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6th
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The combination of gas at an all-time high of $1.50 per litre last week in Vancouver and a consumption rate of 20L/100km encountered in this week's Ford F-150 Harley Davidson tester really hammered home the financial penalty one is subjected to for driving inefficient vehicles.
For many owners of pickup trucks and SUVs, there's a demonstrable need to be addressed with such a vehicle, and that may justify - or in fact, require - owning a gas-guzzling behemoth; in many other cases though, ownership may not be so much needs based as desire based.
Regardless of the reasons for ownership, simple math begins to paint an ominous picture, especially if long commutes are involved.
It's not unheard of these days to achieve fuel economy in the 5L/100km range with comfortable spacious vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
Assuming such vehicles consume 25% of the fuel that 4x4 crew cab pickups burn, a $100 fill-up becomes $25. Extrapolate the savings over a year of driving (averaged out to be 20,000km), and the annual savings could easily return $4,500 to the wallet.
Over a five year term, that's $22,500.
Maybe it's time to rethink what our automotive needs truly are and how they can be more efficiently addressed. If a pickup truck is only needed once a month, maybe renting would be the way to go. The same when a large SUV is needed for a family road trip.
For most everything else, a highly fuel-efficient vehicle may be a wiser choice. I don't see wage increases in today's financial environment keeping pace with the projected increases in fuel over the coming years, making the penalty for over-consumption hurt that much more.
For many owners of pickup trucks and SUVs, there's a demonstrable need to be addressed with such a vehicle, and that may justify - or in fact, require - owning a gas-guzzling behemoth; in many other cases though, ownership may not be so much needs based as desire based.
Regardless of the reasons for ownership, simple math begins to paint an ominous picture, especially if long commutes are involved.
It's not unheard of these days to achieve fuel economy in the 5L/100km range with comfortable spacious vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
Assuming such vehicles consume 25% of the fuel that 4x4 crew cab pickups burn, a $100 fill-up becomes $25. Extrapolate the savings over a year of driving (averaged out to be 20,000km), and the annual savings could easily return $4,500 to the wallet.
Over a five year term, that's $22,500.
Maybe it's time to rethink what our automotive needs truly are and how they can be more efficiently addressed. If a pickup truck is only needed once a month, maybe renting would be the way to go. The same when a large SUV is needed for a family road trip.
For most everything else, a highly fuel-efficient vehicle may be a wiser choice. I don't see wage increases in today's financial environment keeping pace with the projected increases in fuel over the coming years, making the penalty for over-consumption hurt that much more.
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| 2012 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson (Photo: Rob Rothwell) |