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When buying a new car.. I think people are placing way too much emphasis on MPG! Like seriously i'm sure things like interior quality, comfort, design, reliability and performance are much more important than MPG!
The difference in MPG between most cars is negligible at best and in the real world the MPG is all over the place..
If i drive a V8 and keep it in good condition and also keep it below 2000rpm for 90% of the time then i will probably get better MPG than a small 4-banger revving its guts out..
It depends on the person's budget, some people maybe just cannot afford more than the $14k eco car.
But in general, I agree. When I bought my car, mpg was a concern, but just one of a few factors. With driving average miles per year, the higher the mpg numbers, the less of a factor they become; there is not much of a difference in operating cost between 30 and 35 mpg, compared to 12 and 17 mpg, or 17 and 30 mpg.
I'm a "drive what you want to drive and have fun with it" kind of guy but here's what I say/have experienced. With some V8 cars, yes, you can get good-decent mpg out of them usually if you can keep your foot out of em. With truck and SUV V8s...LOL...I find that the EPA mpg is wishful thinking.
The biggest thing that I can't wrap my head around are people who drive the big HD trucks just for fun and maybe a load of firewood once in a blue moon or a dirt bike. Like...ugh...I drove an F-350 and a Dodge 2500 for work one summer and OMG, the mileage is SO bad and the tanks SO huge. 30 some odd gallon tank with the same miles per tank as 8 gallon tank Saturn car lol. We'd take the fuel card (the fuel is on the tax payers lol, it was a state job) and go to the depot to refuel them every 3 days or so. The pump would show the cost of a fill up and..... 0.0 ya, no thanks lol. I see why people like them, they are big and powerful and kinda quick...the Dodge did 0-60 in around 8 seconds, we timed. But if you aren't using them for what they were meant to do (work) it seems like a waste to me.
I drive a v6 camaro I picked up for $2k. I average 23-24 mpg for my mixed commute.
I threw on some z28 sway bars and poly bushings, some eBay cheapy "ricer/racer brakes" still a smooth ride but a little tighter suspension. Not a track car but stops great handles decent, and with a 5-speed and some free mods, it can be fun to drive around.
Not the best mileage, but ok, not a tan/tan corrolla that has no fun value to drive. Had it 2 years now and 20k miles.
If we were having a MPG contest i'd put my money on my Toyota Yaris 4 banger over your V8 automobile .
Over the life of a car a substantial saving can be had from a car that gets 30-50mpg as opposed to a car that gets 15-25mpg, may not be important to some but its important to me.
I put safety concerns ahead of mpg.
Road noise is an issue with many small, fuel efficient vehicles. I value a quiet, comfortable ride.
I also want a vehicle that I enjoy driving. I have driven small, fuel efficient cars but don't think they are fun to drive. I spend quite a bit of time behind the wheel and I want a vehicle that I look forward to driving.
The way a vehicle looks is important to me. Some people like the look of small, fuel efficient cars. I do not.
The idea that a V8 will get as good MPG as a 4cyl even with the silly RPM gag is just stupid. I love the old vintage cars. and even the new muscle cars but they are a dying thing. My Toyota with 1.8 gets about 42 MPG highway and 36 around town. At 3.5 to 4 a gallon in this horrible economy which means 6 a gallon if things start to heat up, I can scoot all over for half what you pay for that muscle car. Lets say I drive 25000 a year which I do or more. 25000/38MPG is 658 gallons per year. At 3.5 a gallon is 2302 dollars. In a muscle car lets say you get an avg of 22mpg Thats 1137 gallons of fuel. Thats 3979 dollars in fuel. thats 1677 dollars I have to go to Disney World with the kids or to some other place or just to put in my 401k that you put out the tail pipe. Now lets say I bought a Prius, 25000/45MPG 555 gallons times 3.5 1944 dollars in fuel and the difference is 2034 dollars and I can go for a great week in a lot of great spots for free or put a nice chunk of money away in a 401k.
Most people get rich or set for retirement not by winning the lotto or that big over night scheme, its by being careful with your money and saving it instead of dumping it down a tail pipe. Now set the calculator to 5 or 6 a gallon and the numbers are even more eye opening. Its the latte affect. You may not notice 10 or 20 dollars every time you fill up or how often you fill up, but it adds up and fast. Unless you have money to burn literally this idea is just stupid.
Road noise is an issue with many small, fuel efficient vehicles. I value a quiet, comfortable ride.
I also want a vehicle that I enjoy driving. I have driven small, fuel efficient cars but don't think they are fun to drive. I spend quite a bit of time behind the wheel and I want a vehicle that I look forward to driving.
The way a vehicle looks is important to me. Some people like the look of small, fuel efficient cars. I do not.
All valid points if that is something that means something to you. But you will pay for that. It comes at a cost. Is it worth 400 more dollars to you to have a more comfortable seat for a few hours on some plane where you get to load first or to be a bit more cramped and then have some extra money for the trip or to save? Most people I have seen who live with all the luxury's are either the Romney types who have it or most often the other type of people who like to live like it and have nothing in reserve and spend it all to live like they do. I like the large cars ride also, but my Toyota Corolla fits in small parking spots with east, gets 42 mpg highway, is very easy on repair bills, 75k and not a one so far. I replaced all the tires for 350 dollars new, try that on your Excursion. The seats are fine, and it drives well. As Lee Iaccoca said, a small car is not any more safe or unsafe as a big car. His words not mine. Its all in the design. I have saved untold thousands of dollars by driving fuel efficient cars since my first 6cyl truck back in the seventy's that got 25 mpg when the standard V8 got 12. I would rather give my money to feed the pig than the oil company's that I did use some of that savings to buy Exxon and COP stocks. LOL
Road noise is an issue with many small, fuel efficient vehicles. I value a quiet, comfortable ride.
I also want a vehicle that I enjoy driving. I have driven small, fuel efficient cars but don't think they are fun to drive. I spend quite a bit of time behind the wheel and I want a vehicle that I look forward to driving.
The way a vehicle looks is important to me. Some people like the look of small, fuel efficient cars. I do not.
Most of use DO put safety up ahead of MPG... the manufacturers do as well. You'd be hard pressed to find a vehicle made i the last couple decades that was not Actually safe to drive (especially at the time of production).
I do agree that the biggest difference between a low end vehicle and a high end vehicle is the sound deadening involved in the build. Too bad that low end BIG cars have more surface area and often LESS sound deadening (that stuff is expensive) than low end small cars. I've been in several "big, traditional 'Merrycan" cars that are substantially worse than the little econo-box cars I'm accustom to driving as rentals. So while you're correct, it's kind of a false correctness and it's easy to avoid.
Fun to drive is entirely a personal thing. I come from a sport motorcycle background (didn't own a car until I was 28, motorcycle only before then), several years of roadracing in there and then my first car was a Porsche that I also put on the race track and autoX course. I thoroughly enjoy light, nimble, very responsive vehicles. It's been 9 years since I owned that car, and I've owned the replacement for 8.. a car that has a lifetime average (over ~240k miles) of 48mpg. I still get the evil eye from my wife when we come upon some corners, and I still chuckle to myself when I toss it through those corners. I thoroughly enjoy driving my car, even as old as it is and the number of miles I've put on it. It is WAY more enjoyable to drive than any of the big-engined American cars I've been able to drive (barge, that's about the best term I can find).
As for looks, that's also an individual thing. You were probably brought up with certain attitudes towards things in your life. That's how whole generations of families become "Chevy" or "Ford" for life. If you have the money to throw away, good for you. If not, I suspect that you'd be very surprised at the quality that goes into SOME of the higher mileage vehicles.
Heck, even my Porsche, a 1986 model, saw over 30mpg on the highway. That little turbo 4-cylinder engine put more than a few 'Merrycan boats to shame too (though, I'll admit that was probably mostly driver experience ~ don't see too many domestic cars at track days unless it's at a drag strip)
If you're buying a new car no matter what than it makes sense to pay attention to mpg but the thing that gets me is when people I know have bought a new car specifically/only because it gets better gas mileage, when their old car is paid off and still running. People ask me why I still drive my old v8 Grand Marquis when the gas mileage isn't good. (actually mileage is not that bad for a v8.) I tell them the car is reliable as hell and that having no car payment and dirt cheap insurance is a lot better financial incentive than a few mpg.
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