Getting from Here to There: A Few Weird Suggestions for
Cheaper Transportation
In the vast suburban sprawl of the twenty-first century, most families cannot live
without a car. Yet gas is expensive, increasingly so every day. What is a sage
mommy to do? Cut down on vehicle costs without becoming the town hermit! Yes, it
can be done, and here's how:
1. Gas = Gas. There is no difference between the gasoline from one reputable
station and the gasoline at another. People who insist they can tell the difference are
victims of the same placebo effect that makes migraine sufferers think they are
cured by a wonder drug that ends up to be a sugar pill. All gasoline comes from the
same short list of places, is refined by the same process, and is of identical
chemical makeup. I was a Chevron-only person until a mechanic friend informed me
that the major companies routinely buy gasoline from each other. If Chevron thinks
Conoco’s gas is fine, who am I to disagree?
2. Smart Usage Means Lower Usage. If you want a wealth of gas savings ideas, talk
to someone who lived through the gas rationing a few decades ago. Listen carefully,
because rationing is increasingly becoming an alternative as a few selfish fuel hogs
suck up our planet’s resources for their private jets and 3000 square foot SUV’s. I
am told that pumping gas in cooler weather (mornings or nights in the summer)
produces less unburnable vapor and more actual liquid fuel, although I am not
familiar enough with cars to know whether or how this works. But I do know that
driving slower and avoiding skidding stops produces huge savings. If your vehicle
shows your miles-per-gallon rating, make a game of getting the highest number
possible. My family lowered our gas usage by over ten percent this way.
3. Your Car Should Run Like a Well-Oiled Machine, Literally. A fastidiously
maintained vehicle is more fuel-efficient and less likely to need repairs of a
catastrophically expensive nature. You can save even more money by doing the
maintenance yourself or by bartering with a skilled mechanic. Caveat: you will NOT
save money by working on your own car if you know nothing about cars and have no
mechanical aptitude whatsoever.
4. That New Car Smell is Expensive. In general, the cheapest way to become a
vehicle owner is to buy a used car in good condition from a private party, verified by
your own mechanic. When you buy new, you are paying for the smell and the
pleasure of seeing a single digit on the odometer. When you buy used from a lot,
you are paying for salaries, benefits, and rent. When you buy from a private party, you
are paying for car and only car. Which makes sense, since that’s all you’re getting.
5. Cut Back on Driving. Isn’t that obvious? Yet every mom thinks she is the exception
to this rule, the one whose life is such a unique combination of circumstances that
she is forced to live and sleep in her minivan. There is always an answer. Cut back
on activities. Combine errands and confine them to one morning per week. Offer to
carpool with another mom. Walk, bike, or take the bus. Of course the family minivan
is more convenient, but convenience invariably costs money. In this case, it's
sucking our planet dry as well.
Cheaper Transportation
In the vast suburban sprawl of the twenty-first century, most families cannot live
without a car. Yet gas is expensive, increasingly so every day. What is a sage
mommy to do? Cut down on vehicle costs without becoming the town hermit! Yes, it
can be done, and here's how:
1. Gas = Gas. There is no difference between the gasoline from one reputable
station and the gasoline at another. People who insist they can tell the difference are
victims of the same placebo effect that makes migraine sufferers think they are
cured by a wonder drug that ends up to be a sugar pill. All gasoline comes from the
same short list of places, is refined by the same process, and is of identical
chemical makeup. I was a Chevron-only person until a mechanic friend informed me
that the major companies routinely buy gasoline from each other. If Chevron thinks
Conoco’s gas is fine, who am I to disagree?
2. Smart Usage Means Lower Usage. If you want a wealth of gas savings ideas, talk
to someone who lived through the gas rationing a few decades ago. Listen carefully,
because rationing is increasingly becoming an alternative as a few selfish fuel hogs
suck up our planet’s resources for their private jets and 3000 square foot SUV’s. I
am told that pumping gas in cooler weather (mornings or nights in the summer)
produces less unburnable vapor and more actual liquid fuel, although I am not
familiar enough with cars to know whether or how this works. But I do know that
driving slower and avoiding skidding stops produces huge savings. If your vehicle
shows your miles-per-gallon rating, make a game of getting the highest number
possible. My family lowered our gas usage by over ten percent this way.
3. Your Car Should Run Like a Well-Oiled Machine, Literally. A fastidiously
maintained vehicle is more fuel-efficient and less likely to need repairs of a
catastrophically expensive nature. You can save even more money by doing the
maintenance yourself or by bartering with a skilled mechanic. Caveat: you will NOT
save money by working on your own car if you know nothing about cars and have no
mechanical aptitude whatsoever.
4. That New Car Smell is Expensive. In general, the cheapest way to become a
vehicle owner is to buy a used car in good condition from a private party, verified by
your own mechanic. When you buy new, you are paying for the smell and the
pleasure of seeing a single digit on the odometer. When you buy used from a lot,
you are paying for salaries, benefits, and rent. When you buy from a private party, you
are paying for car and only car. Which makes sense, since that’s all you’re getting.
5. Cut Back on Driving. Isn’t that obvious? Yet every mom thinks she is the exception
to this rule, the one whose life is such a unique combination of circumstances that
she is forced to live and sleep in her minivan. There is always an answer. Cut back
on activities. Combine errands and confine them to one morning per week. Offer to
carpool with another mom. Walk, bike, or take the bus. Of course the family minivan
is more convenient, but convenience invariably costs money. In this case, it's
sucking our planet dry as well.
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