MPG v GPM

[Lug_Nut]

Until the price on the pump is inverted to .206 gallons per dollar I see no rationalization to calculate fuel economy on an inverted gallons per mile basis.
Just hope that this idiocy doesn't spread to the grocery store. Using variable volumes over uniform distance makes no more sense than pricing fruit in fractions of an apple per dollar.

[jakatiemm]

thornburg,

I agree with you. You use gasoline when you drive.

The American way is, "I have a gallon of gas! How far will it take me?" Rub hands with devilish grin.

The rest of the world might say, "I need to drive 100 km. How much fuel will I use?"

It's crude, inaccurate, and a gross generalization, but it's fun and interesting to say that American history is predicated on that idea -- the idea that we use all of our resources to accomplish whatever we can. The "rest of the world" (pardon me, again) calculates the required resources to accomplish the task at hand, while the biggest consumers of energy on the planet accomplish whatever they can while exhausting the resources.

The most important part is to get people thinking about this stuff in the first place. Clearly, this is happening.

[amalgam]

what's interesting is that this is how the government calculates the CAFE standards. They use the harmonic average (GPM) to calculate a fleet's overall fuel economy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAFE#Calculation

[Jay2TheRescue]

I saw an interesting article in today's Washington Times:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...perior-to-mpg/

[occupant]

Takes me back about 6 weeks. I just finished microeconomics and macroeconimcs first summer session. And accounting is coming up in spring 2009 for me at TCC.

I like to think about cost per mile, it's how I kept from going insane driving taxicabs and doing courier deliveries back when gas was $1.50-$2.00/gallon. If you looked at my logs, you'd notice my courier career ended abruptly when my Aerostar couldn't beat 15mpg and fuel went over $2.40 a gallon. 16 cents per mile for fuel was a breaking point compared to the commission checks I was getting. That breaking point translated to a drop in net profit (my paycheck) below a point where I could pay myself $9.00 per hour, which was the starting wage to work for my wife at her merchandising company

[GasSavers_GasUser]

You guys are making it too complicated. I live out in the boonies and it is 30 miles round trip to a decent store/mall. So I have several choices.

1) I take the cutlass and keep my speed at 65 and get about 29-30 mpg.

2) I take the Jeep (much much more more fun fun to drive) and get 15-16mpg with a tail wind.

To heck with watching the GPH on the scangauge....when I am having fun in the Jeep.......

[oneinchsidehop]

I try to simplify it as much as I can, but for me that involves a spreadsheet.

I look at (miles necessary per week)*($/mile) based on whatever the current price is. What I'm really looking at is how far over budget (which was based on 35mpg and $2.50/gal) am I and how much of my disposable income / fun money am I spending.

All I really want is to keep the stupid car from wrecking my life by killing my (very limited) budget.

I do care about the larger issues, but when the rubber meets the road the issue for me is "because of weekly gas costs I can't go see the Flowbots live this weekend". Right now I am spending >$300/month for gas. Budget is $115/month. $285/month is missing...

I can't go see live music, buy guitars, chase loose women, you know, the important things in life.