Jul 11th, 2008
The 5% Plan: the Answer is Clear
If you’re wondering where our buddy Kyle of Rather-Be-Shopping and his regular column is, he’s taking a little break (which is more than just a little deserved). He’ll be back in a short while, so stay tuned for some of our usual Uncommon Cents goodness in the meantime!
266.4 miles. My total for the past seven days driving was close to my baseline use, which means that it was another one of those weeks where I drove into the main area of Honolulu (or to work) every day. As it appears I’ve maximized all of my other areas of maximizing mileage, it’s very clear to me that the only way for me to use less gas short of purchasing a new vehicle is to actually drive less.
Interestingly, my mileage per gallon was the worst it’s been since starting this experiment. I estimate that I used 11.89 gallons of gas, far beyond what I would have expected, for 22.4 miles per gallon. I did run into more traffic than usual, but the approximately 10% worse mileage seems excessive. This pushed my total numbers to be short of my goal: in terms of miles driven, the difference is minimal (248.65 miles per week actually driven with a goal of 247.7) but the difference in terms of miles per gallon (24.29 vs. 24.82) is showing more of a gap than I’d like.
I’ll watch the mileage closely this week and see how it all goes. Declining mileage can be a sign of a mechanical issue with the vehicle. But overall, the answer is clear: for me to use less gas, I have to drive less–no question about it.
