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2 In 3 Misunderstand Gas Mileage; Here's Why

thecarchik sends in this piece, which was published last March but remains timely: "OK, so here's a little test: Which saves more gasoline, going from 10 to 20 mpg, or going from 33 to 50 mpg? If you're like most Americans, you picked the second one. But, in fact, that's exactly backwards. Over any given mileage, replacing a 10-mpg vehicle with one that gets 20 mpg saves five times the gasoline that replacing a 33-mpg vehicle with one that gets 50 does. Last summer, Duke University's Fuqua School of Business released a study that shows how much damage comes from using MPG instead of consumption to measure how green a car is. Management professors Richard Larick and Jack Soll's experiments proved that consumers thought fuel consumption was cut at an even rate as mileage increased."

22 of 1,042 comments (clear)

  1. 3 people in 2 don't know math. by Tumbleweed · · Score: 4, Funny

    News at 11!

    1. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by fishexe · · Score: 2, Funny

      But only seven fifths of people have trouble with fractions...

      --
      "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
    2. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by nmg196 · · Score: 5, Funny

      > 3 people in 2 don't know math

      Wow that's scary. That's nearly half!

    3. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by Imagix · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's 10 types of people in the world, those who understand trinary, those who don't, and those who mistake it for binary.

    4. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by Dragonslicer · · Score: 5, Funny

      > 3 people in 2 don't know math

      Wow that's scary. That's nearly half!

      Seriously? Are you really that stupid? 3 divided by 2 is 1.5, which isn't even close to 50. What the hell do they teach kids in school these days?

    5. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by biryokumaru · · Score: 3, Funny

      My favorite has always been "There's 10 kinds of people in the world: those who know binary, those who don't and those who use zero-based indices."

      --
      When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
    6. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by Mr.+Freeman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sorry, little error in my math there. 33 to 50 MPG is a 51.5% increase.

      Yeah, I know it sounds ironic but math errors happen when you get outraged at the lack of basic math skills in America and try to do division.

      --
      -1 disagree is not a modifier for a reason. -1 troll, flaimbait, redundant, overrated are NOT acceptable substitutes.
    7. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

      Duh, after I have had seven fifths I have trouble with math as well.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 3, Funny

      Jesus christ, if you have a brain in your skull you know that you're not going to get people to google the car's fuel efficiency. A consumption-based sticker, right on the car, that people don't have have to work to see, will actually work. Don't worry, you'll still be able to be a smug cocksucker even with the sticker there.

      --
      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
    9. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by impaledsunset · · Score: 3, Funny

      Go away. Verizon employees aren't allowed to post on Slashdot.

    10. Re:3 people in 2 don't know math. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      There are 10 types of people in the world: those whose birth year ends with a zero on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with a one on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with a two on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with a three on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with a four on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with a five on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with a six on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with a seven on the Gregorian Calendar, those whose birth year ends with an eight on the Gregorian Calendar, and those whose birth year ends with a nine on the Gregorian Calendar.

  2. Re:Solution? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    True, but you're one of those people who want to use the metric system and hate America, so I won't listen to what you say.

  3. Re:Breaking! mlpm by Mike+Buddha · · Score: 2, Funny

    WTF's a milliliter?

    --
    by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
  4. Re:It saddens me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    They multiply well.

  5. Re:Solution? by frosty_tsm · · Score: 2, Funny

    (dm^3)/(100*km) is fine, but I prefer to simplify by measuring gas consumption in square meters.

    That might work for you, but I prefer simply measuring gas consumption by bankruptcies per vehicle.

  6. Re:Solution? by Dishevel · · Score: 3, Funny

    No. Here is why. I consider it a stupid tax. Like the lottery. We need more stupid taxes. Down with the stupid.

    --
    Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
  7. Re:MPG and GPM are both useful by JesseL · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's not like that? It's exactly like that. Your car has made you into an idiot.

    --
    "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
  8. What we need by zooblethorpe · · Score: 3, Funny

    Clearly, what we need here is a car analogy!

    Anyone?

    Cheers,

    --
    "What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
    "A four-foot prune."
  9. Forget mpg. by gklinger · · Score: 4, Funny

    My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it.

  10. Re:Solution? by evenmoreconfused · · Score: 2, Funny

    No, that's wrong. A typical North American vehicle gets about 6 miles on a tank of diesel. I learned this after my (first) wife filled my Mazda RX-7 with diesel instead of gasoline, and she got about 6 miles from the gas station before the car died.

    --
    No. Well...maybe. Actually, yes. It really just depends.
  11. Re:The question is still absurd... by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps you have no idea what they do when you're not watching them on the particular road you saw them on. Perhaps you don't see them when they're pulling a trailer, or hauling a soccer team around, or carrying three kayaks, etc.

    When I see Debbie Soccermom driving a Yukon with a "(man) + (woman) + (kid)" sticker in the back window, I can state with 99% confidence that she doesn't pull trailers or tote kayaks around. Our minivan seats 2 adults and 5 kids comfortably.

    I was driving the kids to school last year (we don't have buses and the local school isn't within walking distance) and started pointing out how many SUVs you saw with a woman driving and one kid in the rearmost seat. They picked up the meme and ran with it, kind of like their own version of "slugbug". We'll be driving down the street and one will yell "soccer mom in an SUV with a kid in the back seat!" As often as I hear that, I'm pretty certain they don't all haul boats and kayaks in their spare time.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  12. Re:The question is still absurd... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Indeed, the super-sveltness of the average American can be attributed to all the soccer and kayaking that they enjoy. You only need to look at the average SUV driver to know that they are very active and carry no extra body fat at all.