I have 5 cars- so sort of

 

Absolutely not! Considering I owned performance mustangs this car is superior with gas mileage. I feel like if I can afford the car I sure as hell can afford the gas. Enjoy it!!! 😄

 

No.

 

No, I see others spend $150+ on their SUV fill ups and I don't feel so bad.

 

Yeah, I would say I have cut back on driving my Vette with the high gas prices. But, my Cadillac CT-4 also uses premium fuel, just gets a bit better gas mileage.

 

Most of my Posts this Thread relate to why I don't use Top Tier, not reducing my DD E-Ray driving with high gas prices (which look like they will continue.) But where on the short (~20 mile round trip) i take often to a local grocery store, where i enjoyed driving the E-Ray and always did, I now use the wife's BMW X5 Hybrid!

I can "afford" to drive the E-Ray AND the high prices for 93 octane. AND Top Tier IF I thought the extra price at stations selling weren't taking advantage by marking up Premium 93 Octane gas much higher than necessary. Heck in SC we get gas from the Colonial Pipeline. It's all the same gas with cleaning additives placed in the delivery truck, The additives are either what the EPA specifies as a minimum or perhaps as much as twice (an extra 3/4 oz/10 gallons) added for Top Tier. I check and not unusual for 93 Octane Top Tier to be $0.50/gallon more than I pay at Sam's Club. Their 87 octane Top Tier is more competitive! More than pays for my twice/year adding a 20 oz bottle of Techron (Chevron's once patented cleaning additive is what started Top Tier.)

SIDEBAR
Why should I waist $5 fuel (takes ~ 1 gallon to drive ~20 miles) when I can drive my wife's Hybrid on electric only power. I come home plug it in and at it's times to charge >9 PM when we are on Duke Power's $0.053 kWh discount power and essentially paying ~$1/gallon! (We have been of time of use power rates since moving to SC in 1985.) Average power rate in SC IF not on Time of Use rate is ~0.12/kWh .We pay ~$0.17 kWh on the few daytime hours now that they charge us the peak rate. Duke pays folks who install solar power for electric they generate. Unlike some States like California, where there is big incentive to install solar, I see very few homes with solar. BUT businesses (and my local neighbor farmer) install huge solar farms and generate more power than they need and sell it back to Duke power.

All my 7 Vettes have been DD's. The other car in the garage in addition to the Vette and my wife's SUV is my ProStreet Rod with an 8.2 Liter Big Block, tubbed chassis, no OD trans and best I get NOT using the loud pedal is ~8 mpg! Be silly to think of using it. In fact it only goes to 1 or 2 local Car Shows /year.

There is another reason most folks don't consider or care! Electric power use is MUCH more energy efficient! The ICE is very energy inefficient. Only about ~15% of the energy you put in your gas tank goes to propel the car forward. Yep ~85% goes to heat via coolant, directly out the exhaust, idling going nowhere and when braking (with a small amount to friction.) We toured the local Duke Power complex. They have a Nuclear Power Plant (that is always operating.) Had a coal fired plant they shut down. At the time they had 6 hugh gas turbine generators, far bigger the the biggest airplane Jet engine powered with Natural Gas (BTW Natural Gas produces half the CO2/BTU as coal! ) Those can be turned on within minutes. They are typically ~50% energy efficient NOT 15% . At night with low industrial needs, home power stoves, washing etc use is low and there is zero power line capacity issues etc.

Yep feel better not wasting energy!

 

California: just spent $6.19 for Premium yesterday. I close my eyes, insert card.

 

I still take the long way to get places, it is what it is with gas prices. I just can't stop driving my C8 over the price increase. My other choice is an X5 with a 4.4L, so not better in MPG.

 

Not at all

 

We have three vehicles that require premium gas. Last night paid $5.20 for 91 octane. We are planning trips a little more carefully now.

 

No, not my daily driver.

 

Not in the least! They're still less down here than they were during the Biden & Covid era !

 

It's getting close. Hopefully it won't get to the levels of mid-2022, where it was close to $5/gallon, but it's the highest it's been in three years. I am paying about $4.60/gal for 93 here in the ATL area at my local QuikTrip (for Top Tier fuel - can get Kroger gas for about $0.15 less but isn't Top Tier). Admittedly it has dropped a little since last time I filled up. edit: Went today to top off the wife's car and ended up paying $4.79 at that same QT. So, maybe the price is dynamic based on time of day.

 

As a retired school teacher, money is always a concern. With gas here in the Phoenix area, around $5.50 for premium, I have been driving it less.

 

So, if you drive 12,000 miles per year and the price per gallon increased $1, then that would mean an extra $600-$700 per year or around $50 per month. Now divide that by 4 for most Corvette owners driving habits. That would come to about $12.50 to $15 per month. That is nothing compared to the depreciation, transmission maintenance cost, tire replacement cost, etc on a $75K -$240K high end automobile. Most owners pay so much more just in dealer fees, modifications and sales tax than they would ever pay for the increase in gas prices for their Corvette during ownership.

 

Didn't buy a toy thinking about gas mileage or the cost of operating the car.

 

I paid $5.739 for 93 octane at Costco in SW Washington tonight but that doesn't diminish the enjoyment I get out of driving this car! Thank God my DD is an EV!

 

It took only 135 posts for someone to do the math. Well done sir.