Americans are driving toy automobiles, using public – Business News
NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) – Mali Hightower’s reply to high gasoline costs is a toy he fished out of somebody’s trash.
The 30-year-old handyman from Ellenwood, Georgia caught a two-gallon, one-piston engine from a energy washer into a damaged pink Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper — a battery-operated toy car much less than 4 ft tall. One pull of the lawnmower-like rip twine and he’s off to the grocery store, knees at his ears, dirtbike helmet on his head.
His actual car, a 1996 Mercedes-Benz convertible, prices about $90 to fill. “That’s too much,” stated Hightower, who additionally put in a rack on prime for groceries. “I drive this when I can.”
Mali Hightower, 30, poses with what he describes as a self-created gasoline saver, a pink Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper, at a gasoline station in Ellenwood, Georgia, on May 18, 2026. REUTERS
Hightower caught a two-gallon, one-piston engine from a energy washer into a damaged pink Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper — a battery-operated toy car much less than 4 ft tall. REUTERS
His answer could also be uncommon, however the hovering price of gasoline is reshaping on a regular basis selections and provoking inventive workarounds in households throughout the nation.
Long enamored with their automobiles, notably much less fuel-efficient SUVs and lightweight vehicles, Americans are looking for alternate options like public transit or staying close to home.
As of May 18, Americans paid an average of $4.52 a gallon for normal gasoline, up from round $3 earlier than the Iran warfare began, in line with AAA.
Hightower’s actual car, a 1996 Mercedes-Benz convertible, prices about $90 to fill. “That’s too much,” stated Hightower, who additionally put in a rack on prime for groceries. “I drive this when I can.” REUTERS
In an April 28 Ipsos ballot printed by the Washington Post and ABC News, 44% of Americans stated they’d cut back on driving.
Some are discovering alternatives within the financial ache. After spending practically $40 more than normal to fill up her Buick Enclave, Renee Tocci, government director of Camp Farley in Mashpee, Massachusetts, had an thought: pitch sleep-away camp as a cost-saving measure for fogeys spending a fortune schlepping their youngsters round all summer season.
“My colleague was like, ‘That is hysterical,’” Tocci stated. “And I was like, seriously, I’m going to put it all over social media.” She started referencing fuel prices online and in advertising emails to spice up enrollment.
Hightower’s answer could also be uncommon, however the hovering price of gasoline is reshaping on a regular basis selections and provoking inventive workarounds in households throughout the nation. REUTERS
“Here’s a budgeting tip no one talks about: Send your kids to overnight camp,” reads one of her posts.
‘Every walk of life’
Content creator Dafne Flores drives to Los Angeles from her home in Silverdale, Washington, a number of instances a 12 months to go to pals. During her most up-to-date two-month keep, she parked in Glendale and switched to public transit to get round.
“We’re used to expensive gas prices, but never this expensive,” stated Flores, 28.
Long enamored with their automobiles, notably much less fuel-efficient SUVs and lightweight vehicles, Americans are looking for alternate options like public transit or staying close to home. Gabriella Bass
Filling her Toyota Highlander now prices no less than $95, so she’s retaining drives within 5 miles and avoiding stations close to freeways, the place she has seen costs strategy $9 a gallon.
On the bus, she will edit videos and keep away from parking prices. Online, Flores says, more Americans her age are speaking about related decisions: “I’m seeing a lot of videos of people taking the bus.”
The trend is clear from coast to coast. In Maine, ridership on Bangor’s public bus system has risen 21% since January, stated transit administrator Laurie Linscott, with most growth during peak commuting hours.
“I started watching people and trying to get some kind of demographic,” stated Linscott. “It was every walk of life.”
Gas card giveaways
On a current Thursday, drivers waited more than an hour at a gasoline station in El Segundo, California, the place tourism company Visit Las Vegas was offering up to $100 in gasoline to the primary 100 drivers in line to encourage journey to town.
But few who confirmed up had been fascinated about vacationing.
The present price of gasoline is proven at a gasoline station in Encinitas, California, on May 11, 2026. REUTERS
Robert Jackson of El Segundo stated the fuel would solely final a few days. “I have to walk and take the train now,” he stated. “It’s tough. It really is.”
Segette Frank of Los Angeles stated she used to buy groceries throughout the sprawling metropolis. “I stay close now because I don’t want to run out of gas,” she stated.
In Chicago, CityPoint Community Church plans to provide away $5,000 value of $25 gasoline playing cards within the coming weeks. Pastor Demetrius Davis stated they distributed more than 70 playing cards after Mother’s Day providers.
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“Transportation is not a luxury for many families,” he stated. “It’s survival.”
So far, the crunch has not brought about a surge in electric vehicle purchases, however it has vindicated present EV drivers, notably Tesla homeowners who discovered themselves swept up in final 12 months’s political backlash in opposition to CEO Elon Musk.
John Stringer, president of Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley, a group of Tesla fans, not too long ago posted a TikTok video exhibiting a gasoline station signal with sky-high costs.
“Oh man, wish that was a problem that I had to deal with,” Stringer says cheekily, earlier than turning the digital camera towards his Cybertruck.
While meant as a joke, Stringer stated his reduction is actual.
“I don’t know the last time I looked at gas prices, except for that video.”
