Sun.com Customer Experience and Stuff: Notes from the Sun.com customer experience team.

Yeesh... I wish Americans would look at gas prices in the rest of the world before they complain! Maybe now they'll begin to learn that walking also works for journeys over 100 yards.

Posted by 192.18.1.4 on May 22, 2006 at 04:22 AM PDT #

You do have a point about the complaining, but you also have to realize that when someone says, "Oh you Americans have it so good, here in Britain/Japan we have to pay X while you pay Y", you can turn to them and say "Yes, but lets no skew the facts...." First of all, cars in the US average ~27 mpg, but in Britain it's ~42 and in Japan it's 55....kinda puts the whole we pay more for gas argument to sleep when you get so much more for it, doesn't it? BTW, yes it's no one else's "fault" for our crappy gas mileage, but none the less it's a fact. Second of all, the US is so vast and spread out that on average people have to commute 28 miles to work one way! This is not the case in Britain and Japan, partially because of land area, and partially because of urban development strategy. Again, it's no one else's fault that this is true but it is a fact, and one that puts the gas prices into perspective. BTW, if you doubt me, look around for the stats, they vary but the numerous don't lie :)

Posted by Mike on May 22, 2006 at 09:35 AM PDT #

Walk over 100 yards? From what I have seen so far here, not in LA.

Posted by Martin on May 22, 2006 at 09:37 AM PDT #

Americans don't commute longer because the USA is "bigger" or "more spread out". That's like saying that Americans don't walk because they're fat assed bastards. Oh wait. The problem with these mindless assertions is cause and effect. You see a correlation and you impute whatever cause and effect you like that happens to leave you blameless. And of course, that works fine for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for people who care about facts and reality, so the truthiness of your assertions simply doesn't matter to Europeans. To Europeans, Americans are fat assed bastards *because* they don't walk. To Europeans, Americans commute longer *because* of historically low oil prices (through the intermediary of suburban and exurban sprawl). And now you can suffer for your governments' historical stupidity. Oh wait, I think I was supposed to cry over the poor pathetic Americans. Boo hoo, boo hoo. FYI Duncan, 25 miles each way to work? That's nothing in the States. Way to prove the other guy's point though! Oh, and the "true cost" of gasoline would ideally account for military protection for oil shipments and oil fields. But I suppose you don't want to hear about facts, do you?

Posted by Richard on May 22, 2006 at 10:09 AM PDT #

FYI Richard, 25miles is not a long way, never said it wasn't. I do indeed travel further to work here in America, it's now 40 miles to work one way, but that's because of my choices and also the 'fact' that Gasoline is whole lot cheaper, even if it were to double soon (hope not) it's still better for me to take that longer commute to live in a home and area I like and still work for place that I choose to. And yes, I like to hear 'facts'. But just guessing them up is nothing more than guessing. Do you happen to know if it's true that Japan has very low speed limits on it's highways.. a co-worker here tells me that it's about 40 mile an hour or lower. I'd like to know if that it true. Maybe that would explain the high MPG if, in fact, that was a true figure.

Posted by Duncan Cunningham on May 22, 2006 at 11:53 AM PDT #

Duncan, it is extremely difficult for me to take you seriously when you ask a question in public that would have been answered by Google with less effort on your part. Google's (or Wikipedia's) answer to "speed limit in Japan": The general limit is 60 km/h except for divided national highways where the limit is 100 km/h. Urban areas are usually zoned at 40 km/h. Limits in Japan are different from most countries by: having no separate urban limit, with urban limits being set by zoning rather than statute. emergency vehicles are not exempt but have a higher speed limit there are many lower limits set for vehicle classes other than ordinary cars and motorcycles. [And 100 km/h is about 60 mph so you can tell your coworker he's full of it.] As for "guessing up facts" you are oh so wrong on that issue. The only thing I'm guessing is that as high as Europe's gas taxes are, they still don't cover the total cost of gasoline. Which includes but is not limited to: * costs of motorways construction and maintenance * costs of condemnation of land for motorways * costs of urban congestion * costs of policing * costs of pollution * costs of lack of exercise * costs of accidents and murders (ie, "pedestrian fatalities") * costs of associated social inequality (read Ivan Illich to understand) * associated psychopathological costs * costs of military adventures * costs of military protection * costs of Imperial dependence * costs of backwardness in the Supply regions Any accounting of the total costs of car ownership, not done by a right-wing nut of course, gives a figure high enough to make you choke. There actually are several of these floating around the web. But of course, in our great capitalist, individualistic market economies, these costs are all socialized. Or whatever Maggie Thatcher would say since according to her society does not exist. And the real kick in the groin is that *car ownership doesn't increase your standard of living*.

Posted by Richard on May 22, 2006 at 04:09 PM PDT #

Could you please note that the SI unit for volume is the liter and that for speed is meters/sec (or, to make thinking easier) is kilometers/hour?
Thanks - the rest of the world.

Posted by Christian Schmidt on May 22, 2006 at 11:14 PM PDT #

richard, get a life mr. high and mighty, its a internet discussion board and no one has made a direct insult at you but you tend to be on the defensive, i know you will never see this but you are a bastard

Posted by david on March 16, 2007 at 10:55 AM PDT #

Could you please note that the SI unit for volume is the liter and that for speed is meters/sec (or, to make thinking easier) is kilometers/hour?
Thanks - the rest of the world.

The SI unit for volume is cubic meter. Get your facts straight dumb European.
America RULES. Europe DROOLS. Yeah, gas prices here are cheaper because we have more crude oil and refining capacity here. Europe sucks because they have no oil and no refinery capacity. HAHAHA. Don't be a sore loser. I never thought gas price in the U.S. was expensive anyway. We also get to drive fast cars with high horsepower here. EUROPEANS = LOSERS

Posted by Dan on August 27, 2007 at 06:02 AM PDT #

Also see hilarious gas price humor at http://www.plasticapproval.com/Top_5_Ways_to_Save_Money_On_Gas.html

Posted by Lee Johnson on July 13, 2008 at 04:58 PM PDT #