MPG as a Function of Highway Speed

So your slower route costs you at least 11 minutes. Let's say 10 for ease of calculation.
The faster route uses 0.325 gallons of gas. The slower route uses 0.217, saving you 0.11 gallons.
So you save .11 gal and waste 0.17 hours. If a gallon of gas is $4, you value your time at $2.60/hour.

Somehow I doubt that's how much your time is worth. This is also why we need to stop using mpg, because 120 looks impressive but isn't that much better than 80.

 

Assuming that the only calculation involved in the decision is how much your time is worth. How much is two extra pounds of carbon emissions each day (520 lbs per year) worth to you, or to other people who have to suffer the consequences without having the opportunity to be involved in the decision? Are you really willing to trade other people's future's for your precious 10 minutes of drive time?

It's 50% better, which is 33% less carbon emissions and 33% less reliance on foreign oil. That's pretty impressive. If we could cut out carbon emissions by 33% across the board we'd be in pretty good shape.

It's easy for each of us to dismiss the significance of our small contribution to the problem, but those small things make a difference. If nobody made those changes, we'd not be able to make much headway.

 

Ouch. I just got back from a 400-mile road trip that included mountain driving for quite a bit. On the flat I found I was able to draft semis and keep around 75 MPG on the instantaneous MPG display at 60 - 65 mph. Going up steep hills killed me, but downhill I got a lot of mileage and regen. The average for the entire trip was about 70 MPG without plugging in.

 

I don't dispute those things at all. However, we would achieve much more through things like advocacy (getting friends and family to trade their 20 mpg vehicles for a 50 mpg Prius) and legislative changes (i.e. meaningful CAFE reform). It might feel great to be making a small difference…but 10 minutes each way is 20 minutes a day or 100 minutes a week or 400 minutes a month…over 6 hours. Some people also have kids, and I'm sure they'd be more than happy to waste a few teaspoons of gas so they could spend nearly a full day of time with those children.

 

Along those lines, I wish we could get more people to get rid of their 17 mpg combined or worse battering ram of death class SUVs (e.g. Tahoes, Yukons, Expeditions, Escalades, Navigators, Suburbans) who don't seem to need them since almost every one I see is driven solo or w/minimal cargo and passengers for something more commensurate w/actual needs. There are WAY too many of those running around in my area. Folks in my area can "afford" (in theory) to pay for gas...

Besides the CAFE reform, they need get rid of the exemption that trucks and SUVs have from the gas guzzler tax (Frequently Asked Questions) and move away from determining penalties by unadjusted EPA dyno numbers, while making the tax stiffer.

 

The least attractive way of course is to drive less, particularly with carpools.
Back in the early 80's I owned a '71 VW 9 passenger bus. I used it for a vanpool. 40 mile round trip each day @17 mpg with an average of 8 people aboard. For the times it was very efficient.

 

As it is called eCVT

 

I love how ten minutes here and there suddenly becomes 'nearly a full day', as if you could bank it, and spend it all at once.

Personally, I would rather give kids a world that they can live in, than another ten minutes with them of sitting in front of the TV.

 

I purposely take a slower (but shorter distance) route each day that adds 15-20 minutes to my round trip. It saves me gas and it's a less stressful drive to boot.
Nobody seems ready to write me a check when I get home 10 minutes early so I listen to the radio and enjoy the drive.

 

Most of the time I do take the faster route home even though it burns more fuel- it's a tradeoff. I like getting home 15-20 min earlier.
With two teenage daughters- we have a pretty full after school schedule, so the earlier I get home the better. Last night for instance- I walked in the front door at 5:15- had a banana, took my work shirt off- put a hoodie on from the back of a kitchen chair- and had to immediately go out again, didn't get home till 8pm. Never even made it upstairs after work

The way I see it- I win with the PIP no matter what.
My previous vehicle got 22mpg and cost me $54/week in gas (at $4/gal).
The PIP gets 88mpg and costs me $14/week in gas.
I'm sure my greenhouse gas emissions are substantially less with the PIP versus my 2003 CR-V.

Win...win..win.

 

You don't have to tailgate to draft, although that would improve the effectiveness of the technique. I can still get about 60 MPG on average without drafting. You can't drive much over 60 and expect good mileage unless you've got a tailwind or downhill, though.

The Prius is a tool which allows you to achieve good mileage, but it's not automatic. You have to learn how to use the tool to its greatest potential. It takes some practice, and you have to be willing to slow down.

Also, I also noticed a family member with a Prius get their rates jacked up by State Farm to rates I've only seen for people with DUI records. I suspect State Farm has figured out that people with Priuses have more money than people with a Civic, and they want some of that money.

 

Doutful that this is a reason...people with good records and money can easily shop around.

Mike

 

I have 21st Century Insurance on my PIP- 21st Century is a division of State farm.
My new (6 month) policy just came in last month- there was a $50 increase over the previous six month premium. They actually sent a separate cover letter two weeks later explaining that the premium was higher because they increased their rates in NY. We have three cars on that policy- so the increase wasn't due to the PIP, it was just a general increase.

FWIW- I then signed up for their paperless billing which resulted in a $30 something dollar savings- net result after the increase and the paperless billing discount... my six month policy increased by $12.

 

They could, but if that theory were true every business with a product or service to sell would have the same price as every other business selling the same. Since there are price differences we can safely conclude that companies are willing to maintain higher prices even in the face of lower-priced competitors.