We are in a gas crisis in all but the name, gas in my area is over $6 a gallon and even in states where it’s normally “cheap” (taxpayer subsidized) it’s still well over $4. Its been six years since COVID and since then we saw it peak, drop to slightly lower but still higher than ever before covid, and now this. It also appears that gas, even if it does go down, will never be “cheap” again.

and yet, even with all of that I still see new giant cars rolling off the logs. Giant Santa Fes, brand new F150s, brand new plates. People are still buying these. Not luxury “I can spend whatever I want” rich folks, everyday people buying these things.

What is going on in peoples heads? I know most never take gas into account when buying a car and then are all shocked pikachu at the pump, but seriously even now it’s not an issue?

I have seen maybe, maybe one new car that was a hybrid out of my anecdotal experience. No one considering those, or an EV, or god forbid biking or taking transit. (In my area both are very viable alternatives).

I’m just so exasperated at how stupid people are being. They think 50k for a car is expensive and then never take into account what powers the damn thing.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

  • lunatic_lobster@lemmy.world
    3·
    6 hours ago

    Let’s take your example of a Hyundai Santa Fe. 5 year total cost of ownership according to Kelley blue book is ~$64,00 while the plug in hybrid Hyundai tuscon is ~$54,000 and the Hyundai kona is ~$49,000. (Note I adjusted the numbers for all up to account for $6.00 gas)

    If the question is about small vs big the big tuscon is about the same as the small kona since it is a hybrid. So you can have big and save at the pump. Now why would someone spend $10,000 more for a Santa fe over a tuscon? I dunno, car buying is complicated and emotions come into play quite a bit.

    I suspect you wouldn’t balk at someone getting a small car at an upper trim level, but that could be them spending $20k more for fancy gizmos and leather seats.

    The more surprising thing is people are spending $50,000k for 5 years of transportation regardless of energy source. If you want to save money on transportation, paying cash, buying used, or keeping what you already have are much bigger savings options than how big the vehicle is.

    I’ve seen someone trade in a big v8 SUV with horrible gas mileage for a small sporty sedan and told themselves they were saving money. But the 15% 5 year loan they picked up was telling a different story.