Hello again,
I had someone ask me recently, “how much does a tenth of a mile per gallon of fuel save me in a year?” My response was “it depends which tenth your speaking about”. I explained the savings on a tenth of 5.5 vs 5.6 is much greater than going from 8.5 vs 8.6 mpg.
We sat down to discuss how these calculations should effect decisions regarding purchasing fuel saving equipment and options. Here are some calculations based on driving 120,000 miles a year, 2,500 miles a week for 48 out of 52 weeks in a year. Figure on fuel @ $4.00 a gallon.
@5.5 mpg you would burn 21,818 gallons of fuel at a cost of $87,272.00
@5.6 mpg you would burn 21,428 gallons of fuel at a cost of $85,714.00
The savings between these two would be $1,558.00
@6.5 mpg you would burn 18,461 gallons of fuel at a cost of $73,844.00
@6.6 mpg you would burn 18,181 gallons of fuel at a cost of $72,724.00
The savings between these two would be $1,120.00
@7.5 mpg you would burn 16,000 gallons of fuel at a cost of $64,000
@7.6 mpg you would burn 15,789 gallons of fuel at a cost of $63,156
The savings between these two would be $844.00
@8.5 mpg you would burn 14,117 gallons of fuel at a cost of $56,468
@8.6 mpg you would burn 13,953 gallons of fuel at a cost of $55,812
The savings between these two would be $656.00
As you can see, the tenth between 5.5 and 5.6 was $1,558.00. The savings between 8.5 and 8.6 is only $656.00 which is 2.375 times less savings than the tenth between 5.5 and 5.6.
The points I’m trying to make are that you need to pay attention as you increase your fuel mileage, the return on investment can take longer depending on the expense you take on. Let’s remember, it wasn’t that long ago when 5.5 mpg was common. The savings from going from 5.5 to 8.6 is 7,865 gallons at $4.00 a gallon this would equal $31,460.00 in a year. On 48 weeks the savings per week would be $655.41.
As I say “A Tenth Saved is A Tenth Earned”! Always remember, tenths do matter!
Henry