Quote:
Originally Posted by REDVAN
Damn if you can't afford an extra $20 on gas, then maybe you shouldn't be going on a couple thousand dollar holiday?
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I hear ya and your right. I am usually the last guy who ever takes fuel costs into consideration in Canada but when its overseas its a different ball game for a lot of people because of what we are used to.
For example a 1.6 or 2.0L turbodiesel is considered a very powerful engine in a lot of places in Europe. Cars or SUV's with a 3L V6 can literally get you laid with an impressive amount of beautiful women because they consider you wealthy enough to afford the fuel costs.
A friend of mine who drives a large Tahoe SUV in Calgary and loves roomy cars rented a Mercedes Benz van type for his family on a recent trip to Greece and Italy. I warned him about the costs and he brushed them off than its like
$4000 for the rental for a month
135 liter tank at 1.6 Euro per liter of fuel times approx $1.60 Canadian per liter. Now each tank is running $200 Canadian.
All the driving to see friends and family and he ends up with 5000 km's on the trip and than there is the toll roads which ran sometimes $8-10 for EVERY approx 25 minutes of driving for his "passenger bus" category.
If this was a typical round trip drive to Banff for a Calgarian and his Tahoe SUV it would be
Approx $40 in tolls, 35 liters of fuel from downtown Calgary at $2.50 per liter for fuel costs of just under $90.
It's death by a thousand cuts sometimes on vacation so even if you can save 10-15% on fuel by having properly inflated tires (check them yourself for fuel costs and safety) and a manual transmission it can add up in a hurry for a longer vacation.