It's hovering around $1.04 - $1.06 a litre in Ontario, Canada right now for 87.

It's probably because of all the SubPrime mortgages...

It's blamed for everything else, why should this be any different

 

Just because it got me thinking, I decided to do the math....

At $4/gallon for 1,000 mi. (roughly 1 month), let's compare 18 mpg to 30 mpg.

1,000 mi. / 18mpg x $4 = $222
1,000 mi. / 30mpg x $4 = $133
Difference = $89

That is assuming $4/gallon and you can get a car with 30mpg. The Prius gets around 35-40mpg in the real world, even though it is rated at 46 combined EPA MPG.

I always though the mpg thing was overstated and the saving wouldn't be that great, but $89/mo. is a descent chunk of change. It still would be worth it for me to drive a car I like (love), but still, I can see how it adds to the costs of the vehicle to the point where it would turn a lot of people off.

Now, if we can just do something about the continuous record-breaking profits the oil companies are experiencing. Clearly, they don't NEED to sell oil at that price. But that is a different topic altogether......

 

I think that's a good point: is it worth it to you spend more to drive a car your passionate about driving? For people who think of cars as an appliance like a refrigerator, probably not. So they drive around in their econocubes.

 

I blame Global Warming!

 

my commute is about 50 miles every day. 5 times a day so roughly 1000 miles a month. times that by 12 and ur lookin at atleast a $1,100 difference a year. thats just commuting to and from work. its not just the money though, its the principle. the fact that these oil companies are just raking in the money off of us hard working people is sickening. something needs to be done. contrary to what the government is saying, yes the US is in a recession. an american dollar is losing its worth and it continues to decline.

SUPPOSEDLY GM is going to release their Chevrolet Volt. if they ever did i think id buy it. an all electric sports car? hell yea.

sorry about hijacking the thread, i just had to vent alittle bit.......just filled up at the pump ahahahaha

 

FYI, US Dollar value alone compared to other currencies hasn't been indicative of US economic well being since we came off the gold standard.... Are things bleak? Depends on how well the Federal Reserve handles the banks in the next 6 months.... And it's hardly just the oil companies... how much taxes (city, county, state, federal) are on each gallon of gas you buy? Are you even able to find out? Guess what - the gas station legally cannot tell you. Have those fuel taxes ever gone down?

Is driving a car that gets twice the gas mileage worth it? Depends on a lot of variables.
But for me... I drive around 15,000 miles a year, if I assume gas at $3.25/g (what am I? a fortune teller? meh.) and assume 20mpg for my GT (I average less). That gas will cost me $12,187.50 over five years. With price being equal I would save $6,093.75 if my car got 40 mpg. Assuming diesel price of $4 a gallon, and 40mpg (fairly low end, diesel hybrids in two years should be 60-75 realistically), that savings narrows to $4,687.5 over five years.

For $6k extra fuel costs over five years, I'm happy with my Mustang GT as a daily driver. In three years I'll buy something that performs roughly the same (but won't sound nearly as good) that gets 40-60mpg and keep the Mustang for fun and novelty.

 

We're currently paying $3.50 to $3.90 a gallon in the SFBay area.

Martin

 

Lol, yeah, but that's like in downtown Chicago... you pay an extra $0.25 - $0.50 if you actually buy the gas in the city. Tends to be combination of market geography and city/county tax levies. So most people don't buy their gas in the city if they can help it....

 

I would have to agree that it's more the current economy that's hurting sales than what features the current Mustang offers or does not offer. I waited a year before I took the plunge for this reason. I just didn't need to be saddled with a car payment then. Yeah, the Mustang could use a refreshening but not a radical one. Change the exterior mirrors (make them "body-colored" for crissakes!) and offer more in the way of exterior color choice beyond the latest red. But hey, it's still a pretty car.

 

If you want that 400 HP vehicle. Whipple it!!!. You can have your Ford dealer install it (when CARB finally approves it) and get some warranty too. That gets you 400 hp+ and if you want a little more and to stay safe get the HO kit -- but put the 8 lb pulley on -- that will get you 400 at the wheels. You can have what you want!!

I think that you're seeing the lack of a refresh -- but I also think there was a huge pent up demand for this car in 05 and 06 -- + the competition doesn't go away. Nothing is selling wonderfully. My dealer has a GT 500 coupe, a Shelby GT Coupe and a Bullitt on the floor -- probably can buy any one of the three for no more than sticker -- so if you love these cars, which you should if you're here -- it is a great time to buy.

 

These prices are horrible.. we pay $ 0.83 per gallon (93 Octane).. this is why V8 and V12 cars are affordable in here..

I feel sorry for you guys...

 

Thats basically what the Bullitt and Shelby GT are. But the **** Shelby name makes the SGT almost as much as the GT500 and not any faster than a normal GT with about $2500 is mods (intake, tune, suspension) because well...THAT'S ALL IT IS!! C'mon Ford, give us 350-400hp. After all, how hard can it be?

 

Didn't Ford cut down on the rental fleet sales? If alot of the sales loss was in the V6 segment (and I know Ford pumped alot of Mustangs onto rental car lots) then this may have accounted for a good fraction of the sales down turn.

 

Lots of 07 new Mustangs at the local dealers around here with 5 Gs off the window sticker.
Most are plain jane V6s.

 

Your better off just keeping the Mustang. I have a couple of cars, including 4, 6 and 8 cylinders. My 4 cylinder Subaru Legacy gets 24 MPG. My 06 Mustang GT 5-spd gets 22 MPG. These are both "mix" city and hwy driving. On the Highway, my Mustang gets 27 MPG and my Subaru gets 26. Four cylinders are good if the car is small. Soon as you start over taxing a little engine you start burning more fuel. Looking at the Infinity Q7 recently in Milwaukee Auto Show, I found that the V8 version and the V6 version were only 2 MPG different.

If you really have to save money on fuel, buy a motorcycle or scooter. You can't just put a smaller engine in a car and expect miracles. You have to downsize everything. The best power to weight ratio usually lends to decent mileage. Look at Vettes, a 6 spd manual can get up to 37 MPG Hwy. Aerodynamic, light and V8 powered!

 

Yes Ford has cut rental sales, but they did that when the S197 came out in 2004, so the recent decline in Mustang sales have nothign to do with less rental sales.

 

If it's the economy, please explain why Mustang sales are down 28%, but the total sales of all vehicles are down less than 5%.

 

Because people are buying more "practical" and "fuel efficient" cars rather than sporty cars. If the economy is poor and gas prices are high, people will not spend on what is perceived as a "toy", such as a sporty car.

350Z sales were down 29.9% in Feb. So it's not just the Mustang. G37 sales were up, however, most likely due to the debut of the new design.

 

Bingo! That's exactly why I don't see Ford putting a 4 cylinder in the S197. There are better technologies out there now.

 

Everyboy's made some good points and I think the summation of all of them are the reason sales are off. Like most folks, I've seen really felt the impact of higher gas prices. I'm now paying $42 to a week to fill up my Accord, when I used to never make it to $20 to fill up a few years ago. Gas averaged around $1.20 a gallon for 20+ years, and now people are feeling the pinch, since it has hovered at over $3 per gallon for a long time. My annual merit raise didn't cover my increasing expenses, and I'm now loosing financial ground.

I also don't think the revised EPA figures printed on the sticker are helping much, since all cars at have lower estimates. The stock market is tanking, 401k values are plummeting, inflation is on the rise, and equity in peoples homes is vanishing. Loans are getting harder tom come by, and as a result people are thinking twice before making a major purchase.

A lot of this is hopefully cyclical, but something we haven't seen in years. I don't think we'll ever see the relatively cheap gas prices we saw years ago with global demand on the rise.