Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
So how many miles do Prius and SUV owners put on/year?
|
About the same. Though I don't know of any source for exact numbers, if the difference was anywhere near as great as predicted by Jevons' Paradox, there would be an obvious difference, and there's not.
In fact, as Rooster suggests, fuel consumption is primarily driven by factors other than cost. The major factor is time: people use their cars mostly for commuting, plus travelling for recreation & vacations, etc. There are only so many hours in a day, people are only going to spend just so much time commuting, and once they're settled in a house/job, commuting time isn't easily changed. So if they start with an SUV and trade for a Prius, their daily drive doesn't change even though their driving cost has gone way down, because the primary cost of driving is time, not fuel.