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1st
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Alright, I'm going to go out on a limb here (a very thin, unstable and probably unsafe limb to be on, actually) and say that I really don't care about fuel efficiency numbers. Nope. Not one bit.
I pretend I do because they are shoved down my throat, shouted at me from the rooftop and forced on me from every angle, but really I couldn't care less.
No, wait, that's not true: I care when I drive a hybrid and/or a diesel and only because I'm curious to see the numbers I can actually achieve. It's like a game I have to win, a score I must attain. I'm competing with myself and the car and the technology. I'm weird like that.
So, as I continue to sit here on this precarious limb I'll further explain myself: Yes, gas is expensive, but if it were so astronomically hard to afford we'd stop buying it all together. We'd boycott. We'd give the oil companies a big “FU” and take the bus or bike or resort to horse and carriage again. If we were so up in arms about it, we'd do more about it. We, the public, far outnumber the oil companies... I'm fairly certain we'd win if we truly wanted to do something about it.
Then there are the “improved” fuel efficiency numbers carmakers are so proud to announce every year: “We shave off 0.8657L/100km in this year's model!” Great. Thanks. That'll save me all of a quarter cent at the pumps. Thank you for giving me some breathing room in my finances. I am forever indebted to you.
Their pride in gaining that half litre here and one litre there often makes me smile. Who are they trying to impress? Their financing departments who gave them efficiency quotas to meet? Possibly. And what if it all goes south like it did for Hyundai? All this hype around fuel efficiency is reaching a point where it's almost (if not more) important than the number of airbags in a car.
“Oooh, it gets 5L/100km, that's amazing.”
“But it only has 1 airbag...”
“Whatever, I'll take it!!”
So, no, I don't care about fuel efficiency numbers and I'm not afraid to say it. I care about handling, driveability, visibility, ease-of-use in the driver's seat, horsepower, and the drivetrain... important things like that.
It might be lonely out here on my limb, but I'm holding on for dear life as I'm sure more than one of you are trying to shake me off right now in your frustration over my not caring about making vehicles more fuel efficient.
If a car is going to cost me less at the pumps at the expense of something else inherently important to a vehicle (read: driveability, power) then I want nothing to do with it. I'll continue to tell you all what my vehicle “achieves” throughout the week, but know that I care nothing about it. I do it for you readers who feel the need to hear it, for some peace of mind.
I don't drive to be fuel efficient, and I doubt I ever will. By the way, there's room on this unstable limb for anyone else who cares to join me.
I pretend I do because they are shoved down my throat, shouted at me from the rooftop and forced on me from every angle, but really I couldn't care less.
No, wait, that's not true: I care when I drive a hybrid and/or a diesel and only because I'm curious to see the numbers I can actually achieve. It's like a game I have to win, a score I must attain. I'm competing with myself and the car and the technology. I'm weird like that.
So, as I continue to sit here on this precarious limb I'll further explain myself: Yes, gas is expensive, but if it were so astronomically hard to afford we'd stop buying it all together. We'd boycott. We'd give the oil companies a big “FU” and take the bus or bike or resort to horse and carriage again. If we were so up in arms about it, we'd do more about it. We, the public, far outnumber the oil companies... I'm fairly certain we'd win if we truly wanted to do something about it.
Then there are the “improved” fuel efficiency numbers carmakers are so proud to announce every year: “We shave off 0.8657L/100km in this year's model!” Great. Thanks. That'll save me all of a quarter cent at the pumps. Thank you for giving me some breathing room in my finances. I am forever indebted to you.
Their pride in gaining that half litre here and one litre there often makes me smile. Who are they trying to impress? Their financing departments who gave them efficiency quotas to meet? Possibly. And what if it all goes south like it did for Hyundai? All this hype around fuel efficiency is reaching a point where it's almost (if not more) important than the number of airbags in a car.
“Oooh, it gets 5L/100km, that's amazing.”
“But it only has 1 airbag...”
“Whatever, I'll take it!!”
So, no, I don't care about fuel efficiency numbers and I'm not afraid to say it. I care about handling, driveability, visibility, ease-of-use in the driver's seat, horsepower, and the drivetrain... important things like that.
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| Photo: Sébastien D'Amour |
It might be lonely out here on my limb, but I'm holding on for dear life as I'm sure more than one of you are trying to shake me off right now in your frustration over my not caring about making vehicles more fuel efficient.
If a car is going to cost me less at the pumps at the expense of something else inherently important to a vehicle (read: driveability, power) then I want nothing to do with it. I'll continue to tell you all what my vehicle “achieves” throughout the week, but know that I care nothing about it. I do it for you readers who feel the need to hear it, for some peace of mind.
I don't drive to be fuel efficient, and I doubt I ever will. By the way, there's room on this unstable limb for anyone else who cares to join me.