Gas
Because I’m a numbers geek, I wanted to know exactly how much it was costing me to drive a mile now and what it will cost as gas goes up and down. I figured it based on RK’s miles per gallon and then on my miles per gallon, but then I figured others might want to know also, so I expanded the spreadsheet to show a range of mpg rates.
And then I used that spreadsheet to see how much it costs to drive 20 miles. We are about ten miles from the nearest stores, so anytime we go out we drive for at least 20 miles.
At 20 miles per gallon the increment in gas price is the same increment in the cost to travel 20 miles. So if gas goes up a quarter, then it costs another quarter to travel 20 miles.
That made me wonder, so I figured it at 30 miles with the same results. Whatever the per gallon increase, if you get 30 miles to the gallon then it’s the same increase at 30 miles.
Then I wondered about what happens when you go on vacation. I used 500 miles as a nice round number. At 20 mpg and $4.00 per gallon, the trip will cost $100. At $3.00 per gallon the trip will cost 75.00. At 30 miles per gallon the cost at $3.00 per gallon will be $50.00, and at $4.00 per gallon will be $66.67. If you are trying to choose between whether to take the bigger (and safer) vehicle or the smaller (less safe, less things you can buy when you are there) vehicle, then for a 500 mile trip at $4.00 a gallon the difference in 30 mpg and 20 mpg is $33.33.
Here is the spreadsheet for 500 miles.
If you want to figure how much a trip will cost then the formula is:
( Length of the trip (in miles) divided by Your miles per gallon ) multiplied by price of gas.
And, one last thought, if you can reduce your mileage by 20 miles a week, and if you get 25 mpg, then at $3.75 per gallon over the course of a year you will save $156.00. Three dollars a week hardly seems worth it if it means making your child quit girl scouts or band or dance or gymnastics or whatever it is they do once a week.
If you can reduce your mileage by 150 miles a week, and if you get 28 mpg, then at $3.75 per gallon, over the course of a year you will save $1,045. That gets my attention. Unfortunately, there is no way to cut our mileage any more than we’ve already done. We go to the grocery store on the way home and the only driving we do besides back and forth to school and work is back and forth to therapy for TT and extracurricular activities for GG.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:28 am
More numbers – In the UK the cost of fuel is so much more than the states and your spreadsheet just highlights emphasises it.
Although my car runs on diesel(derivative) so I get a reasonable return.
3.786 litres = 1 US gallon so that means that at present our fuel cost approx:-
Unleaded is around the US$8.33 per gallon
Diesel is around the US$9.32 per gallon
May 19th, 2008 at 11:33 am
That’s why we bought a Prius over a year ago. We drive it everywhere and save our Subaru for long trips. The cost of gas is probably about where it really should be…only feeling the pain will make North Americans change their consumption habits!
May 19th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Oh please RQ, please come and do my kids math homework!
LOL
In Atlantic Canada right now, gas prices are at 129.00 a litre!!
Ouch!!
May 19th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Wow, I never thought that I would see another person that is as big of an Excel-geek as I am. Sadly, I have the same numbers in a sheet in of my own, except for the glaring fact that 18 is perhaps my best case scenario not my worst. I only get around 12.5 mpg in my truck on average (city driving). Thank God I changed jobs a few years back and the 70 mile daily commute was replaced with only a 6 mile commute.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
We’re paying a little more than Brian. The last time I filled my tank I paid £1.16/litre, which is about $8.55 per US gallon.
RQ, I need to re-work your tables using UK prices and print them out for my DH so he sees why I like to walk to the local supermarket. The food might cost a little more, but not as much as the petrol it takes to drive there and back!
May 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Ok, the title of this post really caught my attention – I thought you were going to talk about something else. Too funny.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
mezzok – I couldn’t agree with you more. No one likes to pay more for gas, but I can only hope we as a society find a way to help families cope while protecting the environment for our children.
RQ – as always, thanks for the math. Those numbers become more and more meaningful as a larger percentage of the family budget goes in the cars.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
We’ll be driving across the country this summer from Indiana to Utah. We were going to fly, but the cost of plane tickets and a one week car rental. My FIL lives 6 hours from the nearest airport would actually cost us a lot more than driving 3 eight hour days, including hotels and food. My husband calculated it $4.50 per gallon. Crazy, isn’t it?
We’re even going to sneak in an afternoon at the Omaha zoo and a ball game in Denver on the drive there. It makes it much more palatable.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I also agree that the plus side of the gas prices has really made people think about gas. We have also made changes to our driving habits, all for the good. We should have done it years ago, but really never thought to much about it. My son now drives my SUV to school as it is only 1.5 miles away. I drive the small car, which is less comfortable. However, I do a lot more running, getting two other kids to school and activities. Even though I never leave the city I can put 40 miles on my car in one day. I have started car-pooling for one my kids as well. I am actually saving money, even with higher gas prices. I am somewhat grateful for the higher prices. Although now that I have seen the light per say. I will be fine with lower prices, in case the oil companies need my approval.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I have to disagree with the “bigger is safer” theory. My husband is a doc and sees many many traumas associated with SUVs. Mostly due to the fact that people do not drive them well and think they are impervious to snow and rain conditions. Many people go off the road thinking they can go faster.
If you drive a smaller or medium size car the danger of SUVs is greater for you in a crash with one. An Escalade weighs THREE Tons, as much a delivery truck, but without an experienced truck driver behind the wheel. Imagine being in the smaller car and deing hit by three tons of truck at 50 miles an hour.
As for gas prices, it is a great time to own a small, hybrid, car just big enough for your needs. Nothing makes less sense than one person driving around town in a car made for the military.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Yet I still see people in line at Starbucks. Go figure!
May 19th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
We still need some vices while we can afford them…I am one of those in the starbucks line….though I can not complain, my company has a work from home program!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Bless you for taking the time to crunch the numbers. All that math hurts my head. Glad someone is a numbers person.
I will be driving to Starbucks when I don’t make my own at home. See you there waiting2b…
May 19th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Funny to see how kids drive a SUV to a school that’s only 1,5 miles away:)
Here in the Netherland kids cycle to schools and they’re often more than 10 miles away.
I am a single mom 3 kids, no car, we go everywhere on our bikes and by public transport. The school is 1 mile away and they come home for lunch everyday. Even the youngest who’s 6 cycles to/from school.
Great way to save on gas! (and stay slim too)
May 19th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
…….Gas is $1.29 per litre in Southwestern Ontario Canada……that works out to be about $5.16 for a US gallon…is it any wonder many residents do the “cross border thing”…..engage in great American shopping, have a great supper, gas up and call it a great day…
May 19th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I always loved it when people start comparing gas in the US to other much smaller countries geographical speaking. America is big and spread out and in most cities and absolutely in the rural areas you have to have a vehicle.
Not to mention on average we tend to have larger families than many countries. Some countries are shrinking in numbers as the birth rate is less than the death rate. Try getting a family of 7 in a Prius :).
May 19th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I used to walk 1.5 miles to school each day, come sun, rain or snow. Probably was quicker than driving Although happymomof3 I think a 10 mile cycle through the mountains / hills of Scotland to school would be a real challenge compared to the Netherlands ;-)
May 19th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I dunno azawa, when I’m on the interstate I feel a whole lot better going around big 18 wheeler trucks in a big vehicle than I do in a smaller car. And the statistics pretty much back that up, you’re safer in an accident in a bigger vehicle than you are in a small car. It’s simple physics, the more metal and space between you and whatever is hitting you, the better off you are likely to be. I’m sure there are exceptions, a Volvo car might be safer than a Hundai SUV, but for the most part an SUV or minivan is going to be safer to be in than a car. But the volvo probably costs twice what the Hundai costs, too.
So, if you’re looking at thirty or forty dollars difference in taking the minivan or SUV vs the car, and if you take the car then the luggage and stroller will completely fill the trunk meaning you can’t buy anything once you get there… but if you take the bigger vehicle then you can shop while there plus you’ll be safer on those 500 or so miles of interstate… which do you do?
It may end up being a mute point for us because one of the grandparents has hinted that they would like to come with us, in which case we have to take the bigger vehicle.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
In an argument with 18 wheeler you may be dead either way. I wouldn’t feel too safe in an SUV on the highway, remember the Ford Explorer rollover deaths. I read a disturbing storing a while back about a women driving back from vacation in a large SUV with three children in the back. One of them distracted her, she drifted off the road and the SUV flipped. Two of her children were killed the other one was crippled.
One good thing about these high (and going higher) gas prices is what it is doing to the sales of large SUVs (and only in the US would using an SUV for a 1.5 mile journey be considered a gas saving strategy).
May 19th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
My son plays sports (carries an ice chest, huge bag of equiptment) and carries a back pack that weighs over 40 pds. on a light day. They only get 30 minutes for lunch. Not even enough time to drive home. There is no way he would be able to ride a bike. We also live in a very populated area. I do not feel he would be safe having to cross the 2 major highways he would need to croos. Unfornately in southern california, that’s just the way it is. His high school has over 4,000 kids. The high school less than 2 miles away has over 3,000. The high school 2 miles the other way has 3,000 also. You can imagine the traffic. That’s 11,000 plus kids in a 4 mile radius trying to start school at the exact same time (and that’s not including the 4 junior highs and 11 elementary in the same area.) We have a ton of kids in our area. He leaves 30 minutes before class starts just to get parked in time to be on time to class.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I would take the smaller car and hope that someone driving an SUV does not hit me and crush me.
According to Consumer Reports the Prius is one of the safest cars, also the Honda Accord and Civic, Lexus and VW Passat were up there too. Like I said in my post my husband sees plenty of SUV drivers severly injured from accidents that they caused, mainly rollovers.
We will just have to agree to disagree. I will never concede that an SUV is safer then a normal sized car, except when an IED is involved(Dh is also a Navy man). Minivans are necessary for some families and not in the same category as an SUV.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Midsize SUVs are becoming safer, but side and rear impact crashes remain a weakness, according to recent testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The IIHS conducts crash tests in three main areas: font, side and rear. Of the ten vehicles tested, nearly all received the top rating of “good” in the frontal crash protection test.
The one exception was General Motors’ (GM, Fortune 500) Hummer H3, which earned an “acceptable” rating in the front evaluation, one step below “good” on the scale. The 2008 H3 also received an “acceptable” rating in the side evaluation and a “poor” rating, which is the lowest possible score, in the rear crash protection test.
Joe Nolan, the Insurance Institute’s senior vice president, said in the report that the side impact evaluation revealed some “surprising” results.
“SUVs should have an inherent advantage in such [side] crashes because drivers and passengers ride higher up than in cars. People often think they’re safer in an SUV, but many cars perform much better in our side test than some of the SUVs in this group.”
Also:Reported by: NBC
The results are out on a new round of tests measuring the strength of roofs on SUV’s.
Researchers say the stronger the roof, the greater the chance you’ll survive a rollover wreck, and they want the government to raise the standards on roofs.
When an SUV rolls over in a wreck, more than half the time, somebody inside dies.
“We have these huge, heavy suv’s that are prone to rollover and when they do, it’s almost always fatal to the people inside.”
Some highway safety experts say flimsy roofs should share the blame, but a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety offers a simple solution.
“The new institute study shows clearly that stronger roofs reduced the risk of serious injury in rollover crashes.”
May 19th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I have seen figures of how the price of gas, being an indicator of the family budget in America. If you look at the typical family budget as a % of their income what they spend on gas you would have to get to $5.00 USD a gallon to get to what they spent in 1950.
Yes, Europe spends alot on gas. Makes me feel silly complaining about US prices.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I always think that having a car on vacation that limits the amount of more “stuff” that I buy to be a good thing!
Thanks for the calculations – such a fascinating topic. To be completely accurate however we would have to add in/out the true costs of a mile driven. The personal ones including the wear and tear on your car, the opportunity cost of the time spent in the car and the cost of insurance at higher yearly mileage rates. And of course the societal ones including the wear and tear on our infrastructure and the oh so present carbon footprint.
In comparing our gas price to the UK, for example, it is also nice to remember that the gas mileage of the typical car is much higher than ours. My Brit friends were stunned to learn that my 35 mpg car was considered to have good gas mileage.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:17 am
We have a Suburban and a Toyota Sienna Van, 4 kids and one on the way via China…our Van only gets 2 extra miles than the Suburban.
Wish they would make a Hybrid Van
We take the Suburban everywhere as we also have my mom that lives with us. That is 7 people. We were at the water park this weekend and someone was amazed that we could fit everything in the Suburban with all our passengers :)
May 20th, 2008 at 6:31 am
RQ great numbers. Take a step further. Many people, in USA, think “Switch to a Hybrid”, normally a Prius. However, they don’t always do the math first. Most people, and I do mean most, finance their vehicles and buy them new. 6-12 months into it say the gas goes up and they think, “buy a Hybrid”. So they trade, and have, on average, an $8000.00 to $10,000.00 “Negative Trade Equity”, meaning they owe that much more than it is worth in trade. So what do they do? They trade anyway in order to drive a vehicle that gets 30 mpg vs say 20 mpg that they were getting. Now they pay 8-10k in negative equity in order to save $1000 annually in their gas expense, (avg annual driving of 15,000 miles at 30 mpg vs 20 mpg means 250 fewer gallons annually at $4.00 per gallon= $1000.00 savings.)
So, how does that math work for everyone? Let’s see, spend $8000.00 to $10,000.00 in order to save $1,000.00 a year? SENSELESS… It would take 8 to 10 years just to break even, and how many buy a new vehicle and drive it 8-10 years? Not many, the average trade cycle on new car purchases is now 37 months!
Obviously, a different story if you own your automobile outright.
And by the way, all those “grand and glorious” Prius automobiles that are going to “save the day”. Did you realize that the “greenhouse gasses” used to produce one Prius, due to the components and raw materials used to make them as well as transport to move them from place to place, eat up more for each Prius than if you owned and drove a Hummer for 5 years?
Check it out…..
We all would be better off to do as RQ says and save 150 a month resulting in saving the same $1000.00 annually and just keep on driving what we have. Pay if off and then look at something that gets better gas mileage.
By the way, Chevrolet Tahoe has an excellent Hybrid Tahoe, I have driven them and they are just as great as the regular Tahoe, for those of us who need the room!….
May 20th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I would just like to add the following from a book about SUV safety (New York Times reporter Keith Bradsher’s new book, “High and Mighty,”)
The occupant death rate in SUVs is 6 percent higher than it is for cars — 8 percent higher in the largest SUVs. The main reason is that SUVs carry a high risk of rollover; 62 percent of SUV deaths in 2000 occurred in rollover accidents. SUVs don’t handle well, so drivers can’t respond quickly when the car hits a stretch of uneven pavement or “trips” by scraping a guardrail. Even a small bump in the road is enough to flip an SUV traveling at high speed. On top of that, SUV roofs are not reinforced to protect the occupants against rollover; nor does the government require them to be.
Just some food for though.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Right, but if you’ve done your research before buying the bigger vehicle, and you’ve bought one that does not roll over easily, then you don’t have to worry about that. Our large vehicle isn’t any more likely to roll over than a car is.
You should all know me well enough by now to know that the vehicles we drive are known for safety. Our larger vehicle is safer than our smaller vehicle. I’m not going to tell you what the two of them are, you’ll just have to take my word for it. Or not. Doesn’t really matter to me.
The point is that for our family the question is most definitely do we take the larger and safer vehicle or the smaller and not quite as safe vehicle. Maybe that’s not the question in your family, but it is in ours.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Here in the NYC area we are starting to hear reports of people choosing to move here because it is cheaper – don’t have to drive a car (or even own one). Bwa-ha-ha!
I’ve lived in Germany and France, and spent extensive time in the Netherlands. Yes, we always rode our bikes to school in both countries. We would solve so many problems if we adopted their transit patterns – everything from obesity, to building better communities, to saving gas. But those countries made a commitment to humanscale development long ago. What did we do? We funded sprawl, and 8 lane boulevards with racing traffic, and housing developments with no sidewalks. Now we are stuck with it.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I was the one that bought the Prius. Our Mercedes SUV died in the middle of an intersection so we needed to get a new car. We were able to sell the thing for about what it would have cost to get it fixed. So, no, your math re: cost, didn’t work for us.
Could be that Priuses are expensive to the environment to make, but so are most other cars. I feel good about the fact that I drive this car and will continue to believe that the cost of gas in the US is where it should be, compared to what Canadians and Europeans have been paying for years.
Please don’t compare my little Prius to a Hummer – that is definitely NOT my mentality! The study to which you allude, Roll Tide, has been shown to have some serious faults in its assumptions, one being that newer technology has higher R&D costs, which will inevitably be reduced over time–as well as improved. The Hummer uses old technology, which is cheaper, currently to reproduce. We’ll see, in a couple of years as new generations of hybrids are created, who is right.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:03 am
A year ago I learned that the hybrid cars often cost more than the regular version so much so that you don’t always make up the extra unfront costs in gas saving.
May 21st, 2008 at 8:58 am
A few words about the Prius.
We have one and love it.
It gets 45 mpg around town, and 50-55 mpg on the highway.
(yes, that is the mpg we get with it.)
It will take about 3-5 years to pay for itself, if we just look at the econonics.
No fiddling with keys to open the door. Great when holding a child.
The computer provides a histogram of the MPG updated every 5 minutes. (If all cars had that, the drivers would likely drive smarter).
And it sure is fun to watch the SUV owners pouring 70-100$ into their vehicles, on the occasional times we need to stop at the pump.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:28 am
Wow… I just saw we are up at 8.6 USD a gallon! That’s a whole lot!!! I don’t get how anyone can afford driving a car anymore.