With the daily media wailing about the price of gasoline in the United States, perhaps a look at what others are paying on the other side of the Atlantic might be enlightening. I know this doesn’t help with the sticker shock we’re feeling. But it’s a reality check that suggests there’s life after high gas prices.
Europeans aren’t making much more than we make here in the States. In many cases, they make less. Their lifestyles are comparable. Their rents are similar. Their food costs are right in line with ours.
However, on two driving tours of Germany and Spain taken over the past two months, traffic jams were just as frequent as not. Yet, they are paying about twice as much for gasoline as we pay here.
The biggest difference I found was the miles-per-gallon standards on cars. Here at home, I am happy with 26 to 28 mpg. In Europe, driving a compact gasoline-engine car, I never got less than 35 mpg. Driving a diesel-engine minivan resulted in 45 mpg. Somehow, the Europeans have managed to focus on delivering far more efficient engines.
U.S. gasoline prices are averaging around $4/gallon. Here are the European gasoline prices, according to the Wall Street Journal.
France $8.44
UK $8.42
Germany $8.38
Austria $7.66
Ireland $7.43
Greece $7.01
