Miles per Dollar?
I heard a good suggestion the other day. That is to start thinking about fuel economy in economic terms, i.e. to think about it in "Miles Per Dollar" or, MPD. It's all too easy to just stick in that credit card on each fill-up and just kind of forget about how much you're actually getting for that money. Some people just pour that money down the drain (or out the tailpipe for that matter) without even thinking twice about how much it's costing them. To other people, they couldn't care less how much it's costing them no matter how high the cost.
Now for some examples using $3.00/gal fuel:
A 15mpg (insert nearly any SUV here) would do roughly 5 miles per dollar.
A 22mpg Audi A4 (which I used to own and loved) would do roughly 7 miles per dollar.
A 25mpg (insert nearly any regular sedan here) - 8 miles per dollar
A 30mpg Honda Civic - 10 miles per dollar
A 45mpg Jetta TDI still only allows you 15 miles per dollar
So next time you're driving down the road in an "economical" car (e.g. Toyota Camry) doing 25mpg, just count mile posts! Every 8th mile post you pass, pull a $1 bill out of your pocket. For you locals, a normal round-trip drive from Provo to SLC (45 miles) costs over $10 in that "economical" 25mpg car! If you drive around town frequently, just try zeroing the tripmeter in your car at the beginning of the day and see where it ends up at the end of the day. You may be surprised. Let's just be glad we don't have the $6+/gallon fuel that other parts of the world have.
Remember, gas prices go up in the Spring! :-)
6 comments:
We are feeling economic lately... With no bike lanes and no public transportation Paul has started car pooling to work every day. This saves us roughly 600 miles a month!
Car pooling is great, it's more social and cheaper too! Way to go Paul!
I just saw on the news that in London those who drive suv's or even certain sports cars have to pay 50 or 60 bucks a day extra just to be able to drive around the city. They are strict about keeping the air clean and getting people to be smart about what types of cars they purchase.
Ryan
Good point Ike, other cities are doing it too... Beijinj, Berlin, etc are doing it and others are talking about it. Helps cut down on traffic congestion too, I'm sure!
It really makes you think about where your money goes. With how much we drive down to Orem and back I can't believe how much money it costs us, even with the great mileage we get in the TDI.
Thank you for this information. When you spell it our so simply it helps to evaluate where you can make a change.
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