I've seen several articles online recently about how slightly improving the gas efficiency of an inefficient car would be a bigger environmental(and monetary) boost than a seemingly larger improvement in an already efficient car. For example, going improving you gas mileage from 14 MPG to 19 MPG is better than going from 33 MPG to 44 MPG. At first glance, this may not be obvious, but you have to consider that what people are concerned about is gallons of gasoline. To find out the number saved, you have to take the inverse of MPG and take the difference between the two. To make it easier, I'll multiply everything by 100 miles to get a gallons to gallon comparison.
| 14 MPG | 19 MPG | Difference in Gallons | |
| x100 miles | 7.14 | 5.26 | 1.88 |
| 33 MPG | 44 MPG | Difference in Gallons | |
| x100 miles | 3.03 | 2.27 | 0.76 |
As you can see, the mild improvement in the inefficient vehicle saves more money and gas than a larger improvement in an already efficient vehicle over the course of 100 miles. Check out the MPG illusion here.
However, that still does not change the fact that going from 14 MPG to 33 or 44 MPG is even better.
You can see the same type of math in miles per hour. Going from 55 to 60 MPH on the freeway will be a bigger time savings that 70 to 75 MPH
Even better still is to use less. In the July issue of Money magazine there is a little table on page 28 that shows how driving less could affect your budget versus a more efficient car. It looks something like this:
| Prius | Camry | Camry driven efficiently | |
| MPG | 46 | 25 | 28 |
| Miles per year | 15000 | 15000 | 13500 |
| Gas consumed | 326 | 600 | 482 |
| Fuel Cost | $1,300 | $2,400 | $1,930 |
So driving a little more efficiently could save you almost $500 over the course of year. Not as much savings a the Prius, but less up front cost as well.
Of course, the most effective way to reduce your cost of gas is to minimize driving. The morning commute is usually your number one waste of gas. I made a decision to live close to where I work, so I save time and money by walking into work every day instead of driving. This means I fill up about once a month or less. I realize this isn't practical in some places, but for your next move you should consider it carefully.
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