The cost of fuel over the life of a car is almost always more than the cost of the purchase. Works that way with most anything, the cost of electricity to run a lightbulb for it's lifespan is many times the cost of the bulb. The cost of methane to run a furnace will be dozens the price of the furnace, the cost of ink cartridges could be hundreds of times what you pay for the printer, it's just how the world works.
Drive-in cinemas and burger joints were all the rage in the 1950's, they're nearly extinct now though. Of course there's the drivethroughs like McDonalds everywhere but I imagine those must be in the UK as well. I think I read somewhere that the average American drives 20k miles a year, some people like my dad for example drive much more than that because of a long commute to work. Generally when you see cars with extremely high mileage they've belonged to a travelling salesman or someone who does a great deal of business travel to destinations too close for flying to be economical but far enough to really rack up the miles.
But it's also the amount of driving that surprises me. Me 9000 has done 100k miles in 11 years. Perhaps the US is a larger country so people have to drive more. They also have drive-in cinemas, burger bars, everything and I've heard that many people live their lives in their cars?
who thinks about what might happen to them if they roll a lincoln? does your driveway twist on the edge of a steep mountain? can anyone here roll a lincoln on a flat road if they tried to?
Probably could if you tried, they do tend to have rather soft suspension. More likely to roll into a ditch after being hit though, been through one of those, wasn't in a Lincoln but a Ford Tempo (which actually held up remarkably well) I'd rather not roll over in any car, but there's plenty that would survive reasonably well.
That works out at an average speed of about 7mph throughout the entire four years, and at UK prices a little over a pound an hour.
(This is probably the most useless information I've ever contributed to usenet.)
However, assuming that the average speed while in the car was 28mph, then he spend 1/4 of his life driving. Assuming 1/3 working, 1/3 sleeping that gives uhh let me zee... clickclackclickclack = 1/12 or 2 hours per day doing other things, such as speaking to his dog.
Hell yeah, I'd deffinately be greatful of a 2000 Lincoln, I could never afford one in a million years,besides good luck finding cheep parts for the imports.
In the last case, the cost of your first replacement set of ink cartridges can exceed the cost of the printer!
And here in Los Angeles, public transportation sucks, so you have to drive everywhere.
We have a pronounced car culture in the US, in which all other forms of transportation are seen not as alternatives but as impediments to driving: pedestrians, cyclists, buses, trains, etc. Many American's private policy is to avoid personal exertion and use the car at all times, even to drive to the health club for exercise.
Our transportation policy tends to be centered on moving cars rather than moving people and goods. It's not unusual for people to have a
40 mile (64 km) one-way commute to work. Do that 250 times a year and you've got 20,000 miles right there. On top of that, places like supermarkets and doctor's offices are often unapproachable except by car or by risking your life to get there on foot or by bike.However, America is not unique. Wherever people buy cars, they tend to develop this behavior pattern. My wife's relatives in Denmark have developed this (despite the aggressive taxation on cars there) and this is also becoming a phenomenon in China as people become more affluent and can afford to buy a car. Much of Europe seems to be struggling with how to reduce driving; America has not yet confronted this and prefers instead to spend hundreds of billions of dollars building roads that are already obsolete by the time they are completed.
My area got its first modern light rail system, all of 8 miles long. Initial ridership was hoped to be 9,500 people per day and twice that by the end of the year; actual ridership was near 20,000 per day in the first week of operation! Perhaps there's hope for a more rational transportation system after all, even here.
Through it all, I try to ride my bike to work when I can and consolidate my driving trips as much as possible. My 1990 240 has only 138,000 miles on it, 34,000 of which I have put on in 2 1/2 years of ownership. My wife's 1990 240 just topped 200,000 miles, but it had 184,000 when we bought it.
On 11/7/04 12:53 PM, in article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, " snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca" decided to come out from under the bed and slurred:
Yep, I agree with what you have said.
I had a vehicle with a rear mounted fuel tank until recently and I don¹t consider it to be a problem.
I reckon this kid learns to "fix" the minor problems s/he has with the car and be bloody grateful.
Hammo
Yea, I've seen this site
Cheap parts for imports are all over, there's just as many of them sitting in salvage yards as anything else.
Tell me in ain't so! I thought every Honda, Toyota and Nissan sold since
1908 is still on the road. You don't get enough TV!!
Likewise, my C900 has done 135k in 20 years (this year), and I've put on
17k of that in the 1.5 years I've owned it as a daily commuter bus.
agreed, my Saab 900 t16S is 20 years old this year. has a little wear and tear but is in sparkling condition inside and out compared to that Lincoln.
one upside of taking that car for inspection/MAT is that, you will have given the examiner a good laugh, and a story to tell in the bar that night, so the next guy through might get an easier deal if the examiner hasn't stopped laughing.
Buy the Volvo don't mess with the other shitcans. Please do not cross post to this news group!
Park the shitbox and come inside!
Steph
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