Fuel Economy Series Part 1

by Tim Joseph

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be writing a lot about fuel economy. Traditionally, gas is at its highest prices in the summer months when most people are traveling. It seems to spike even higher during holidays like July4th. With the 4th less than a month away, gas prices are expected to go up to $150 per barrel which is about $20 more than they are now. Today the gas station I pass on the way in to work had 87 octane for $4.05. At Dick Scott we have several high mileage vehicles that will get you where you want to go for a whole lot less. Vehicles like the Nissan Versa or the Kia Rio. I’ll tell you a lot more about those vehicles as we progress in the series but for now let’s talk about fuel economy in general.

FuelEconomy.gov is a great reasource for everything fuel related. Do yourself a favor and download the Fuel Economy Guide for 2008. A lot changed in the way fuel economy was calculated in 2008 so if you bought your car in 2007 you may want to see what has changed. You car hasn’t changed but the new testing may give you a more accurate look at where your money is going.

One thing of interest on this website is the section about “Find Your Car’s EnergyImpact Score“. This made me think of a good friend of mine who had a 2005 Ford F-150 w/ the big 5.4L V8 engine. He drove around 15,000 mile per year. He traded it in for a Versa, admitting that there was no need to have such a big vehicle. I did a side by side comparison between the 05 F-150 and the 07 Versa and here is what I found:

	Versa	Ford F-150
Cost To Drive 25 Miles	$3.52	$7.04
Fuel To Drive 25 Miles	0.89 per gallon	1.79 per gallon
Cost to fill up	$26.81	$126.55
Mile on a tank	333	450
Tank Size	13.2 gallons	35.7 gallons
Annual Fuel Cost	$2110	$4220

Not only did Derek lower his payment a couple hundred dollars a month on his payment (even more on insurance) but he cut his gas bill in half! If you are considering a Nissan Versa or any one of Dick Scott’s high mileage vehicles, please compare your vehicle to the new one to see how much you’ll save. Now that’s being frugal!

Dick Scott Kia – 800-730-9872
Dick Scott Nissan – 800-504-8536
Dick Scott Dodge – 800-571-6906
Dick Scott Motormall – 800-486-2415

Dick Scott Goes Green!

by Tim Joseph

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Dick Scott would be collecting cell phones to recylce in support of the Plymouth YMCA. We’ve set up drop boxes where you can donate you old phones for a good cause.

Today we started a new paper recycling program at Dick Scott. I was given a small box that I’ll use to recycle all my paper that would normally go into the trash. The program is called RecycleMax, Inc. Did you know that we produce more waste per person than any other country in the world?

With the office and writing paper we throw away each year we could build a 12-foot high wall from Los Angeles to New York City. One ton of recycled paper saves 24 trees, 2.5 barrels of fuel oil, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity and keeps 3.5 cubic yards of materials from being landfilled!

Our janitor is a little more bored but we all feel like we’re doing something positive by recycling an enourmous amount of paper. Paper I used today may someday end up as tissue paper, paper towels or a cereal box. Hey… it IS easy being green!