A few weeks ago, during a one week Mid May vacation my wife and I took a trip via my Mustang GT Convertible to one of our favorite destinations, Nelson, B.C.
She likes Nelson for the shopping and the lovely ambiance this town has. I like going simply because I love the beautiful drive there. It's about a 200 mile one way trip through some of the most beautiful and serene selection of mountain highways, probably in the world.
Planning a topless trip at that time of year can be dicey, weather wise. And this spring has been and continues to be unseasonably cool and wet.
But we got lucky. We left on a beautiful sunny Sunday Morning and returned on an equally nice Tuesday afternoon. Monday was rainy and cool in Nelson.
It was a perfect drive. And what really enhanced the perfection was the fact that there was no traffic whatsoever. For pretty much the whole trip we had the highway to ourselves. Minutes would go by, sometimes up to 10 minutes without seeing another car or truck in either direction.
Has the price of gasoline scared travellers off the road or was it just an oddity that we had no company on these roads?
If it was the price of gas I say, keep it high. My Mustang, though not what you would say is a gas guzzler is not a thrifty car. In the old scale of measure I get about 25 miles per Imperial Gallon. Not great but there are vehicles that get a lot worse that aren't near as much fun.
A trip like we had was priceless and well worth whatever the price of gasoline might be.
I guess the main reason that I don't care about gas prices is the fact that I drive pretty much for pleasure only. My drive to work is short and uses maybe 2 or 3 liters a day, if that.
I can choose how much I pay for gas in a given week or month. It all depends on how much pleasure I want. And what is the price for pleasure?
Some people think nothing of dropping $50-$100 for a dinner at a nice restaurant (the thought of which abhors me as a colossal waste of money). Others might spend up to $100 of more for a day of skiing. A case of beer costs how much...I don't really know.
But I liken these expenses to what I pay for a tank of gas. A four hour road trip that cost me $35 last year now costs me $50. So what? I'm not going to gripe over $15 when I consider the fun I got out of driving my 'Stang with the top down and the smells and sounds of the forests in my senses.
I don't care how expensive gasoline gets. The more expensive, the more road that belongs to me. I say bring it on. Raise the price.
I had to smile in bemusement at the story on TV last night. This fellow was trying to sell his Jeep CJ because it just drank too much gas (of course it did, its a piece of crap ancient technology relic that should have been retired years ago, but whatever, he loved it anyway).
He was selling it because he recently bought a new fuel efficient vehicle that will save him lots of money on fuel.
The brand of his new vehicle wasn't mentioned but lets say its a Honda Civic which gets 40 miles per gallon. Lets also say that it costs him $20,000. Let's say he gets $10,000 for his Jeep (if he's lucky).
You can buy an awful lot of gas for $10,000.
I think I'll keep my Mustang for a good long while. It's all paid for and there aren't many fuel efficient cars that can come close to its Fun Factor.
