So I think it is time to change all your minds about diesel and that huge number that you see by the price of diesel. I have called a local gas station that offered regular gas, diesel and biodiesel. The prices are as follows regular gas $1.79 per gallon, diesel $2.68 per gallon, and biodiesel $2.78 per gallon. These prices were provided by Woodfin Watchard at 4511 Pouncy Tract Road Richmond, VA.
Now were looking at almost a whole dollar more price per gallon gas vs. diesel and an additional 10 cents for the biodiesel. But when I crunched some numbers I was pleased to find that even though you pay more at the pump for diesel you save money in the long run. I did my comparison strictly off the price of fuel and did not add in maintenance costs.
I used a single car for my comparison and got the base miles per gallon from fueleconemy.gov. The car I chose to do my comparison on was a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta the gas model was a 2.0L 4 cylinder automatic and the diesel was a 1.9L 4 cylinder automatic. The gas model had a fuel economy of 28 MPG. The diesel model had a fuel economy of 38 MPG. Both of these MPG ratings are for stock vehicles rite off the showroom floor with no performance upgrades.
Here's my formula I took the cost of gas and divided it by the miles per gallon to get the price per mile we drive. Then I took that number and multiplied it by 10,000 miles which is what USAA insurance company considers a year of regular driving.
Number don't lie...
$1.79 / 28 MPG = $.1564 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $15,640.00 per year for the Gas
$2.68 / 38 MPG = $.1417 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $14,170.00 per year for the Diesel
Then you subtract the Gas year total by the Diesel year total to get the difference of $1,470.00 savings in the first 10,000 miles driven with the diesel. I don't know about you but that is a lot of money to me and numbers don't lie. Look at the numbers, use my equation and do some research for yourself. You may want to think diesel the next time you purchase a vehicle.
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6 comments:
Excellent post! I really like your mix of research and calculations of cost savings. This is a great post that uses persuasion with very clear data. Keep it up!
This is the post that people need to read. It really shows the facts. Now one part that was semi unclear was when you show the math and you have the price per gallon times the mpg then times the average miles driven per year, it would be easier to label the average miles per year.
Job well done on this post. We talked before class about the formula, and it sounded more clear than it actually looked on paper. Maybe if you spaced out this part,"$1.79 / 28 MPG = $.1564 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $15,640.00 per year for the Gas
$2.68/ 38 MPG = $.1417 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $14,170.00 per year for the Diesel"
Other than that, this is a very informative argument for your blog!
I have just read your blog and you have made several math mistakes.
1.79/28=.0639 x 10000=$639.28
2.68/38=.0705 x 10000=$705.26
You also misplaced the decimal point in your final answer. Think about it, even the worst gas guzzler wouldn't cost over $15,000.00 to go 10,000 miles. The final outcome is that the diesel would cost $65.98 more to operate for 10,000 miles in your example... Always check your work.
You didn't mention the lower power of diesel compared to gas
for 2009 jetta:
4-Cyl, Turbo, 2.0 L
200 HP
4-Cyl Turbo Diesel 2.0 L
140 HP
That is a true statement but it does not apply to the point I am making in comparison to the cost of diesel vehicles and gas vehicles. Horse power has nothing to do with that. Thanks for reading.
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