The Affect of Rising Gas Prices on Long Island Car Culture
Nassau News Staff Writer
Gas prices all over the United States have been steadily increasing. In Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, the prices for a gallon of regular gas are at their highest ever. However, the love car enthusiasts have for their vehicles apparently surpasses the soaring prices.
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Retail gas prices hit yet another record high on May 1 bringing the average price for a gallon of regular gas to $3.62 according to the Associated Press. That is an increase of $0.26 since the earliest record high on April 11. However, for a place like Long Island, where car culture is still active, high gas prices do not seem to bother car enthusiasts.
“Car enthusiasts will do almost anything for their cars,” said Joseph Font, 23, a member of Elmont-based car club Forward Motion. “High prices don’t bother them.” The members of Forward Motion own cars such as the Mazda RX8, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Galant.
According to Newsday, as of Monday morning, April 21, the average pump price was $3.668 per gallon in Nassau and Suffolk, the highest it has ever been.
For some, the continuous increase in prices does not make a difference. “You know, it doesn’t really affect me that much,” said Jayar Quintal, 21, another member of Forward Motion. “I love to drive places, so if it doesn’t get ridiculously high then I’ll still drive it.” He added that gas would have to go up to $10 a gallon for him to change his driving habits.
Quintal does realize though, that his car is not the only important thing in life. “My car’s not really my No. 1 priority; I still have school, I have books, I have to pay for other stuff, pay my bills, cell phone, and then gasoline,” he said, adding that maintenance always comes before pleasure.
Even with that said, car enthusiasts still like to show off their own cars and see what other people have done to their cars. The members of Forward Motion are still willing to drive far distances to go to car meets.
Quintal, whose 2004 Mazda RX8 gives him about 10 miles per gallon of premium gas said, “I’ll go to a car meet anywhere, I love car meets. It’s nice to see people modify their cars in different ways and everything looks nice.”
Font, on the other hand, is not willing to go as far. His car, also a 2004 Mazda RX8, gives him about 13 to 15 miles per gallon of premium gas. He said that he would go to a car meet as long as it is in the Tri-State area. “I like to go see other people’s cars, see what they’ve done to it.”
For a photo slideshow of two of Forward Motion's Mazda RX8s, click the player below.
Click here to go to webpage for slide show of my RX8 photo shoot
Additional video interviews
For the full interview with Joseph Font, 23, member of Forward Motion, click below. Click here to see the full transcript of the interview.
To see the full interview with Jayar Quintal,21, member of Forward Motion click below. The full transcript of the interview can be read here.
Click here to read my production memo.
