One man's answer to high gas prices: Lose weight and buy a smaller car

Q&AsPosted on Wed, Mar. 26, 2003

Q If people don't like paying high prices for gas, why is it that they don't buy smaller cars? Even with today's high prices, people continue to buy monster SUVs. Could the reason be that most Americans are just too big and overweight to fit into smaller cars? Next time you are driving around, look at the people driving large SUVs. Andros James . San Jose

A Ouch, this gas debate is getting nasty.

Q It's amazing how far a tank of gasoline can be stretched by simply driving the speed limit (in the slow lane, of course). Very few drivers on Interstate 280 seem to realize that. Judy Clark .San Jose

A If you drive 65 mph instead of 75, your gas mileage will increase by 10 percent.

Q I haven't worried about gas prices since I bought my Prius, which regularly gets about 50 mpg. When I'm relaxed, I get about 54 mpg. When I'm intense and drive 75 mph, I get more like 45 mpg. The biggest misconception about the Prius is that people think we have to plug them in. Jill Boone . San Jose

A But . . .

Q The price of crude oil has dropped to under $30 a barrel. So when will we see prices drop at the gas station? Scott Irby. San Jose

A In about a month or so -- if the war in Iraq is over; if OPEC's third-biggest producer (Venezuela) is again cranking out 3 million barrels a day; and if civil unrest eases in Nigeria, the fourth-largest source of U.S. oil imports in January.

Q I wish you would stop beating around the bush about high oil prices -- dwindling supplies, crude oil prices are higher, special blend, because the market will bear it, etc. The main underlying reason for this mess is because the environmental extremist politicians in California insist we use a special form of gas that is limited. You touched on this but did a tap dance around this main cause. Until politicians in California change their extremist attitudes, which don't really help much (look at MTBE), we will always get screwed. It's up to voters to change it by not adopting such anal-retentive environmentalist attitudes. John Formale

A But the reformulated gasoline we use -- first MTBE and now ethanol -- is part of a federal mandate. California didn't want to use ethanol, but Midwest politicians (both liberals and conservatives) were successful in pushing the corn-based additive.

Q I am glad I am not living in Europe, where gas is almost $5 a gallon. Ouch! I feel grateful we're paying $2.17 a gallon. Yes, gas is expensive and so is living here. Next topic. Michael McWalters Alviso

A Right on.

Contact Gary Richards at mrroadshow@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5335.