Alabamians are getting creative when it comes to dealing with high gas prices. Across the country, AAA reports the average is $4.52 a gallon. That’s up almost 40 cents in a month, and it’s almost $1.40 higher than this time last year.Here in Alabama, the average is at $4.07 a gallon. That’s up 20 cents from last month and about $1.30 from last year. Many drivers are frustrated but feel stuck because they say no matter how high the price, they have to buy gas. But this sticker shock is pushing more drivers to consider alternatives. CJ Brown lives in Hoover. He said it costs him more than $60 to fill up his car. He added, “Ridiculous. I mean, you can’t even fill up nowadays. So I just get gas as the day goes. $10, $15, last me two days and do it again.”It’s a problem that is not affecting Jashawn Demmitt from Helena. “I’m not happy about the gas rising, so I had my wife get this Model Y,” he said. His entire family drives Tesla electric vehicles. He added, “My wife has this Model Y, and I have a Model 3.” Car dealers said most Alabamians aren’t too pumped to give up on gas. But they seem to be heading in that direction. Cody Secor works at Tameron Hyundai in Hoover. He said, “The last couple of months, I’ve had so many more people, they’re like, well, ‘I never thought about a hybrid,’ but gas is so much more expensive now that they’re open to it. And I would say 90% of customers that ask and are open to hybrids end up going with the hybrid.” Secor called the hybrids a bridge vehicle, giving drivers better fuel economy without having to plug in and with no concerns about how far you can go before you have to find a charging station. Demmitt believes once drivers give up on gas, they won’t look back. “Right now, I don’t think I’m going to go back to an actual gas-powered vehicle other than my motorcycle,” he said. “I don’t see a reason why other than the distance. Once EV cracks the distance feature, I’m never going to go back to gas.”For most people who have gas-powered vehicles, there are some ways to get more miles per gallon and more bang for your buck. Try to be as light as possible. Having a lot of junk, especially heavy items like tools, hurts gas mileage. Take some time now and clean out your car and trunk of anything you don’t need there.Your car is designed to be aerodynamic. Putting luggage, bikes or kayaks on your roof rack slows you down and makes your engine work harder and burn more gas. The same goes for when your windows are down: It creates drag that can slow you down.Finally, avoid quick take-offs. You want to get up to speed slowly and smoothly. Staying at 60 to 65 miles per hour is optimal to get the best gas mileage. Doing all these things can boost your fuel efficiency by as much as 40%.
HOMEWOOD, Ala. —
Alabamians are getting creative when it comes to dealing with high gas prices. Across the country, AAA reports the average is $4.52 a gallon. That’s up almost 40 cents in a month, and it’s almost $1.40 higher than this time last year.
Here in Alabama, the average is at $4.07 a gallon. That’s up 20 cents from last month and about $1.30 from last year.
Many drivers are frustrated but feel stuck because they say no matter how high the price, they have to buy gas. But this sticker shock is pushing more drivers to consider alternatives.
CJ Brown lives in Hoover. He said it costs him more than $60 to fill up his car. He added, “Ridiculous. I mean, you can’t even fill up nowadays. So I just get gas as the day goes. $10, $15, last me two days and do it again.”
It’s a problem that is not affecting Jashawn Demmitt from Helena.
“I’m not happy about the gas rising, so I had my wife get this Model Y,” he said. His entire family drives Tesla electric vehicles. He added, “My wife has this Model Y, and I have a Model 3.”
Car dealers said most Alabamians aren’t too pumped to give up on gas. But they seem to be heading in that direction.
Cody Secor works at Tameron Hyundai in Hoover. He said, “The last couple of months, I’ve had so many more people, they’re like, well, ‘I never thought about a hybrid,’ but gas is so much more expensive now that they’re open to it. And I would say 90% of customers that ask and are open to hybrids end up going with the hybrid.”
Secor called the hybrids a bridge vehicle, giving drivers better fuel economy without having to plug in and with no concerns about how far you can go before you have to find a charging station. Demmitt believes once drivers give up on gas, they won’t look back.
“Right now, I don’t think I’m going to go back to an actual gas-powered vehicle other than my motorcycle,” he said. “I don’t see a reason why other than the distance. Once EV cracks the distance feature, I’m never going to go back to gas.”
For most people who have gas-powered vehicles, there are some ways to get more miles per gallon and more bang for your buck.
Try to be as light as possible. Having a lot of junk, especially heavy items like tools, hurts gas mileage. Take some time now and clean out your car and trunk of anything you don’t need there.
Your car is designed to be aerodynamic. Putting luggage, bikes or kayaks on your roof rack slows you down and makes your engine work harder and burn more gas. The same goes for when your windows are down: It creates drag that can slow you down.
Finally, avoid quick take-offs. You want to get up to speed slowly and smoothly. Staying at 60 to 65 miles per hour is optimal to get the best gas mileage. Doing all these things can boost your fuel efficiency by as much as 40%.