Driving was Re: [extropy-chat] Seven cents an hour?

[Alfio Puglisi]

On 11/14/05, Rafal Smigrodzki <rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com> wrote:
> 40 km (=24.85 miles) x 2 = 49.7 miles - in two hours?
>
> Wow, when I drive to work, I make 45 miles in 45 minutes.

So you average 60 mph. On a highway, or in some other empty country
road. Around here most of the terrain is hills and mountains, and
unless you live in the right town near the highway you cannot hope of
averaging more than 50 km/h (30 mph). And in big cities the traffic is
very heavy, the average speed is much slower.

> What kind of a car are you driving? Burning 6 liters( = 1.584 gallons)
> for 49.7 miles in very slow driving makes 31.4 mpg.

My car is small (Renault Clio 1.2L), and gets between 17 and 20 km/l.
That would be 39 and 47 mpg. The manufacturer claims 48 mpg in the
best case, which is spot on. At the legal speed limit of 80 mph it
gets around 15 km/l (35 mpg). Around one third of all the cars in
Italy are about this size, and get similar fuel economy.

I put a lower number of 4 liters because modern diesel cars like the
Golf TDI or similar engines can get better mileage than my car, about
50-55 mpg if you are light on the gas pedal, while being at the same
time more powerful than mine (if you press on the pedal...)

> Even hybrids don't always get this kind of mileage. And the lower number you give, 4
> liters both ways, would make it 47.1 mpg, beyond even Prius territory
> (in real life, as opposed to salesman pitch).

I'm always surprised at how much fuel a US hybrid requires.

> I burn about 16 $ a day over about 90 miles.

I live 4.5 miles from work, but it takes 15 minutes to get there with
the car due to rush hour and traffic lights. It takes a bit more with
the bicycle, because it's on the top of a moderate hill. The time it
takes me to get to work is lower than the average, but not by much.
Between 30 and 60 minutes people start bitching about how long it is.

Alfio