$0.00/gallon [picture]

[Figjam74]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Oh, I agree on that. It's just the basic fact that if you add the extra energy expenditure of biking, you have to take in more calories. (Assuming you maintain a constant weight, of course. If you lose weight, you're just burning extra calories that you've already paid for.)

So how much do those extra calories cost? You can get them pretty cheap - I think buying beans, brown rice, and oatmeal in bulk at the local cheapo supermarket would get it down to pennies.

It's probably less than a gym membership too.

[NoCO2]

I just had an interview for a new job down closer in towards Atlanta (almost smack in the middle of it actually) and it turns out there is a subway station less then 2 blocks from the office so if I end up with the job there I am going to check out the subway route to see if it would be easy to either bike to the subway station or take the bus there and possibly remove the need for my car once again for commuting to work like I currently have.

That's an awesome picture too btw.

[Memorytwo]

but see that 9/10 means its not exactly free.

[bomber991]

Originally Posted by Peakster

Very true...

...however if you buy spaghetti and tomato sauce at the dollar store for a total of $2.00, the efficiency of riding a bike is incredbile! (well, I guess you'll need to find out how much money is spent on the energy cooking the food too)

Well it looks like the mpge of bicycling is 653mpg.
Fuel efficiency in transportation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[roflwaffle]

An equal comparison would include the refining efficiency for liquid fuels and the fossil fuels needed for food production.

[eco_generator]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

An equal comparison would include the refining efficiency for liquid fuels and the fossil fuels needed for food production.

Aren't more of the same used to produce an entire car? Since both use them, it's easier to cancel it out of the equation. Even though I'm pretty sure food would still get an advantage from considering that.

Both get transported to the place of purchase, also.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by eco_modder

Both get transported to the place of purchase, also.

Good point... when's the last time anyone you know walked into a dealer and said "I'll take that one."?

You don't.. Buying a car is nearly NEVER an impulse purchase... it's usually an overly thought-out decision involving many days of deliberation... which leads me to my next point:

Dealerships are wasteful.

I say this because they pay to have all these cars brought to them... that noone is going to buy on a spur of the moment decision...

Then they pay to have them cleaned, sometimes daily.

They pay to have them moved back and forth, for months on end, to different locations on the same lot, or different lots within the same company structure.

Then someone, one day, comes in, and decides they want this particular model, and would rather get it now than wait 2 weeks to have their "special version" delivered, so they finally buy it, and the dealer has (often has) another one delivered to take it's place.

Frankly, dealers should have 1 or 2 of each model present, with all the available features for each one. Computer imaging can take care of color choices, etc. Cars should become "made to order" rather than "ordered to sell".

Keep in mind that this whole time that these cars are sitting around, they're taking up valuable land, that could be used to do something productive... like plant trees, or grass, or put in a park, or whatever.

Case in point - Troy, Pa. - Until recently, there were 5 dealerships in a town that doesn't cover 2 square miles. Worst part - 2 of them are owned by the same dealer, and two were Chevy. Since then, 3 of them have shut down completely, wasting over $400,000 in inventory each, since they're now "old models" and won't sell for their original price. Ironically, the one that had two lots in the same town still has them both. He pays guys to move cars to one lot, have them cleaned, detailed, etc, then move them back to the other lot, about 2000 feet down the road.

[Matt Herring]

hey christ! i almost fell on the floor when i saw the troy pa reference...i grew up in towanda right down the road. didnt think id ever run into anyone on ecomodder that was familiar with the area..cool!

and troy is a tiny little town to have all those dealerships...i havent been through troy in seveal years so im not familiar with them but 5 dealeships is probably enough cars on the lots to have one for every person that lives in troy!

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

hey christ! i almost fell on the floor when i saw the troy pa reference...i grew up in towanda right down the road. didnt think id ever run into anyone on ecomodder that was familiar with the area..cool!

and troy is a tiny little town to have all those dealerships...i havent been through troy in seveal years so im not familiar with them but 5 5 dealeships is probably enough cars on the lots to have one for every person that lives in troy!

LOL.. small world.

5 dealerships didn't quite have enough cars to populate the town... but they did have more than enough to give 2 to each person who would ADMIT to living there..

Did you know Troy finally got a McD's about 8 years ago... it's the most happening place in town...

There is no pump and pantry in troy anymore, Jim's is gone, and Charlie's pizza place is a chinese restaurant. Friggin renovations.. it's nothing like it used to be, yet still so dull.

[Matt Herring]

According to Wikipedia it says the 2000 census reported Troy's population at 1,508. Maybe the dealerships there really do have enough cars for everyone in Troy, PA!

My mom used to stop at a little mom and pop diner there on her way through sometimes...heck...that might be gone too!