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slowmover · 10-19-2010, 08:18 PM

It's a marginal activity, at best, for our activities can't change the overall fleet of vehicles Americans use. Or, more importantly, the way they use them. Land policy is a greater marginal effect than corporate fuel economy, but it takes decades to change that.

Wearing out the vehicle prematurely in time or miles is counterproductive to economical use (at least 15-years and/or 200k), as is spec'ng the vehicle incorrectly (a truck with no IRS deductible miles, for instance). Same for not combining trips (a single shopping/errands trip per weekend), or, trip-planning them (routing).

I would much rather be able to keep a vehicle a year or two longer than worry about hypermiling, thus building a garage is of better benefit than some of the misguided ideas around here (there are a few) as a car kept enclosed scores higher in all aspects of reliability (almost no matter the climate).

The big choices -- the hard ones -- pay a great deal more, but are so doggoned much harder to change, adapt, acquire.

Paying cash is the real first step in economical car ownership. Other fixed costs of insurance, repairs, maintenance, taxes, parking fees, etc are worth a lot more than a few mpg assuming the vehicle is in the ballpark as far as type is concerned.

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10-19-2010, 08:18 PM	#56 (permalink)
slowmover Banned Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 2,442 2004 CTD - '04 DODGE RAM 2500 SLT Team Cummins 90 day: 19.36 mpg (US) Thanks: 1,422 Thanked 737 Times in 557 Posts	It's a marginal activity, at best, for our activities can't change the overall fleet of vehicles Americans use. Or, more importantly, the way they use them. Land policy is a greater marginal effect than corporate fuel economy, but it takes decades to change that. Wearing out the vehicle prematurely in time or miles is counterproductive to economical use (at least 15-years and/or 200k), as is spec'ng the vehicle incorrectly (a truck with no IRS deductible miles, for instance). Same for not combining trips (a single shopping/errands trip per weekend), or, trip-planning them (routing). I would much rather be able to keep a vehicle a year or two longer than worry about hypermiling, thus building a garage is of better benefit than some of the misguided ideas around here (there are a few) as a car kept enclosed scores higher in all aspects of reliability (almost no matter the climate). The big choices -- the hard ones -- pay a great deal more, but are so doggoned much harder to change, adapt, acquire. Paying cash is the real first step in economical car ownership. Other fixed costs of insurance, repairs, maintenance, taxes, parking fees, etc are worth a lot more than a few mpg assuming the vehicle is in the ballpark as far as type is concerned. .