Gasoline's New Math: Miles Per Dollar

[ketel0ne]

The formula is simple. Take the old mpg, but divide it by the price of fuel. Unlike the vague mpg, mpd is a remorseless measuring stick, its pointy end aimed directly at your wallet. When gas was cheaper than the dirt it sprang from, 20 miles per gallon seemed pretty solid. Even when gas reached a dollar a gallon, you were still getting 20 mpd, traveling 20 miles on a buck.

The problem is that, as a whole, the nation's cars and trucks aren't getting any better fuel economy than they were 20 years ago. With the price of a gallon of gas soaring to $3 and beyond, think again about that 20 mile-per-gallon car. Its mpd rating has fallen to less than seven.

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/artic...umentid=461093

[VetteOwner]

yea thier right, MPG hasnt increased at all from the 80's (prolly went down with the SUV craze)

[basjoos]

One of my wife's relatives recently bought a Ford F-450 crew cab diesel. At 9 mpg and diesel close to $4/gal, I told her driving it was like throwing a dollar bill out the window for each 2 miles she drove down the road, so it would cost her $8 to drive it into town and another $8 to get it back home and that quick drive into town to get something at McDonald's was setting her back $16 plus the cost of the burgers.

[8307c4]

Not to offend anyone but this concept isn't new...

Fuel MILEAGE is mpg...
Fuel ECONOMY is miles per dollar...

Always has been like that.

[GasSavers_landon]

Since I can't control the cost of fuel, I'll stick with working on my MPG.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by basjoos

One of my wife's relatives recently bought a Ford F-450 crew cab diesel. At 9 mpg and diesel close to $4/gal, I told her driving it was like throwing a dollar bill out the window for each 2 miles she drove down the road, so it would cost her $8 to drive it into town and another $8 to get it back home and that quick drive into town to get something at McDonald's was setting her back $16 plus the cost of the burgers.

no doubt and by the time you throw in maintenance and repairs, it could very well be $1/mile(or worse). tires and oil changes ain't cheap on them. and one major repair would put the cost/mile to an astronomical figure!

[GasSavers_Dust]

Originally Posted by landon

Since I can't control the cost of fuel, I'll stick with working on my MPG.

You can control your cost of fuel. Before you start the engine, just ask yourself it if it worth, let's say 36 yen (for me) for me to drive the 4 km to my destination. At about 9 yen per km with my last vehicle, it's really simple to think about. It's even simpler when I know that the gas station that is farther away, with 4 yen per liter cheaper gas, and the 2.5 kms I have to drive to get there. As long as I get more than 4 liters of gas, I come out ahead.

If I go to Gyomu Supermarket(round trip about 5 km, so 40 yen) cheese(500 yen cheaper), milk(10 yen cheaper), eggs (20), and bread (30) then Power Mart for meat(20 yen per 100g, usually buy over a kg), then stop by the gas station(1 km out of the way, so 9 yen more) on the way back home, then Yamaya Liquor Store for spaghetti noodles(40 yen per 500g), and the vegetable shop next door for broccoli(30), potatoes(50), and carrots(don?t know), then home, the extra distance, having to go to all of those places, actually comes out 1250 yen cheaper than driving to the Eneos then to the closer supermarket.

In America you should probably change the KM for miles, but you get the idea. It?s a simple way of knowing what a trip costs, and whether making it is worth it.

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

On the MP$ front, I might fill up with 89 octane (mid grade) next time, 'coz the price difference is less now than the gain in mileage I get from it %age wise.

[GasSavers_topher]

personally Iv'e always done cents per mile.
With my ranger at $2.20 a gallon an me averaging 22-24mpg it was about 9-10cents per mile.

When I got my civic and was getting 36-40mpg It's the same "cost of driving" at about $3.70-$4.00 a gallon.

I like to look at it this way because with a better car it's easier to drive and not drive yourself insane counting pennies.

Hope that helped.

Does anyone else do cents per mile?

[civic94]

im getting 10 miles per dollar, or everytime i go to work and back, i waste a buck. thankfully i drive a manual civic on 100% city driving