02-07-2008, 07:04 AM
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Active Enthusiast
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Real Name: Michael
Hybrids: Saturn Vue 2007
Posts: 109
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Re: move over MPGs, here come MPDs
MPD's add one more variable to the equation - the price of a gallon of gas. While I can control my MPGs by my driving style, I have less control over the price of gas. Certain states will always have an advantage. New Jersey gas will always be cheaper than New York by upwards of 20-25 cents per gallon. San Francisco will always have some of the highest gas prices in the lower 48. So the MPD's of two similar vehicles will vary based upon the cost of gas in your location.
With that said - I compute my gas cost per mile (CPM)- I currently average 8.7 cents per mile for gas. It is useful to track rising prices CPM but you can also track it by the price per gallon of gas. There really is no correlation between the cost of gas and my mpg. Either way I drive smooth  - regardless of the price of gas.
What I do take from the article is the ease at which we all swipe our credit cards to pay for not only gas but everything. Our world makes it way to easy to swipe now and hope to pay it off later. It would hit home more if you had to dig into the wallet and pay with real dollars. Then we all would see and feel the sting in our pocketbooks.
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