Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Progress!
- 1908 Model T: 25 MPG
- 2004 average car milage: 20.8 MPG
// posted by Erik @ 6/07/2006 10:15:00 PM
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MPG of my 2002 Saturn SL (a pretty typical car sold today, as was the Model T in 1908) on my recent road trip: 40MPG on the highway/34MPG in the city. If you care about such things, it's FAR more intellectually honest to compare apples to apples to determine "progress."
Actually, Kevin, you don't have a typical auto: you have one that is a lot less powerful than average and gets a lot better gas milage than average.
In the comparison you're wanting to make, my VW Golf is much more typical: it's been the best selling line worldwide the last few decades, has a decent/average amount of pick-up and gets 23 MPG highway/city combined.
Anyway, even using your car as an example: it represents 200% increased energy efficiency over the last century. Air conditioners, refrigerators, and light-bulbs - for a few examples - have way outpaced that 200% improvement over the last two decades
In the comparison you're wanting to make, my VW Golf is much more typical: it's been the best selling line worldwide the last few decades, has a decent/average amount of pick-up and gets 23 MPG highway/city combined.
Anyway, even using your car as an example: it represents 200% increased energy efficiency over the last century. Air conditioners, refrigerators, and light-bulbs - for a few examples - have way outpaced that 200% improvement over the last two decades
Erik-
I have no reason to doubt your Golf figures. However, I must say that as I was car shopping a couple weeks ago, every car I looked at achieved at LEAST 30-40 miles highway, and 25-35 miles city. Do you mind sharing how much your car cost you? I said my Saturn was "typical" because it's very affordable at around $15K. There are even LESS expensive cars (Kia, for example) that get similar mileage. The Model T was the "economy car" of it's day, Erik. It was the car the average Joe could drive. As I said, I'm not doubting the figures you quoted for your Golf, I'm just curious.
I have no reason to doubt your Golf figures. However, I must say that as I was car shopping a couple weeks ago, every car I looked at achieved at LEAST 30-40 miles highway, and 25-35 miles city. Do you mind sharing how much your car cost you? I said my Saturn was "typical" because it's very affordable at around $15K. There are even LESS expensive cars (Kia, for example) that get similar mileage. The Model T was the "economy car" of it's day, Erik. It was the car the average Joe could drive. As I said, I'm not doubting the figures you quoted for your Golf, I'm just curious.
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