i remember 2008

2008 is a year I remember because that's when gas prices spiked and stayed that way for a while, and at the time I was driving a stupid truck that averaged around 17-18 MPG.

There's also something else I remember. Going to a gas station to fill the truck, and seeing an older guy at a pump with his little car, a Nissan Versa Note. I felt two things. Regret and jealousy. Regret in that I was driving a stupid truck, and jealous in that I wasn't driving a little car like that other guy had.

I made a promise to myself when I saw that. "Never again."

Never again would I own a gas-sucking stupid truck and be caught paying for it literally every time I go to the pump. Some time later, I finally got rid of that truck, and have been driving small cars ever since.

The car I drive now is small and over 15 years old, but with a proper driving technique can achieve 40+ MPG. No, it's not a hybrid. Just a regular gas car with 5-speed manual transmission. The proper driving technique I'm referring to is hypermiling, and I know it well.

It's now 2026, and sure enough, another gas price spike. For how long? No idea. But when I got wind that gas prices were going up again, I immediately went to the gas station and filled the tank, which in one day jumped up about 40 cents per gallon more compared to the previous day. Thankfully, I was already at 3/4 tank, so the cost wasn't too bad.

After filling the tank, it was once again time to start using the hypermiling driving techniques I learned all the way back in '08. And they're just as useful now as they were 18 years ago.

On a trip I just drove that was about 15 miles away, both highway and city driving were involved. I saw more than a few cars and stupid trucks driving real slow instead of barreling down the road like they ordinarily do. Those drivers know. They remember high gas prices and are already slowing down.

There were two other things I noticed that are the same as the last time a gas price spike happened. Other drivers being far less annoyed and more accepting of others driving slow, and being more annoyed at anybody going fast.

What happens if gas prices skyrocket?

Will HEV and EV car sales increase? No, because nobody can afford a new car. As if anyone wants to take on an 84-month auto loan. I don't think so.

Instead, people will just keep the cars they have, drive less on weekdays, and more on weekends.

What people do by default whenever a gas price spike happens is a) go without, and b) change daily errands to weekly.

On a daily commute, if that included a stop to a coffee place every day, that stops. Coffee is made at home, put in a travel mug (there are some real nice options for those these days), and that's that.

If errands are run a few times a week, that's rescheduled so everything is done on Saturday. I think the smarter move would be to get all the errand stuff done on a Wednesday if it all possible, because Saturday is when all the grocery and department store parking lots get jammed.

"I'll get there when I get there"

For that 15 mile trip, I only looked at the ETA on my Garmin DriveSmart once. After that, I said whatever, I'm in no rush, I'll get there whenever.

What I was going to do but didn't was craft a custom route to the place I was going to, extreme hypermiler style. One hypermiling technique is to make every effort to avoid stopping, because when stopped, you're getting 0 MPG.

I could have studied the map, then used the Garmin to customize a route where I stop the least, avoiding every stop sign and traffic light possible. But then my brain kicked in, and I remembered there's a whole lot of road construction going on all over the place. Sure, I could look up where all the construction is and adjust my route accordingly, but that would have been too much hassle, and possibly used more gas just trying to avoid stopping.

I just said screw it, punched in the location to the DriveSmart and headed out. Yes, I did encounter construction, but it was only minimal.

"I'll get there when I get there" is definitely a frame of mind you must use when hypermiling, because it's always going to take longer to get places when doing it. More time is spent, but money is saved. However, when you hypermile enough, over time you figure out ways to get places where barely any time is lost at all, so it's definitely worth doing.

2008's gas price spike sucked for driving. As for the spike now in 2026, again I do not know how long this spike will last for (nor does anyone else), but this time around I have the right car and hypermiling knowledge so it won't sting nearly as bad.

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