I suggest we mirror the Europeans and turn our mpg upside down, and start tabulating gallons per mile.\u00a0 More specifically, gallons per thousand miles.<\/p>\n
The problem with MPG is that it is not really very good for comparison.\u00a0 As MPG goes up, the difference between changes is progressively less important.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For example improve a 20 mpg car by 5 mpg and it saves 10 gallons in 1000 miles.\u00a0 Improve a 50 mpg car by 5 mpg and it saves 2 gallons in 1000 miles.\u00a0 Sounds like the same gain, but is a very different improvement.\u00a0 Flip it upside down though, and it becomes more clear.\u00a0 Improve a 35 Gallons \/ 1K Miles (G\/1kMi) car by 5 G\/ 1kMi and has a similar effect to improving a\u00a0 50 G\/1kMi by 5 G\/1kMi.\u00a0 Both save 5 gallons in 1K Miles.<\/p>\n
The Cadillac CTS is rated at 27 mpg highway.\u00a0 So over a course of 1,000 miles it would require 1,000 miles \/ 28 mpg = 35.7 gallons of fuel, or 35.7 G\/1kMi<\/p>\n
The latest Chevrolet Cruze may be rated at up to 44 mpg, or 22.7 G\/1kMi.\u00a0 Clearly by comparison with the CTS, the Cruze will require around 13 G\/1kMi less, and I know that gas costs around $2.50 this week, so I can surmise that the Cruze would cost around $32 less to drive 1K miles.\u00a0 For my annual 15K miles the Cruze would save me 15 x $32 = $480 per year.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, a Cadillac Escalade gets around 20 mpg highway, or 50 G\/1kMi.\u00a0 So it would require 24 gallons more than the CTS to go 1,000 miles, at $2.50 around $60 more per 1K.<\/p>\n
Why choose 1K miles instead of 100 miles?\u00a0 So that the variance between models is very clear.\u00a0 Also it makes it even easier to consider total monthly usage.\u00a0 If you drive your vehicle 15K miles a year, multiple by 15, etc.<\/p>\n
We would still want to measure City G\/1kMi and Highway G\/1kMi perhaps, and Mixed G\/1kMi.<\/p>\n
Adoption of G\/1kMi as our fuel efficiency standard would help people understand and strive for better fuel economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I suggest we mirror the Europeans and turn our mpg upside down, and start tabulating gallons per mile.\u00a0 More specifically, gallons per thousand miles. The problem with MPG is that it is not really very good for comparison.\u00a0 As MPG … Continue reading