[Cialug] O.T. Who Killed The Electric Car ?

[Matthew Nuzum]

Hmm. In hindsight, after I sent this, I realize that my cost analysis
only adds up to about 5200 miles per year, and most people drive twice
that. So double all the numbers in the 100m/wk section to get more
realistic values.

On 5/25/07, Matthew Nuzum <newz at bearfruit.org> wrote:
> On 5/25/07, Tim Perdue <tim06 at perdue.net> wrote:
> > Brandon Griffis wrote:
> >
> > > That and too many people are buying 1 ton trucks for their daily commute
> > > to the office.
> >
> > This is really caused by gas being way too cheap for too long. Even at
> > $3/gallon, my wife is really wanting to get a new SUV, which I am
> > putting the kibosh on.
> >
> > Bottled water is still more expensive than gas, even now.
>
> I like math, so just did some numbers on my lunch break. Just for fun.
>
> Assuming 11 gal gas tank
> $1.20/gal x 11 = $13.20  a few years ago
> $2.30/gal x 11 = $25.30 (change of $11.10) a year ago
> $3.40/gal x 11 = $37.40 (change of $11.10/$22.20) now
>
> How much does it cost to drive?
> 15mpg @ $3.40/gal = 4.4m/$ or $0.23/mi
> 20mpg @ $3.40/gal = 5.8m/$ or $0.17/mi
> 30mpg @ $3.40/gal = 8.8m/$ or $0.11/mi
> 40mpg @ $3.40/gal = 11.8m/$ or $0.09/mi
>
> So if you drive 100 miles per week:
> @15mpg = $22.67
>  * your expenses increased by $7.33 from a year ago
>  * or $14.67 from a few years ago
>  * you'd save $5.67 by upgrading to 20mpg
>  * you'd save $11.33 by upgrading to 30mpg
>  * you'd save $14.17 by upgrading to 40mpg
>
> @20mpg = $17.00
>  * your expenses increased by $5.50 from a year ago
>  * or $11 from a few years ago
>  * you'd save $5.67 by upgrading to 30mpg
>  * you'd save $8.50 by upgrading to 40mpg
>
> @30mpg = $11.33
>  * your expenses increased by $3.67 from a year ago
>  * or $7.33 from a few years ago
>  * you'd save $2.83 by upgrading to 40mpg
>
> @40mpg = $8.50
>  * your expenses increased by $2.75 from a year ago
>  * or $5.50 from a few years ago
>
> @50mpg = $6.80
> @60mpg = $5.67
> @100mpg = $3.40
>
> The interesting thing here is that you save less real money by each
> incremental upgrade in fuel efficiency. I could save $589 per *year*
> if I go from a 15mpg truck to a 30mpg car. I'd have to go to a 50mpg
> vehicle from a 20mpg to make similar cost savings, and if I'm already
> getting about 30mpg the gas stations would have to pay me $3 per week
> for it to be worth my while to upgrade.
>
> Thinking about it, the gas prices are definitely higher, but I waste a
> lot more money on frivolous other things than I'm loosing because of
> the gas hike.
>
> Now someone who drives a lot is obviously getting affected more than
> these numbers show.
>
> --
> Matthew Nuzum
> newz2000 on freenode
>


-- 
Matthew Nuzum
newz2000 on freenode