I am not in the know as to what the answer(s) could be, but a lot is mind set, and that can be a difficult thing to change, and it takes time (years). Twenty years ago in the coffee room of my office there was a discussion about pollution and gasoline consumption, and someone made the comment about how we are gluts (in North America) about stuff, and how some of the things we buy or pay for are too cheap, and should be WAY more expensive. He used saran wrap as an example, it's so cheap that people use it alot, and once, and throw it out, yet it doesn't decompose well (or at all?), and costs $ and resources to make. I walked away (young and naive) thinking he was one of those 'hippies' from the 60's, yet over time I found myself coming back to his comment and I've started to look at everything I use, and questioning whether I need to do things the way the tv commercials tell me to (and society). I try to watch my gas consumption, grouping my errands to the same part of town on the given day. And waiting another week or two until I am back in that part of the city, instead of making a special drive for an item. But it's how to get other people to start to be aware of this. They get hit with 'global warming' speeches on the news, and it's so depressing and overwhelming that I think many just try to avoid thinking about it, placing hope and trust in researchers, or that all will turn out well. I read in a People Magazine that last year Tom Cruise's fuel bill was $1,000,000. (Jetting his beloved over to Italy so she can pick out the perfect dress for one of his premieres - is that like my family driving 20K in to town to window shop?) Just because he's got the $, what gives him the right to use so much? I cannot remember, but in some eastern country, residents had gas card allowances, where it did not matter if you had the money to buy more, you could only purchase 30 litres of gas per week for personal use. Maybe that's what's needed here, a weekly limit, to try to make people aware of the gas they use, when they want to hop in the vehicle and drive in to town to 'shop' because they've nothing fun to do that day. Or there needs to be some way to know what the actual cost of driving here and there is, like the meter on a taxi. kioni

HOW MUCH ! I wish I would have seen your post before you paid that. The guy @ the shop was full Of S*@%. Sorry for the language but I get very upset when I hear about an unscrupulious/ dishonest Mechanic. If your car came into my shop and we did the same work, You would be out of there for under $ 400.00 and @ that price I'm still making a few bucks. But when one of these so called Pros rips off an unsuspecting consumer, it just gives HONEST MECHANICS another black eye. I've attached a listing for a Catalytic converter ,that fits your car, from one of my suppliers. This is one of 4 suppliers that I can get these from. I am sorry that you where taken for a ride but hopefully it won't happen again. Good luck ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1995 Lexus ES300 Catalytic Converter $155.99 Engine: IMZFE Engine Year Range: 1994 - 1996 Brand: DEC Notes: Direct Fit Catalytic Converter Unit Shipping Options: Overnight, 2-Day or Ground OEM Converters View All Exhaust Catalogs

dusstty, I like that idea, and I have a pretty long car trip coming up, I'll have to give it a whirl. During the summer my 5 year old DD and I sometimes count convertibles or red (blue, green whatever) cars. I usually have snacks and drinks for the longer car rides as well. I also try to pack a few "surprises" for the trip, like a mini doodle pad, or a few little toys. I don't have a portable DVD player, and I drive an older car, so we just have to do stuff the old fashioned way, like my parents did!!!

Jody, one of the guys in our group works on gasoline pumps. He said, they don't make them much different than back then, but, the old ones didn't go any higher than 49 cents. Yup, they were OLD. ;) Moni