Has the recession affected your motoring?

[rushmere]

Has the economic downturn made a difference to how much you use the car?

[Rex]

Post Copen, I probably dive a little more. It’s got to the ideal car for just ‘taking out for a spin’. Economical and fun fun fun.

Pre Copen, driving was a just a necessity, a function always for a purpose.

[machinehead]

I voted " makes no difference" but when I think about it, since I bought the Copen, I drive a little more at weekends simply for the pleasure of driving such a fun car.

It remains to be seen how much I drive the Copen over the winter but I have a friend who has a open top Smart and he told me he has the roof open all year round as long as it isn't raining.

And thinking about it, I used to be a biker and rode all year round. But then I was a lot younger then :)

M.

[Tringhenge]

It's my only car so no!

I have loved the better fuel consumption though :)

[cobilly]

I have written elsewhere that I drive a lot because of my job. That is driving other cars, not the Copen. The Copen, I had very little chance to drive so far, as I am waiting for some more free time and better weather. My routes take me to nice parts of Greece, and I hope to drive the Copen there when the weather turns better (it is all rain now, and snow on the mountains). I live in Greece, we will eventually get lots of sunshine :)

We also get... lots of bad economic reports and news about our national economy. All those things affect you, especially if you rely on honest work, promptly pay your taxes, expenses, and bills, and still manage to do all right. It is disappointing to realize that you operate in a very unsafe economic environment, with bouncing checks, small businesses going bankrupt, a complex, slow moving, possibly corrupt, bureaucratic system, tax laws that change each year, etc.

Returning to practical things, I don't know about your part of the world, but here gas prices (and prices in general) seem to always be going up, regardless of the petrol dollars/barrel price, the dollar/euro rate, or the ridiculously low wages employees get. Because of this, and as I make hundreds of kilometers each week, I am more careful where I refuel, trying to support cheaper gas stations. I admit that I was not that careful in the past.

[clive_copen]

Since buying Clive I don't think I've driven any more than previous. The only difference now is that on sunny days we can take off to the mountains or the sea with the top down, instead of being enclosed in an ordinary car. The mpg is pretty much the same for both my motors, so when dusting off the driving gloves, enjoyment is the deciding factor not cost.