Eco Friendly Driver

The effect of “a few miles less” per gallon

by Hilary on March 25th, 2008

A friend of mine was offered a great trade in on her Saturn Vue. She could get the 8-seater Outlook for the same payments, just a few years more than she’d originally planned on. A lot more room for the dollar, and - she said - “It’s only a few miles less per gallon.”

I have to admit that, here in Iowa, we aren’t really feeling the pinch. Most people are conserving some gas, but it’s not an issue of gas vs. food. The same can’t be said for places like Camden, Alabama, where CNNMoney.com says, even factory workers for Hyundai are making the choice between getting to work and putting clothes on their kids’ backs.

In Camden, drivers put 13% of every paycheck right into the gas tank. In wealthy towns around New York City, people spend less than 2% of their income on gas.

This is why “only a few miles less a gallon” matters. In places like Camden, where average household income is just $26,000 a year, people aren’t buying new cars. We need better fuel efficiency today, higher standards today, so that in 5 or 10 years when you trade out today’s new cars, used car customers have better options - both for their pocketbooks, and for the environment. Every time we trade down, we’re giving the business owners and car manufacturers the impression that we don’t care, that it doesn’t matter, but it does.

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