European Fuel Prices

[jayb]

I just got back from a 10 day business trip to Europe.  I spent most of the time driving around through Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Denmark.  As a result, I saw plenty of sights like the one shown in the picture below:



This pricing is in Euros per liter.  The exchange rate is currently $1.38 per Euro, and there are about 4 liters per gallon.  Doing the math, at 1.539 Euros per liter for 10% Ethanol fuel, this is a price of $8.49 per gallon!

Glad to be back in the good ol' USA 

[jmlay]

Too bad the conversion rate is roughly 1.5x the US $ & that i for a liter not a gallon... "Super" would equate to ~5.94 a gallon.

[thatdarncat]

Makes a person appreciate what European enthusiasts go through to enjoy one of our vintage American cars. And amazed no one has asked what it takes to put a turbo 4 cylinder in a '65 Galaxie lol.

[machoneman]

Yes, European and English fuel prices would amaze most Americans. In France, as well as other Continental countries, most cars have tiny, tiny engines, most well under 1.5 - 2.0 liters, just for that reason. To top that off, many also assess very heavy taxes on license, registration and/or an even heavier, progressive purchase price taxes based upon a complex formula primarily based on engine size! Someone driving say a 5.0 liter engine could easily pay 3X or more in initial purchase tax and/or annual renewals than say a 2.0 driver.

Yikes, indeed.   

[jayb]

Bob, you hit on the other shocking thing that I learned in Europe with respect to vehicles.  In Denmark, which is a VERY heavily taxed country, the sales tax on a new car is 180%!!!  This means that if you want to buy a car for $20,000, you will pay an additional $36,000 in taxes at the time of purchase.  This is not the case in most other European countries, especially Germany, so I was told that most people in Denmark go to Germany to buy their cars.

[mlcraven]

In Denmark, a very small nation with well-developed public transit, automobiles are considered a luxury item and are taxed as such.  Many Europeans drive turbo diesels.

[fe66comet]

No hot rodding big blocks if you live there, may as well mix your own e85 it would be cheaper.

[Heo]

Thats why i drive big cars with big Engines
If i have to pay that much i want to get some for the the money

[MustangGT]

Yesterday I put 15 US gallons in the Mustang at 10.13USD pr US gallon for Premium
Also put 22 US gallons in the Tahoe at 8.87USD for Regular.
A total of 347USD.

Excuse me for bringing Chevy into this but I saw a price comparison in a Norwegian car magazine a little while ago. A new Camaro costs around 60.000USD in our neighbour country Sweden. Here the same car costs 265.000USD.
And then you have to pay 2870USD to get your name on the title.....

And then there is the annual taxes, road taxes and so on...

[KMcCullah]

I wonder what the difference is between diesel and ultimate diesel? Is it what we would call #1 and #2?Some type of additive maybe?

[ScotiaFE]

About $6.00 US bucks for a US Gal here in Nova Scotia.
And we have more oil than you guys. 

[Drew Pojedinec]

Makes a person appreciate what European enthusiasts go through to enjoy one of our vintage American cars. And amazed no one has asked what it takes to put a turbo 4 cylinder in a '65 Galaxie lol.

totally Kevin, that is why the few folks in Europe with Galaxies, I try my best to send them as many parts as i can.  It is hard enough keeping one in great condition here, even harder when you simply don't have the part availability, nor the parts cars.

[cjshaker]

In Denmark, which is a VERY heavily taxed country, the sales tax on a new car is 180%!!!  This means that if you want to buy a car for $20,000, you will pay an additional $36,000 in taxes at the time of purchase.

WOW!! I'll bet bicycle sales are HUGE
So I wonder if you can build a kit car, or how that would be dealt with? Of course just getting all the pieces would be astronomical $$ I would guess.

[Heo]

I dont know how it is now but some years ago
you couldn`t put a set of mags on a car in Denmark
So i gues a kit car is out of the question
Many cycles yes.They even have cycle taxies in
Copenhagen. Me and my wife rode with one
And the driver(do you call it a driver on a cycle taxi?)
Was totaly stoned thats the slowest taxi ride
i ever had but we wernt in a hurry and got a god laugh
out of it
They need the public transit since they half drunk whole day
They dont have coffe break at work they have beer break
Two beer and a Gammel Dansk snaps then back to work
when They wanted to make it forbiden to drink at work
the union threatened to strike so they made some compromise
I Think they are alowed to drink no more than a case of beer(24 bottles)
per day 

Ford had an assembly plant in Copenhagen where they Assembled
C.K.D. Fords. From T,s to V8,s that came in big wooden crates.
And the Ford workers used the crates to build summer houses.
The 32 ford they made up to 34 and since cars was realy expensive
they kept them alive up to the 60,s when they could aford a used
Morris minor or VW.Then the Swedes bought there worthles  Model A
And 32 Roadsters and coupe`s