Hi,

I *wish* car fuel prices in the Yoo-Ess reflected the true cost!!!
Given the car-centric society and car-centric street systems with the
concommittant lack of decent mass transportation, that may be the only
way to wean the great unwashed yankee masses from their one-person
transportation behomoths.  Raise the price per gallon!!!!!

But, it would also help to offer the variety of cars here that are
available in, say, Britain.  (SimonP being a brit, that's the
alternate system I have information about.)  Specifically, if a
diesel/electric hybrid shows up on the Yoo-Ess market then we'll
seriously consider it.  Prius?  Not even in the running.  Our Mazda 3
sedan recently got 35 mpg during S's commute.  The Prius
*realistically* gets 45 mpg in similar circumstances.  For the
additional price and additional risk of untested (long-term)
technology, we're not going with the Prius.

I commute about 12 (hilly) miles to work.  I generally get on the
freeway, but I don't need to.  Sounds to me like an ideal
all-electric-vehicle scenario.  I wish there was the infrastructure in
place so that I could do it.  (In the meantime, I'm seriously
considering spending the $1500 for an electric-assist bicycle. for my
commute.)

The best era for gas-station service that I can think of wos the late
'80's.  Prior to a serious road-trip, I used to drive into the
slightly-higher-priced service station that offered full-serve.  I'd
tell them to fill it up, and that I was planning on a road trip so I'd
be delighted to have them check everything.  Other times I'd just go
to the local pump-it-yerself lower-priced local alternate.  Nice to
have the choices!

Re the good old days ... in the good old days I'd likely have died a
few years younger than I am now.  So they were good days only for some
values of "good" ...

B&S
'87 Westy 'Esmerelda Blanc'
SoCal

On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:35:45 -0400, you wrote:

>You can still get that full service, 5 guys at attention, each doing their
>thing like your own personal pit crew, they clean, inspect, pump, and primp
>all while shouting the status of their operations so they all know, and then
>they send you off and run into line to bow as you drive off... the gas costs
>$5-$7 a gallon, and the stations I'm talking about are in Tokyo but it still
>exists  :)
>
>
>Jim Akiba
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Loren Busch [mailto:starwagen@GMAIL.COM]
>Sent: 2007-06-29 6:58 PM
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: At the pump ...
>
>RE: Self Serve vs. Attendant Pumped Gas
>
>I love this thread.  It comes up about once a year.  Sometimes it starts
>with "I'm in Oregon (or New Jersy) and they won't let me pump my own gas" or
>it starts "I really miss the old days of full service gas stations".  The
>latter always from those of us with thin, gray, or no hair, the former from
>the younger generations.  There will be at least one story about the
>attendant that tried to put the gas into the '710' cap in the back.  And
>there will be a least one mention of gas in a diesel (talk to Susan on
>WetWesties).  And I could (but won't) tell some tales about car owners,
>tales from working in a 'full service' all night station in the mid '60's
>
>Yes, times change.  And thank someone the 'good old days' are gone....