When I was entering my senior year of high school, my parents bought me a new car. After careful research we settled on a Chrysler Cirrus. There were many factors behind this choice; I was looking for an American car that was sleek and powerful. Although it’s had a few sensor issues, it has performed well (for an American car,) and is still my primary means of transportation these days. Now that I’m up in Maine, and earning a salary (barely) I have assumed most responsibilities for the car, such as lube jobs and, yes, gas. I just got back from the pump about $40 in the hole. Curious how soon this damage would again be inflicted, I went to fueleconomy.gov and looked up my car – what I found was somewhat surprising.
The MPG estimates for a ’99 Chrysler Cirrus are 17 city / 25 highway. As a comparison, I looked up my parents’ new Prius – 48 city / 45 highway. The site does a handy calculation of “annual fuel cost.” This is based on an estimated 15K driven per year with gas costs at 2.88/gal. Based on these numbers, the cost to fuel my car for one year is $2,160 – or – as an AmeriCorps volunteer, about 2 months salary. But I chose to be a volunteer, right? Yeah. By the way, the annual fuel cost of the Prius is under 1K!
But this isn’t just a whine about expenses, rather one about choices. I wanted a 6 cylinder car because, face it, 4 cylinder cars just aren’t as fun to drive. Therefore I seek American Muscle, affordable power. But what is the price of such bullishness? Can we still have powerful “American” style cars in this era, or is this desire incompatible with global realities, indeed even irresponsible? I’d hate to say so. I’d like to think that American Muscle can be green (see the Tesla Roadster.) But at what point does this model become affordable to the average consumer, and what’s to stop Toyota from building it first? I’m optimistic about change happening, but I fear that past mistakes will keep us far behind the eight ball for quite some time.
What is most fascinating is your interest in american cars with powerful engines, not any of this cost of fuel green economics crap you’re shrouding it in. When did you become such a car-dude? And are you thinking that your next set of wheels will be a Harley? 😉
Okay, I’ll take the bait. I’ve always been a car-dude. There is nothing I despise more than a Geo Metro style car. Driving is supposed to be fun, and in little tinkerboxes it just isn’t. I recently test drove a Civic Hybrid… it was a Geo Metro-esque, i.e. no fun. My Cirrus is fun to drive, and as I see it, most of the green cars (again, with exception of the $100,000 Tesla Roadsters) are no fun. I am looking for something with a MPG rating in between my car and the Prius that is about a fun to drive as my car is now. Is this possible? Hell yeah, but it has been so stymied that people are losing faith in Detroit to ever even get there. Cost of fuel and being green DOES matter to me, Dan, as you should know, but I’m not going to ride a bicycle every day.
Hmpf…seems to me you might be onto something here Matt. More people might buy hybrids if they shift the way people argue about the vehicles. Jeez, in Who Killed the Electric Car?, the director–Chris Paine–argued that the commercials had no sex appeal. It was very abstract, shadowy, and mysterious. Hey, I do not mean that they have to completely sell out to the sex–I mean–advertising industry, but that form of expression is supposed to hook the most people possible. At the heart of it, the purpose of building cars is to sell cars.
BTW, A-MEN to biking to work, I might if I lived as close as you do to work, but I have 15-20 minute car ride. That turns into a much longer bike ride.