woberto Report This Comment
Date: March 23, 2026 10:12AM

Right now is no big deal but who knows what will happen in the coming months.
If you are truly living on the edge of your paycheck and can't afford a spike in the price of petrol (gas) then you need to take a look at your life choices.

pulse Report This Comment
Date: March 23, 2026 10:16AM

I don't really give a toss about the price of petrol, though it'll be annoying because just like during covid everybody will use it as an excuse to jack up prices, whether it's legit or not.

So long as we can still get it, because I didn't buy the Tesla last time I bought a car

woberto Report This Comment
Date: March 23, 2026 10:34AM

Lots of the world, including the Top End of Australia, has towns and cities powered by diesel and gas.
So forget the cars, imaging when the power goes off indefinitely, then we'll have some fun.
You would need a 3,000 kilometer extension cord to get it back on.

pulse Report This Comment
Date: March 23, 2026 12:14PM

Ah but you see I don't live there. For a great many reasons..

woberto Report This Comment
Date: March 23, 2026 10:16PM

I hear ya, been living up here on and off for the last five years and I am definitely in this for the money.

quasi Report This Comment
Date: March 24, 2026 10:49AM

pulse Report This Comment
Date: March 24, 2026 11:12AM

Or the massive, massive supplies of coal we have in the Gippsland region.

We're decommissioning our coal fired plants though. Moving a lot more towards solar and wind, plus batteries. I guess we'll see how all that works out.

I'm vaguely interested in getting rooftop solar and a battery for the house. If I do that, I'll definitely buy an EV. I don't know what type though.. because I don't really like any of them. The Tesla 3 was .. fine? I've got mate with a BYD Seal. That seems OK.

I want something nice but I'm not shelling out for any of the proper Euro EVs which really restricts me.

woberto Report This Comment
Date: March 24, 2026 11:44AM

Rivian or nothing. [rivian.com]
But if it's about value for money it has to be Chinese. Impossible to beat.

quasi Report This Comment
Date: March 25, 2026 10:55AM

Volkswagen bought Navistar International Trucks, formerly International Harvester, and along with that they got the trademarked name Scout which was International's last light duty truck brand, a Jeep competitor, last produced in 1980 yet remaining very popular in the off road driving community. In 2022 VW began the process of bringing back the Scout as an all electric truck but also available with a small petrol range extender they call the Harvester in a nod to the company's roots. They're well along in building a completely new factory in the state of South Carolina (BMW also has a large production facility in the state). Having been raised in a town where International still builds medium duty trucks in a factory where my father worked and retired from, International is kind of close to my heart and I hope this venture does well. My first daily driver was a 1973 International Travelall which was larger than the original Scout but with similar lines and closer in size to the new Scout which is supposed to enter production in 2028.



[www.scoutmotors.com]

woberto Report This Comment
Date: March 28, 2026 06:45AM

Someone actually fills up my car for me, it's a company vehicle, so prices meh. But I took note today at the local United servo and it's still cheaper than water so I guess that's OK... for now. Let's see what it's like in a month from now.

pulse Report This Comment
Date: March 28, 2026 06:51AM

As I said, price is negligible for me, don't really care, don't do enough miles to care.
So long as it's available then whatever. I mostly work from home, and bike when I don't, so for the most part it doesn't matter much to me.
It's more the impact it will have, either directly or because of price gouging asshats, on prices of everything else (and thus inflation and all that shit too).

woberto Report This Comment
Date: March 28, 2026 07:01AM

Most people are meh about it but cost of goods will steadily increase and then we will see. All road freight in Australia increased the fuel levy by 30% last week, that's an extra 3% or 4% depending where you are. We pay 9.4% fuel levy and that has gone up to 12.0% so right now it's all "absorbable".