So, I was thinking about SUVs and their gas consumption and how much it costs to keep up an image. I looked at a Hummer H2 and compared it with a Honda Civic Hybrid. The H2 gets 13mpg, the Civic Hybrid gets 51mpg. A soccer mom who drives a vehicle without ever seeing dirt action will see an average of 1,000 miles a month or 12,000 miles a year. At $2 per gallon, that’s a cost of $1,848 for fuel per year for the H2. Compare that with the paltry $480 a year for fuel for the Civic Hybrid. That’s a savings of $1,368 per year savings on fuel alone. Don’t forget the up front cost of the vehicles: H2 is $48,455 and the Civic Hybrid is $19,550. That’s a difference of $28,905. If the car was bought on a five year plan, the savings if that soccer mom got a Civic Hybrid instead of an H2 would be $35,745. Is image really worth that much?
Feb 26th, 2003 at February 26, 2003 1:32 am
You have not even looked at (2) additional “features…
(1) emmission.. Not only do the larger vehicles use more fuel per mile but they also produce a higher proportion of greenhouse gages and pollutants
(2) death rates.. The larger road vehicles are producing highter number of road fatalities. Which is why insurance companies hate them..
Feb 26th, 2003 at February 26, 2003 1:52 am
Oh! So true. The SUVs are choking us to death! Have you seen the reports lately that SUVs might be bigger, but they are less safe in crashes then smaller vehicles?
The original posting though was just me thinking about how rich people burn their money on SUVs (or how stupid people burn their money on image)…:)