54.5mpg mandate will add $5,000 to vehicle prices (motorway, trucks, bike)
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Cars are already expensive now with most midsize costing around $30k. With the advances in technology, the prices shouldnt go up that much in the future. Look at laptops now...what you paid $2500 for in 2000 is now $299 so adding more technology to cars shouldnt cost that much more in 12 yrs seeing how many cars today have a load of tech features on them.
Technology has brought the price of cars down. But because of inflation it doesn't appear that way at first glance.
In 1976 my parents bought their first new vehicle. It was a 1976 Jeep CJ10 pickup they paid about $6000 for it which when you adjust for inflation works out to $24,000.
Which is pretty comparable to what a F150 starts at right now. But let's look at what the $6000 got them.
The truck came in one of maybe 5 colors.
For safety equipment it had shoulder harness seat belts which the government just started to require a few years earlier.
It did not come with a rear bumper because that was not required.
It came with an AM/FM radio with one speaker in the center of the dash.
It had heat no A/C it had floor vents and quarter windows for cooling.
It had a bench seat that only adjusted 2 ways forward and backwards.
It was a automatic with full time 4 wheel drive that with a strong tailwind might get 19mpg on the highway.
I asked my father and he can't remember for sure but he believes it came with either no warranty at all or a one year warranty.
The transmission was replaced around 75,000 miles the engine around 90,000. They finally junked the truck at around 120,000 miles when it needed another tranny. At the time the body was probably 50% rust.
So when you factor in inflation paying $30,000 for a car that should last 200,000. Has all the safety and other features of a modern car plus it gets 30mpg and has a multiple year warrant to me that's a good deal.
I've mentioned it before but I recently bought a new car to replace my paid-off 14 year old car that needed quite a bit of work and which I'd pretty much outgrown anyway.
I'm paying about $15 a month more for a car that is much more nicely equipped, has significantly better gas mileage, much more robust safety features, and has world-wide support(which is important in my line of work if I intend on keeping it for a while).
So I don't see why anyone is freaking out about ALL vehicles being unaffordable. I will say that some are absurdly overpriced though. Particularly trucks.
Good, I hope he's right. That means less stupid people on the road. Think about the type of person that buys a brand new inefficient cheap car. Do we really want to encourage these morons to drive? This is a blessing in disguise and I fully support it.
I agree. The problem is that those idiots will end up with the cheapest thing left that is likely unsafe as hell because it's not been maintained. Now we have a moron driving a "Corvair".
We are of the opposite ilk when it comes to replacing cars every few years. We usually keep a car about 13 years. I have no idea why it's 13, it just seems to end up that way. Usually low mileage as well. Mrs. Tek drives a 2003 Maxima that has about 60k on it.
My 1999 Civic HX M/T got me 51.2 mpg from Chicago to Memphis in 70 to 80F weather at 70 mph all hwy. Modern cars can do better with the new engine technology and if they didn't make cars so big a bulky, which is what happened to the modern Civic and Accord. Nowadays I'm looking forward to a Fortd Focus hatchback in my future.
I agree. The problem is that those idiots will end up with the cheapest thing left that is likely unsafe as hell because it's not been maintained. Now we have a moron driving a "Corvair".
The invisible hand of Darwin at work. I have no problem with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Duk123
200,000 miles / 54.5mpg= 3670gal. X $4=$14680
200,000/ 30mpg= 6667gal. X $4=$26,667-14680=$11,987
So up front the car will cost you $5000 more but at todays gas prices over it's life it's going to save $12,000.
Because we all know for a fact that 12 years from now gasoline will cost exactly $4/gallon just like 12 years ago gasoline cost $4/gallon. Historical Gas Price Charts - GasBuddy.com
The more expensive gas becomes, the stronger the argument for paying more upfront for higher MPG.
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