC.

I look at this way... I'm loving my Civic Si. Its a great car in general and if I ever want to get a weekend warrior... maybe an rx-8... maybe not... I'll just get another one later. But driving the Rx-8 everyday is just too much for me man.

I normally got 200 mi in my rx-8. Its what a 13.2 gallon tank?

I get around 300 in my Si now. And it has an 11.5 gallon tank. Its a huge difference. Factor in my car note dropping 100 bucks a month and I'm happier. Plus it ALMOST revs to 9k! lol But its not too much slower than the 8 though. Very light practical car.

Not hatin' on the rest of you all though. Just saying.

Is OPEC run by environmentalists? Or is it just the traders who are environmentalists?



We're already drilling in Alaska and the Gulf.

Ken

i don't think we are. regardless we haven't built a refinery in 35 years!!! i'm talkin about the tree huggers that won't allow us to drill in Ahrmwar, or however you spell it, in Alaska. where there's enough oil to last us 300 years, but they won't let us because of an endangered animal, but the thing is, it's natural for species to go extinct.

I'd get a CNG conversion kit for my 8 before I'd sell it because of gas prices.

Gas is high based on rampant speculation driving up the price of futures. Stocks are down, so is the value of the dollar, the only things going up right now in the markets are gold and oil, so people are investing heavily. It will go back down again if the economic situation improves.

We have more oil in our strategic reserves then ever, net oil consumption in America is in fact DOWN for the first time in years, and even though we are not building new refineries, we have been improving and expanding existing ones.

No, this is not an issue of the supply chain.

who cares?......same thread new year.......can we get over mpg and the 8 now?

yea, but building new refineries would still help us out a whole lot! we are too oil dependent on other countries.

I’ve been reading some analyst projections of $200/barrel of oil in the next few years equating to $6-$8/gallon of gas. Is there a point at which you would consider selling your 8 due to fuel costs?

I drive about 16,500 miles per year and get around 18mpg. So at 3.50/gal its not terrible at around $3,206/yr we get to $6, $5,496/yr is another $190/month in gas. I'm thinking it might be time to start looking at something fun but a bit more frugal.

Hopefully the analysts are wrong and it will level off or pull back a bit, I was thinking of a V-8 next time.... Camaro, S5, etc.

For starters, where I'm at 91 octane is $4.19 a gallon. Still not that big of a deal spread out over time.

Just get a beater commuter car and use the Mazda as a weekend cruiser/track slut. Besides, for someone mentioning dreams of buying a used GT-R, I think you making too big of a deal about gas prices ;)

i don't think we are. regardless we haven't built a refinery in 35 years!!! i'm talkin about the tree huggers that won't allow us to drill in Ahrmwar, or however you spell it, in Alaska. where there's enough oil to last us 300 years, but they won't let us because of an endangered animal, but the thing is, it's natural for species to go extinct.

We're a species, so it could be our turn to go extinct. :)

We're still pumping oil out of Alaska and the Gulf. If new fields are to be opened in Alaska, they need to be opened in a non-destructive way. We went through this in almost 40 years ago with the current Alaskan fields and pipeline. The pipeline as built - after intervention by environmentalists and Congress - was a lot more expensive than the oil companies first wanted, but it's paid off in being reasonably protective. And I don't see any oil companies standing in bread lines because of the extra cost.

They still had a major ecological incident with the Exxon Valdez.

Oil companies would like to seize on the current crunch to chuck the environmental rules, just for the sake of even more profit.

Ken

Going to consume as much oil as I can...we're all gonna die anyways

Takes gas to make power and takes mo' gas to make mo power

Are there any SPORTS CARS that get significantly better gas mileage??
(when being driven like sports cars)

I set a new record today! 295 miles on a single tank of gas!

my question is, how high will the gas prices go before the government says enough? we will reach 4.00/gallon before summer, and i'm only 18, and will be enrolling in college so i will be spending too much on gas. and i already spend too much as it is!! but to answer your question, no i am still gonna keep my 8 because i love it too much.

Your govt(pres.) is in bed with these corporate sharks.

There's no shame in ditching the 8 because of gas prices. When I bought mine I factored in a fudge factor for gas but still, I had no idea it would go up this high in a few years. Luckily I'm in a better position now financially so I'm keeping it and will get the next latest and greatest.

Yeah dream of a GTR is right, dream only, it would be too costly to buy and own plus gas was just $3.15 last year, hey there is always lotto. I was just putting the question out there to see what other owners were thinking. $3-$4/gallon isn’t a big deal, it’s when we start hitting $6 that I begin to rethink things. Keep in mind food and other prices go up as well with the increase in the cost of oil. So its more than just extra fuel per month, everything gets squeezed. I’m hoping it’s just a bubble and we come down to some realistic prices.

At best I’d keep the 8 for 5 years anyway, I like new stuff too much to hold on to it longer.

If I go two cars the 8 won’t be one of them. One will be a commuter/family friendly sedan and the other will be a 2 seat convertible/coupe. Bike is out of the question as I need to be a “responsible parent” and not kill myself.

Yup... thats why I'm thinking s2000 in two years... unless the MS Miata is amazing...

I'd get a CNG conversion kit for my 8 before I'd sell it because of gas prices.

Gas is high based on rampant speculation driving up the price of futures. Stocks are down, so is the value of the dollar, the only things going up right now in the markets are gold and oil, so people are investing heavily. It will go back down again if the economic situation improves.

We have more oil in our strategic reserves then ever, net oil consumption in America is in fact DOWN for the first time in years, and even though we are not building new refineries, we have been improving and expanding existing ones.

No, this is not an issue of the supply chain.

:yesnod:

I find myself agreeing with you alot. You, sir, are obviously a bright fellow*.




*or lady - depends on your parts. :lol:

Good call, that would be my move if I was to switch out.

The shitty milage + my '04 falling apart at the seams pretty much forced me to trade mine in this week. I love this car, but just about everything except my compression has gone to shit on it :(

Got a Mini Cooper S though, which is like driving a go-kart that burns rocket fuel. The 32mpg is just a bonus :lol:

Very true, I saw a break down once of what the spectators are adding to the cost of gas and it was absurd something like 30% if I recall correctly.

I'd get a CNG conversion kit for my 8 before I'd sell it because of gas prices.

Gas is high based on rampant speculation driving up the price of futures. Stocks are down, so is the value of the dollar, the only things going up right now in the markets are gold and oil, so people are investing heavily. It will go back down again if the economic situation improves.

We have more oil in our strategic reserves then ever, net oil consumption in America is in fact DOWN for the first time in years, and even though we are not building new refineries, we have been improving and expanding existing ones.

No, this is not an issue of the supply chain.

i don't think we are. regardless we haven't built a refinery in 35 years!!! i'm talkin about the tree huggers that won't allow us to drill in Ahrmwar, or however you spell it, in Alaska. where there's enough oil to last us 300 years, but they won't let us because of an endangered animal, but the thing is, it's natural for species to go extinct.


Nothing would go extinct by drilliing in anwar. We would only be drilling in a very small part that was originally set aside for drilling. And as for the argument that it will take ten years to see any benifit we would already be receiving the benefits if Clinton had not vetoed it when he was in office.

Mazda Maniac is coming out with a new flash that gives us better gas mileage!

I drive over 500 miles a week and I had to make a change. My 8 is no longer my DD, I picked up a 2000 Saturn SL single cam 5-speed and just use it to go to work 3-4 times a week. My last tank I got 39 MPG. I used to fill up 2x a week, just cant do that these days.

Gas is hitting me a bit ... every time I fill up it's a few bucks more. But it's nothing major. I'm only a year into the 8 so the addiction is strong ... I'd pay almost anything!! I might be wasting a bit of money getting sunoco ultra 94 but my 8 sure isn't complaining.

i heart my 8, and gas prices dont scare me!

i'll keep my 8 and just get the 2008 ninja kawasaki 250R for daily commute to work. looks nice and about 50-60 mpg i hear.

i'll keep my 8 and just get the 2008 ninja kawasaki 250R for daily commute to work. looks nice and about 50-60 mpg i hear.

Agreed. Keep the car and get a bike.

Do like the Chinese people...ride a bicicle to work...apart from saving money you'll get in shape and loose that food blister around your waist.

The Chinese who aren't riding bicycles are part of the reason gas has gone up.

Pretty good chance the replacement for the current RX8 will have a dual fuel natural gas option.

:suspect: a V-8 to consume less gas...

MAN!! gas aitn nothing but a liquid!

Walk if your so worried about gas :lol:

Id say ridiculous is 10$ a gallon!!

but thats just me.

WE do pay 6 bucks for a gallon of OJ why not a gallon of gas?

Are there any SPORTS CARS that get significantly better gas mileage?? (when being driven like sports cars) You bet! The Mazda MX-5, the world's most popular sports car—and one of the best—gets 22 city/27 highway (5-sp), 21/28 (6-sp). Tempting.

I got myself a Honda FIT yesterday brand new cuz the gas prices is like nutz (plus my gf wants to drive one, not my car)

Not that I cant afford the gas, I love my 8, but the gas prices just dont worth 4.09 per gallon premium IMO.

When I bought my 8 new in February of '04, my first fill up was at $1.54 a gallon. I just found that receipt in with my documents I got when I first bought the car. My how things have changed.

when I first got my 8 it was like 2.09 I think. Fillup cost like 23-6 bux

Now? 53-5

Nothing would go extinct by drilliing in anwar. We would only be drilling in a very small part that was originally set aside for drilling. And as for the argument that it will take ten years to see any benifit we would already be receiving the benefits if Clinton had not vetoed it when he was in office.

exactly!! dang, how long is it gonna take? i'm not gonna say which party i'm affiliated with, but i hate the Democrats on issues like this amongst other things! tax this, tax that, don't drill use alternate energy! i'm all for alternate energy sources, but isn't it ironic that the new resources are that much more expensive? we want excellent gas mileage, but you have to shell out 30+ grand to do it!

I just bought a cheap $2100 97 Nissan Sentra GXE 5M that gets me 30MPG in town and highway trips high 30's to low 40's. At current gas prices, I calculate it'll pay itself off in less than about 1.5 years.

My insurance went down on my 8 since I drive less miles on it too. But I sure miss driving my 8. Beam axle for the win! ;)

i'm really considering a miata within the next year if the situation doesn't improve. I consider myself lucky I only commute about 150 miles a week.. but even then I find myself spending $200 a month on gas.

Like sucks... so what else is new?

Get a Civic.

haha..................................no

It's not an issue for me. Yet.

My 8 is a weekend, "fun" car, a recreational vehicle only. I think I've commuted in it maybe four or five times only in the last year. And I garage it for 3 or 4 months during winter. My DD is much better on gas, and I'm thinking of something really frugal for a new DD soon.

Gas would have to get to the point where a tankful for the 8 was running upwards of $120, before it would put a noticeable dent in my use of the car. I'm not wealthy, but my home is paid-for so I can afford to take gas money out of the recreational budget.

I daily drive my 8

but short commutes

never more than 30miles a day

still, gas sucks

thinking of getting a beater civic or something

i'm really considering a miata within the next year if the situation doesn't improve. I consider myself lucky I only commute about 150 miles a week.. but even then I find myself spending $200 a month on gas.


Well, if it's any help, My S2000 averages 25mpg combined city/highway, and I get 28-29mpg pure highway cruising at 70-75mph, and did get 31mpg on a long road trip to NC last year straight highway. Granted when use it spiritedly on weekends and use Vtec it guzzles, but I've been using it as a work car the past month since winter is over, and it's noticably better then my Speed 6 as well. The Speed 6 is gonna be sitting for a while now. This is just average crusing to work driving. It's rated at 20 mpg city, 26mpg highway, but I simply get better then that, and it's been very consistent. Perhaps the Miata gets better then the ratings as well.

In comparison to my former 04 RX8, I got about 18mpg on same route and style driving 50-50 city/highway, and about 22mpg pure highway. Not night and day, like jumping in a Civic or anything, but the savings in $$ has been felt the past 2 years, and you don't have to sacrifice performance, in fact you gain some.

As for price, it's become the biggest discounted honda in history, being that the car has simply been out too long without a major re-design, and has overstayed it's welcome. Leftover 07s still exist at certain dealerships going for $27k brand new. I'd be lucky if I could get 23k for my 06 if I needed to sell it. Just my .02.

Don't flame me people. :)

how high will the gas prices go before the government says enough?

Let's try this question: How high will the speed of vehicles go until the government says enough? Let's mandate 65 mph governors on all vehicles!

idk, i like speed

Bam, the oil companies make 9 cents on a gallon of gas. That is after they:

Find the oil in the ground...
Drill into the ground...
Pump the oil out of the ground...
Ship the oil to a refinery...
Refine the oil into many different products, including gasoline...
AND BRING IT TO YOUR STREET CORNER!!!!!

The government takes 60 cents on that same gallon of gas. What do they do???

THe point is, if you look to the gov't to limit the freedom of the oil companies to make a meager 9 cent profit on a gallon of gas, then don't complain when others (driving slower cars) seek to use the government to limit your freedom to drive. The sword cuts two ways!!!

very true. why is it that every one of these threads always becomes political? funny but annoying. haha

$4.16 at Shell here in CT.... :Eyecrazy:
$30 = roughly half a tank...

$68 for my last fill up. We're around $4.90 per US gallon
I'm keeping my 8 but I may buy something else to run around in

What a racket government is.

Bam, the oil companies make 9 cents on a gallon of gas. That is after they:

Find the oil in the ground...
Drill into the ground...
Pump the oil out of the ground...
Ship the oil to a refinery...
Refine the oil into many different products, including gasoline...
AND BRING IT TO YOUR STREET CORNER!!!!!

The government takes 60 cents on that same gallon of gas. What do they do???

THe point is, if you look to the gov't to limit the freedom of the oil companies to make a meager 9 cent profit on a gallon of gas, then don't complain when others (driving slower cars) seek to use the government to limit your freedom to drive. The sword cuts two ways!!!

Well it cost me $65 to fill up the other day so now with the gas prices so high it will probably be $75!! Sure sucks...

From my stand point $3 and $4/gallon of gas is worth bitching about but in the end no big deal, I enjoy my car. Gas is costing me $290/month. Every dollar more adds $75/month. More than likely it will take another couple of years to hit $5 (hopefully a lot longer than that) by then I’ll be looking for a new car anyway. What sucks is I was looking for something a good bit more powerful and there are several nice cars coming out or being released now that would be affordable by then.

Like the housing market I’m hoping the gas bubble (pun intended) bursts before long and we see a 20-30% correction on fuel prices. If I didn’t have to be a responsible parent (wife’s choice of words) I’d get a 250 Ninja for that 60mpg and fun too.

Just for comparison sakes I looked at a Civic Hybrid and at $5/gal it would cost me $210 less per month. Not that I would but seeing as I’d only finance $15,000 on a 5yr loan (again I’d do shorter) would come out to $285/month – the $210 in savings and $75/month car payment. At 3yrs it would only be $240 or so. Maybe bank another $150/month in an ING savings account and buy a used Cayman or Z4 in 3-4 years….

I put about 20k miles annually as a DD on the 8 conservatively averaging about 18mpg, still affordable for me at $4-5 per gallon but I am cutting back the mileage now. Just bought a new battery for the motorcycle for the good weather commute and will be using the wife's 96 Miata a bit more (it has 60K miles) to get closer to 24-25 mpg for my driving. Also just ditched the eleven year old SUV (18 mpg) in favor of a small crossover AWD that will improve the mileage a little bit.

We have to adjust because prices will not be going down (much if at all). It is supply and demand and there are other countries competing for the available oil. Facing the fact that we have been using so much of the resource that we have to change our practices and maybe even lifestyles. Technology can help and alternative fuels can help but until then we have to adjust. Example, I choose where I live and where I work. Within reason, I refuse to bitch about my commute. We may have some constraints (we can't all move closer to work or change jobs) the alternatives are better mileage vehicles, pooling or public trans and more efficient use by trip planning for errands, etc.

Within reason, I refuse to bitch about my commute.

As long as I'm in my car, and not on a bus, I'm happy. If traffic is flowing along, I'm even happier. My work hours are flexible enough so I can avoid the rush hour peak.

We all knew the 8's gas mileage when we bought ours. We also knew what these cars cost up front, and knew that you could buy something that would do the job (i.e., get you to work and other places) for half the price.

In the next few years we're likely to see some significant changes in auto technology and fuels. I suspect the next generation will be saddled with massive toxic waste from worn out hybrid vehicle batteries, and genocidal-level starvation in third world countries.

Ken

Like sucks... so what else is new?

Get a Civic.

Done. :)

The oil companies are making a killing right now and the whole they only get 9 cents a gallon sure but I don't feel bad for them...

Shell had some reps come in to one of our engineering classes and the lady had no concept of what to say and what not to say. She was talking about how they anticipated a project to take some 5 years and 10 million dollars but now its like 8 years and twice the cost and her response to the questions about what the company is doing was, "With the price of oil now we can afford to have this happen" and then she proceeded to say "We just ship the work overseas to cut down on the production cost"

So if the 9 cents they get is all, then they deserve even less.

But I will hold on to the end with my 8.

I will believe 9 cents a gallon when some bacon with wings takes flight and lands on my hamburger.


When the prices get jacked up ~70 cents per gallon over a month you need to bump the 9 cent* number to 79 cents. The gas at the station was paid for long before the price per barrel hit $100. Same with the stuff in the tanks the trucks fill from, which means speculation = higher prices per barrel, but the change in price at the pump is just gouging.

It's interesting to see the perception of this car's gas consumption nature. It is actually no worse that cars in its segment.
Was browsing through one of those Annual All Car & Trucks reviews and I can't help but notice cars like the A4 Avant, 3 coupes, Boxster, Legacy GT, Some sort of Dodge musclecar etc all had gas consumption no better and some are worse than the RX-8. And what's their excuse?
Anyhow to answer the topic's intended question... No. It doesn't bother me one bit. The 8 is my pleasure car right now. My previous car was an STi converted RS and it consumed just as much gas relentlessly. I suppose if I wanted a gas sipper, then I would've looked at a Honda Fit.

I don't think it's worse for the RX-8 than any other car. I am sure that there are many people who are at their budget limit.
I can afford a lot more car, but I tend to not spend a lot for my vehicle so gas prices are of no concern to me. But I can easily see that for some, the extra money spent on gasoline would force them to consider changing cars or perhaps taking public transport.
I've noticed in my neck of the woods, traffic seems to be much lighter during my daily commute. Due to high gas prices? Maybe....
For reference, we are paying about $1.35 per liter.

1 US gallons = 3.78541178 liters

It's interesting to see the perception of this car's gas consumption nature. It is actually no worse that cars in its segment.

I know, segment aside, I think it was a '08 V6 Accord that was rated just 1 mpg better than the 8 at 17/25 (EPA). Shame on Honda for building such a gas-guzzling gas hog... :)

^^^My complaint is really not the gas milage, but the power you get for that milage compared to other cars.

I always use my credit card for gas and my wife pays the bills so it hasn't really bothered me too much. :)

Actually, rising gas prices was the last (and only) argument against my buying my 8 a couple of months ago. Even though I knew about the poor fuel economy intellectually, it was still a shock after driving my '93 Miata daily for the last 12 years.

But I love this engine and I love this car. Closest thing to Miata handling with 4 seats and plenty of power for my needs. Sure, more is always nice but I'm also realistic. Didn't want to wait forever for the 16x.

Bottom line. It's more than worth it for now. If gas gets to be $7/gal or maybe $10 I'll probably drive my Miata more and keep the 8 for weekends.

While the rising gas prices are hurting me as a student, I do like the consistent millage for spirited driving and/or autox. If it gets really bad I may look into a 5sp E36 M3, as most of my driving will be highway commutes once I go away to college and that was what I was considering getting instead of the 8.

i don't think we are. regardless we haven't built a refinery in 35 years!!! i'm talkin about the tree huggers that won't allow us to drill in Ahrmwar, or however you spell it, in Alaska. where there's enough oil to last us 300 years, but they won't let us because of an endangered animal, but the thing is, it's natural for species to go extinct.

There isn't enough oil in Alaska to last us 300 years. More like 3 years.

So if it's only three years it shouldn't be done?

We're also not talking about supplying the entire needs of the US; anything that brings down the percentage of foreign oil is a good thing.

Personally I think you're going to see more and more drilling like Mexico and now China will be investing in where the rigs are located as close as possible to the US in international waters and diagonal drilling is used to access oil reserves "technically" in the US but that we do not have the will to exploit.

Bottom line is we'll be buying our own oil back from Mexico and perhaps China, if China doesn't just keep it for their own use.

Ironically enough if China does keep the oil, it could bring down the price of oil anyway as they would need to buy less on the open market, but it would do nothing to reduce our reliance upon foreign oil.

1 US gallons = 3.78541178 liters

Simple math:

1 liter of 95oct Gas cost's here (Finland) 1.42€ *3.78541178 =5.375284728€ per Gallon.

5.37€ in US dollars is: 8.31$ per gallon.

Very nice...:eyetwitch

The world isn't short on gas, so it's unlikely we'll have any main stream alternate fuels anytime soon... although there will be the point at which doing a hydrogen hybrid to the RX8 will be worth the additional cost. And technology is improving in this area (Slowly but surely).

Gas prices are set by demand, nothing more. So prices will continue to rise until they notice a considerable decrease in demand. Gas companies and governments will lie.

Remember how at one time smoking didn't cause cancer? Remember how insurance companies complain about losing money and jack the price, then report an all time record profit of over 3billion?

Selling your car to get a more fuel friendly car is not always worth it. How much will you lose on the sale of the RX8? (yes you always lose when selling a car you owe money on). Is the "newer" car more expensive? Blah blah blah.

Cost analysis would probably show that you won't start "saving" money for a year or more. But it all depends on if you get a crappy little 2nd hand chevette or something.

Even if you did a hybrid hydrogen and spent like what (5-6k) on a convert, you wouldn't save money for a few years at best.

just steal your gas. problem solved. (not pump and run cuz you'll get caught), but syphon at 3-4am.

My first post. Threads like this make me realize how much I sacrifice to drive something like the RX-8 in terms of money. 8,5 dollars per gallon of 95 octane gas isn't gonna be cheap. It's silly the gasprices we have as a oilnation in Europe (Norway).

I am currently waiting for my RX-8, imported from the states. Over half of the final price of the car will be tax and import fees to the government. So it's over 65,000 dollars in total for the car for me, which probably sounds really silly for everyone of you in the US :P But it's not an affordable car in Norway, because we have huge penalty for cars that emit a lot of CO2. One can get around that by importing from the states, but you still have to pay a lot of fees for weight of the car and the horsepowers.

So no, guess I won't care what the gas prices are. It's one chance to have a fun car for a few years. And I won't daily drive it, but sadly no garage either. So a lot of washing and care ;) If you love cars you'll always be a bit mad.

^^^My complaint is really not the gas milage, but the power you get for that mileage compared to other cars.
I think that is the main beef.

^^^My complaint is really not the gas milage, but the power you get for that milage compared to other cars. The idea of trading mileage for power—or giving up power for better mileage—applies to piston-engine cars. The rotary offers a different trade: mileage for amazing feel, agility & handling*—courtesy the lightweight, tiny engine placed low and far back in the car. That's "the deal" with the RX-8. (What's more, 0-60 in 5.9 seconds isn't exactly slow.)

*The editor of Sports Car International recently said the 8 is one of the world's 5 best-handling cars. At any price.

The world is not short on gas or fossil fuels.

Production costs are not what determines the price per barrel. (The production cost increase is marginal at most and wouldn't effect the price we see today)

The price is set on demand. Gas companies AND the government know they can keep raising the price and making BAJZILIONS of dollars.

What are you gonna do? just stop driving? unlikely a large enough percentage of people will stop driving or purchasing fuel to cause an impact. Especially since a large fuel consumption market is commercial.. meaning the cost they pay in fuel is reflected in the increasing price of their products.

Gas price hikes are small yet steady. This is so its "only" a few extra bucks a week... and companies have time to also marginally increase their product cost. Otherwise if here was a HUGE spike in price, many smaller companies would pretty much halt.

If i was the government or an oil company, i'd do the same thing... But since I'm just joe consumer, I'll start stealing half my gas to bring my price down. Home DIY fuel siphon kit made with universal fuel pump and battery... cost less then a tank of gas and saves me a good thousand plus per year or more.

Pass the cost onto someone else and throw your morals out the window. Or get your suicide vest and fly a chopper out to some oil tankers. :lol:

anyone here have the mazda protege 5? how's gas mileage and maintenance cost on that one?

Uh, the Federal gas tax is $0.18/gallon. Flat rate. The oil companies' profit are based on a percentage of product cost.

The problem is that it's speculator demand that is pushing up oil prices, not consumer demand.

Really, we should be resurrecting Isaac Asimov to see if his "psychohistory" idea in the Foundation novels can be adapted to a economics.

I got myself a Honda FIT yesterday brand new cuz the gas prices is like nutz (plus my gf wants to drive one, not my car)

Not that I cant afford the gas, I love my 8, but the gas prices just dont worth 4.09 per gallon premium IMO.

How you liking the Fit so far? I'm thinking of getting one too. Right now I walk to work so I don't care about gas prices so much. But there is a possibility that I might move and if I can't bike to work, I will consider the Fit or the MP3 500 in addition tot he rx8.

How you liking the Fit so far? I'm thinking of getting one too. Right now I walk to work so I don't care about gas prices so much. But there is a possibility that I might move and if I can't bike to work, I will consider the Fit or the MP3 500 in addition tot he rx8.

Its alright, I mean it can hold a lot of stuff in the back, sits 5 including me of course, decent mpg.

I am driving a Manual tranny model, I cant stand any Automatics.

It wasn't the cost of gas that was annoying for me, I got tired of filling up every 230 miles so I bought a Miata. I can get about 280-300 miles on a tank and from empty to full is only 9 gallons. Also it uses regular instead of premium but I only drive 5 miles a day round trip to work so it doesn't really matter.

Well hopefully soon I'll be getting either a company car with a gas card paid for by the company I work for... or just a gas card. That should cut the costs of filling up once a week!! :rock:

I suggest you all do the same :D:

It's $4.49 in Miami Beach.

Its alright, I mean it can hold a lot of stuff in the back, sits 5 including me of course, decent mpg.

I am driving a Manual tranny model, I cant stand any Automatics.

That's cool. How's the braking? The whole rear-drum thing has me wondering if it will be a bit weak in that regard. The rear-disc conversion kits seem a bit pricey as well at 850 or so. I guess I'll see what happens next year, with the new Mazda3 coming as well.

Well hopefully soon I'll be getting either a company car with a gas card paid for by the company I work for... or just a gas card. That should cut the costs of filling up once a week!! :rock:

I suggest you all do the same :D:

filling up once a week would be awesome. Right now I fill up twice a week :(

I drive around A LOT

if prices keep going up im gonna have to poke holes on the floor of my 8 and Flinstone it to work!

I've been paying around $7 to $8.50 a gallon of gas for the last 2 years with my RX8 here in Germany and I still am not considering getting something else.

It is just sick knowing that these gas companies are getting away with raping us of our hard earned money. They know we will pay and they take advantage. I think all these reasons they toss around on the T.V. and papers are all BS. The Are Greedy.:rant:

Apparently some 1 in 20 gas pumps in Canada are faulty. Delivering less gas than stated. So the government is increasing the fine for it and also increasing more spot-checks.

I've heard that in some areas of the US, the percentage of pumps that are uncalibrated is much higher.

I will not sell it for the price of fuel.

It wasn't the cost of gas that was annoying for me, I got tired of filling up every 230 miles so I bought a Miata. I can get about 280-300 miles on a tank and from empty to full is only 9 gallons. Also it uses regular instead of premium but I only drive 5 miles a day round trip to work so it doesn't really matter.


I think a lot of the gas complaints with this car always came down to range, not MPG, and that's from the first day these cars were delivered. The MPG is really not bad, especially for the performance the car gives. One of the earlier posters here said he wish he bought a Prius instead.

Go for it.

For me it's not a gas mileage thing per say as I knew that going in. I get 18-20mpg which is alright. It’s just that I never really expected gas prices to increase by 80% in two years time.

I'll probably sell my RX8 in 2010 regardless for something new, just because I'll want something else. I will be factoring in fuel costs for my next purchase. I may still say F'it and get whatever but now fuel economy, never really a thought before is added to the list of things to consider.

Bad times, foreclosures are way up, repos too, middle-class families going to food banks, makes yah think.