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I'm sure plenty of people have said this already. In this marketplace of increasingly diverse fuel sources for passenger cars (e.g., diesel, ethanol, electric, hydrogen, garbage for your flux capacitor, etc.), we need to adopt additional or replacement metrics for fuel. Miles per gallon for gasoline is relatable, but is obsolete in the expanding energy market for cars.
On the sole basis of my own experience, I think it would be best for us (i.e., everyone) to add:
- Miles per dollar of fuel (mi/$) as paid at the pump,
- Miles per energy cost (mi/kW-h) to harvest and deliver fuel to pump,
- Miles per environmental impact (fuel harvesting, transport, emissions).
If we had this information, then, perhaps, we could make informed decisions. The broadcast media are fools for failing to jump on this already.
MPGe "measure of the average distance traveled per unit of energy consumed"
Yes, I get that this government contrivance has been used for electric cars. I'm not looking to oversimplify the issue, but to give it what it deserves. Also, I don't very much trust our government's offices to arrive at correct conclusions.
Why reinventing the wheel? If we don't know what measures or system (s) we use by now...
It would be like waiting for "hope and change," seeing the change, and then realizing that the whole ball of wax is a hopeless situation. Don't you think so?
Why? If I'm planning a 1,000 mile trip, what do I want to know? How many gallons it will take to go 1,000 miles. Which will remain the same, no matter how much the gas costs along the way. On that basis, I can choose the most appropriate car for the trip based on MPG, and adjust my cost by altering my driving style, choosing a more economical route, using a cash-back oil company credit card, making sure my tires are properly inflated, going to Oklahoma instead of California, or not taking the trip at all. There is nothing else I need to know. MPG.
Rating petrol vehicles on gallons per mile eliminates one calculation required to determine the cost of driving.
Including a "cost" figure doesn't work because that could change monthly or more frequently. Gasoline was $3/gal a year ago. Now it is $4. Any rating done a year ago would have to be done again.
Why? If I'm planning a 1,000 mile trip, what do I want to know? How many gallons it will take to go 1,000 miles. Which will remain the same, no matter how much the gas costs along the way. On that basis, I can choose the most appropriate car for the trip based on MPG, and adjust my cost by altering my driving style, choosing a more economical route, using a cash-back oil company credit card, making sure my tires are properly inflated, going to Oklahoma instead of California, or not taking the trip at all. There is nothing else I need to know. MPG.
All of that information is already available as long as you pay attention to the MPG your automobile uses. Most new automobiles show you MPG usage on the highway, city driving, or a combination of both. So, a simple division should give you a rough idea. The bottom line is that calculations such as the ones you are trying to figure have been accomplished by a lot of drivers for decades already. It's just a lot simpler nowadays since the automobile shows you the fuel usage per mile, right by the odometer. Years ago we just used a pen and pencil, while now not only the automobile provides the data for you, but some accomplish the same with a GPS unit. Everything you are asking for is already available
If you have a smart phone, there are GPS gas usage apps for it already, and some tell you where along the way gasoline is cheaper.
Miles per dollar isnt going to work, because no one knows what a dollar is worth.
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