How Much MPG Do You Get?

[Arborigine]

So which will save you more money... Upgrading from a truck that gets 10 mpg to one that gets 20, or upgrading from a car that gets 25 to one that gets 50?

How much do you drive, and how much will you spend? I considered installing an aftermarket turbo on my 1985 F-250 diesel, but the numbers didn't add up.
California, in its wis-dumb, decided a few years ago to force commercial truckers to retire older diesels and buy new ones. This placed a serious the financial burden on them and the State is now doing the same to farmers and construction companies. The reason for the change is to "save the planet", but the carbon footprint of making a new truck and recycling the old ones far exceeds what the vehicles would have produced in their useful lifespan. I guess "feeling good" about the environment is more important than actually trying to improve it.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[drinknshoot]

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Pretty dang good If I dont say so myself

[Dandyone]

How much do you drive, and how much will you spend? I considered installing an aftermarket turbo on my 1985 F-250 diesel, but the numbers didn't add up.
California, in its wis-dumb, decided a few years ago to force commercial truckers to retire older diesels and buy new ones. This placed a serious the financial burden on them and the State is now doing the same to farmers and construction companies. The reason for the change is to "save the planet", but the carbon footprint of making a new truck and recycling the old ones far exceeds what the vehicles would have produced in their useful lifespan. I guess "feeling good" about the environment is more important than actually trying to improve it.

I posed the question as a simple math exercise, but your points are well taken.

Very few of the people to whom I ask this question get the answer correct, and even fewer are able to explain why.

If you have a car that gets 25 mpg, driving 100 miles will consume 4 gallons. If you upgrade to a vehicle that gets 50 mpg, then the same trip will consume 2 gallons, so the net savings in fuel consumption for the driving part alone, would be 2 gallons.

If you drive a truck that gets 10 mpg, 10 gallons will be burned during the 100 mile trip. At 20 mpg, only 5 gallons will be consumed, so the savings will be 5 gallons per 100 miles.

Upgrading from 10 to 20 mpg saves 2.5 times more fuel.

Interesting, no?

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[drinknshoot]

Yeh Were toppin at no less than 36 combined.
Thats frickn awesomee

[HairyPotter]

lifted/built '95 jeep cherokee- 14.4mpg mixed driving

[XD9SC_Becky]

Between 14 & 17. It's a Titan thing ;)

[drinknshoot]

Dang I definately do not miss getting that low.
I was gettin 14 city in my Licoln Mark VII

[45ACP4ever]

Well, with winter in full swing involving heating up the car and such, I'm getting about 17mpg in my 09 Camry. In the spring/summer/fall when not running an AC, I average about 23mpg. That makes me so much happier at the pump than the 16 I was getting in the summer with my old 98 Blazer.

[Dandyone]

On highway trips, I get 45 mpg in a loaded 2012 Kia Rio. During my normal mix of highway and city (and traffic) I average about 32... If ky wife drives my car to any significant degree, the mpg falls below 30.

The car is slow, but that's fine by me.

Traded a 2001 Volvo station wagon, and my monthly transportation budget increased only $150 per month because my fuel savings exceed $100 per month.

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[drinknshoot]

Yeh from my Lincoln to the Toyota.
Were saving half the price in gas.

[Arborigine]

I posed the question as a simple math exercise, but your points are well taken.

Very few of the people to whom I ask this question get the answer correct, and even fewer are able to explain why.

If you have a car that gets 25 mpg, driving 100 miles will consume 4 gallons. If you upgrade to a vehicle that gets 50 mpg, then the same trip will consume 2 gallons, so the net savings in fuel consumption for the driving part alone, would be 2 gallons.

So lets say you own the vehicle outright, and you think it will run well for 100,000 miles. The fuel savings by upgrading is 2000 gallons, @ $4 is $16000, minus a few sets of tires and repairs. A new Prius has an MSRP of around $23,000. Buying the new car will eat that upand then some, but you can always get an old VW diesel Rabbit. I liked my diesel Jettas, but they started falling apart.

[mcp1810]

I get about 14 combined in my Excursion on B100.

[NCSoxFan]

30 in my Acura and 56 on my V-Strom.

[Dandyone]

So lets say you own the vehicle outright, and you think it will run well for 100,000 miles. The fuel savings by upgrading is 2000 gallons, @ $4 is $16000, minus a few sets of tires and repairs. A new Prius has an MSRP of around $23,000. Buying the new car will eat that upand then some, but you can always get an old VW diesel Rabbit. I liked my diesel Jettas, but they started falling apart.

No argument from me on these points.

I'm just trying to shed some light on a metric. I'm not trying to sell a new car or an old car, or anything like that.

I think discussions of mpg inevitably lead to comparisons, but given that the relationship is non-linear, I am confident that most comparisons are off.

Fuel economy is best measured as gallons per 100 miles. In the example above, all confusion melts away.

10 mpg is the same as 10 g/100 miles
20 mpg is the same as 5 g/100 miles
25 mpg is the same as 4 g/100 miles
50 mpg is the same as 2 g/100 miles
100 mpg is the same as 1 g/100 miles.

This is a good demonstration of diminishing returns. Increasing the fleet average from 10 to 20 mpg was not very difficult, and it saved 5 gallons for every 100 miles driven. To save another 5 would be impossible, and to save another 4 would require increasing the fleet average to 100 mpg, which would be very difficult and expensive.

That said, with almost zero investment, I could double or triple fuel efficiency...:o

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[mcp1810]

I think we need to find a way to make sure all these hybrid owners pay their fair share! I "recycled" a vehicle instead of having one built. Running B100 my carbon footprint is as small as theirs but I am paying three times as much in fuel taxes.