Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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So for example in my case on a daily commute a (one) static 2 min warm up will give me 9 hours (8.8) of idling @ .2 gal idle consumption.
The other thing is the ideal operating time is app a min of 30 mins to 1 hour. You will probably not find this spelled out this way in almost any oem operating manual. If you operate less than that ( on a consistent basis), one is doiing so called doing "HARD" miles. vs "easy" miles of say daily 30 mins to 1 hour @ freeway speed limits of 65 mph.
hybridsANY CAR do not give it a chance to warm the catalytic convertor for optimum performance. Winter is hard onhybridmileage OF ANY CAR.FTFY.
If it takes two minutes to reach normal operating temp, out of a 6 minute trip, or 1 mile out of a 3 mile trip, that's still 1/3 of that trip spent with the engine warming up to normal operating temp.
FWIW, I usually only let the car sit about 10-15 seconds, maybe 20, at the first start of the day. On a cold winter day I might let it idle for up to a minute before taking off. Even my older cars seem fine doing this, although I don't make it a habit to drag my '67 Catalina or '76 LeMans out for a drive to work in the dead of winter!
It seems we have done cost analysis and the 5 year 75k mile TCO on an Altima vs an Altima hybrid favors the non hybrid. Of course buying used and driving less than 15K per year would be even more pronounced in favor of the non hybrid.
True - but when that same commuting vehicle is used for a longer stop and go trip, then the benefits are realized. For instance my wife drives 3 miles each way to the train station for her commute. Then in the PM and the weekends her vehicle is doing parent duty - typically 20 miles a day and usually staying in our town. That's where the hybrid would shine.
Don't forget - not everyone buying a hybrid does so for the economic payback. I know a few Prius owners who do highway commutes everyday - even they realize that the benefit is lost there but they feel they are doing something.
Just to clarify - I'm not a hybrid hugger. We didn't even consider a Highlander Hybrid for our next vehicle which I hope to detail in the Stories from the Frontlines this weekend.
@ 15,000 yearly miles, the savings is 253.76 gals per year. @ 3.75 per gal $951.61 per year. So it will take (quick and dirty) 8.62 to 10.56 years to break even.
If I were to consider a hybrid, economic pay back wouldn't be the only factor for me. I would actually consider a Volt like vehicle for my commute. I drive 38 miles round trip. Conceivably, I could commute on electric only.
With respect to long term costs, if you compare a Prius to a Camry long term for example, I'd say that the Prius would have more repair costs. However if you compare a Prius to any Nissan, Chevy or GM vehicle, I'd say the long term repair costs will be less for the Prius, given the long term reliability of the Prius.
Our '06 Prius can hold 4 adults and their stuff as well as a Camry or Accord or other similar sized vehicle, with the exception that if you want hold three across in the back seat a Camry is better. So when we bought our Prius used, we looked at long term cost with respect to gas as well as maintenance & repair cost. It's the reliability & repair costs that turn me away from most American & European model vehicles in general.
I'd say it's probably a mistake to switch cars solely for MPG purposes, but if you currently own an older car with questionable reliablity, then you should look at all the cost factors in the car purchase, including MPG, reliablity, repair costs, etc.
Neither TH nor Volt makes any economic sense.
That's premium 91 Octane for under $4. Still too high, but not $4.
Ethanol-laced gas can absorb water in 2 weeks.
I have a F250 gasser I use for farm duty, and 1 tank can last 4 months, so I buy the real gas for it.
Mileage is better too, as there's more BTU's in "real" gas.
Of course this all depends on how cold it gets in your particular area. Places with mild winters won't notice as much difference. And those in hot climates won't notice as much difference between short and long trips for the same reasone.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there are any ethanol-free stations near me here in Maryland. At least, according to www.buyrealgas.com.
Would adding fuel stabilizer help, I wonder?
I have looked at a lot of them.
My mom couldn't tell the difference between the two until she saw them from the side.
Until the ethanol was added year-round, they used a "winter blend" for about 5 months of the year.
I could tell right away when they switched, as my mileage would go from 39-42mpg with summer blend, to 34-35mpg with the winter blend.
The car runs about the same, but I can see the decreased mileage, and the need to fill up more often, especially since the silly tank only holds 12 gallons.
"The worsening perceptions of the European economies means there's a potential for the damage to petroleum demand to go viral worldwide," analyst Trilby Lundberg told Bloomberg News."
Could gas fall to $3 a gallon? (philly.com)
"The U.S. benchmark oil price, which is determined by trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, or Nymex, has tumbled by almost a third since April. That raised expectations for gasoline prices to drop just as quickly at the pump.
They haven't."
Gas Stays High as Oil Drops (WSJ)
Another factor to consider is the fact that China's growth has been slowing, thereby moderating the demand for oil from that country. What would happen if China slipped into recession? That's a possibility if Europe and the U.S., the main markets for China's exports, were to go from slightly positive growth to negative growth.
Why should gas be more than $2.50? I hope not to support alternative fuel. That's like expecting the landlord to help a tennant buy a house.
Low gas prices will dent under 25 employment for a change. A much needed change. Too many empty warehouses and strip plazas in my town.
On the flip side, I fixed the Mustang brakes for a bit over $80. I just need to get some brake fluid and top off the res.
AK, HI, CA, ID, CHI and NYC all seem to have high prices for gas. Ga is the lowest quite often.
Try coasting to a stop or using rear emergency brakes to stop gently and see if the front rotors aren't hot. That heat represents energy from your gasoline due to rubbing of the rotors. Now if you used the front brakes to stop the car, they're going to be hot.
Rebuilt calipers. Or rebuild yours with fresh seals on the pistons that will pull the piston back more readily and with new rubber slides on the positioning bolts on the calipers.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/story/2011-10-21/high-gas-prices- /50846298/1
Americans are increasingly hurt by high gas prices, because many lack options that would enable them to reduce the costs of driving, a report today says.
Although gas prices have recently dipped, drivers will have spent a record $490 billion on gas by year's end — $100 billion more than the prior year , according to the "Energy Trap" report by the New American Foundation, a non-partisan research group.
Consumers are no longer responding to price increases as they did in the late 1970s, when many drove less and bought more fuel-efficient cars, says author Skip Laitner, who analyzed U.S. government data. When prices hit $4 in 2008, he says, demand for gas fell only 3%.
Middle-class workers simply don't have alternatives, says Laitner, an economist at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. He says many moved to distant suburbs when gas prices were lower and can't afford now to move, buy a more efficient car or switch jobs.
Also, he says many lack access to public transportation.
"We're locking ourselves in, and it becomes almost a downward spiral," he says, noting that people are paying for gas by cutting other spending.
"Significant numbers of people told us they're cutting back on food," says Lisa Margonelli, the foundation's director of energy policy. Her team surveyed a representative sample of 2,000 Americans.
She found those earning $15,000 to $20,000 a year spent 10% of their income on gas and those earning $50,000 to $60,000 spent 4.6% . She says the average family of four now spends more on driving than on health insurance or taxes.
David Kreutzer, an energy economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, agrees that many Americans might not be able to change their behavior in the short run but will do so over time. He says automakers boosted cars' miles-per-gallon to meet buyer demand when gas prices rose.
Kreutzer says funding public transportation is a "horrendously inefficient" solution. "What people really need is a good job," he adds, noting the real problem is not high gas prices but a "very bad economy."
Stockbroker Valerie Williams says she commutes 90 minutes to Fayetteville, Ga., because she can't afford to live in Atlanta, where she works.
"Regardless of what gas prices are," she says, "I have to pay them."
See the full report
Consumers will be subjected to a "rollercoaster" ride with gas prices, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. Kloza predicts that gas will average about $3.40 per gallon from now through Thanksgiving with prices rising to as much as $4.25 per gallon in the spring."
Gadhafi's Death May Not Ease Gas Prices, Experts Say (Inside Line)
In the short term, people can be locked into whatever they are driving now.
If I occasionally take my V8 4X4 truck, the fuel cost nearly doubles as it only gets 16 mpg for the commute. Once a week in the truck adds $14 per month to fuel costs. Twice a week adds $28. This year, the fed gov gave green energy companies about $30 a month in subsidies on my behalf. Money that can develop cars like the one I mentioned above that could save me $1.10 a day. Isn't that only spinning wheels and getting nowhere, and even getting nowhere requires the shelling out of $27k for a Prius?
But you're right about the jump - if your only commuter vehicle was the truck getting 16 mpg, going to 30 mpg should cut your gas bill more than going from 30 to 45. I'd do the math but I'd mess it up.
Considering I pay $19.99 per 50# bag of feed for my chickens and generally go through about fourteen bags per year, I'd say $280 is just about exactly chicken feed.
The weather so far has been truly fantastic. I don't think we've hit zero yet (perhaps briefly in the low lying areas). The temps have slowly dipped down so that we started staying below (or hovering near) freezing during the days about a week ago, and generally don't see lower than about 15 at night. Considering it is not uncommon to have highs of around zero this time of year, I'm quite pleased!
I almost came in to work yesterday evening, but decided that the cost of the fuel vs. the three hours of work wasn't a reasonable trade-off. So, I stayed home, washed the dishes, and finished up laundry instead. :shades:
The aroma from the free heat might do you in though.
What - you retired and daydreaming or something? Can't earn a living on a farm unless its a big corporate affair any more. Those fertilizers and other stuff will get you a case of cancer as well.