Are there any luxury cars (Audi, Lexus, Acura, Infinity, BMW, Mersedes, etc.) that run on regular gas (i.e., designed to run just fine on regular 87 gas without problems)?
I see that even the cheapest models like Acura TSX and Lexus IS 250 require premium gas, which means expensive maintenance considering the price of gas nowadays...
It all comes down to the fuel cost per mile. If you blindly stick in gas that costs you more per mile to use, all in the name of "look at me, I can afford the car and I can afford the gas," you're a fool.
Every car costs $X per mile in fuel to run. Pick your car, then figure out which gas gives you the most miles per dollar. If that turns out to be 87 octane, laugh all the way to the bank at the guy next to you who's paying $7 more per tankful just for bragging rights.
The cost of maintenance and fuel have little to do with one another. Maintenance is one thing, fuel requirement is another.
Maintenance costs are the same, its the per mile fuel costs that changes. If Regular costs 3.00 per gallon, and you get 30 miles per gallon, then each mile costs $ 0.10, but if premium costs 3.20, then the same car costs $ 0.32 per mile. 10,000 miles in one costs $3000, in the other it costs $3200. $200 per 10 thousand miles seems a small price to pay.
While your point is true, it seems the MANUFACTURERER requires Premium Fuel, and the driver's option to use premium instead of regular is not really an option.
You seem to mix apples and oranges. The real calculation is, if a car gets
30 mpg, or whatever, then it has an operating cost of X based on Regular Fuel, and Y based on Premium Fuel. If the difference in X and Y is $0.20 per mile, then the operating cost is $2000 per 10000 miles, or about $10 per tank full of gas (depending on how low you allow the fuel level to drop before refueling).If one wishes to drive a Luxury automobile, and the automaker says the engine requires premium fuel, then the cost per mile calculation has to be between two vehicles that give the same mileage so tha tone can determine how much more it might cost to drive the luxury car. If one can not afford $10 per tank, then one should re-evaluate his desire/ability to drive a luxury car.
Well, your $200 figure is correct, but you went the wrong way. Based on the mileage of my '95 Tercel, I did a spreadsheet for a comparison.
I only used mid-grade or premium in my Tercel (a waste? Read on...)
Fuel economy with 89 Octane was approx. 38MPG. Fuel economy with 93 Octane was approx. 44MPG.
Based on the price I was paying at that time ($1.89 for 89 Octane, $1.99 for 93 Octane) over the 40,000 miles I owned the car, I SAVED approx $220, IIRC.
I also had no problems with knock or any other fuel related maladies.
I have found this to be true on ALL my Toyotas, from my 1200's to my Corolla GT-S and the Supra.
Back in the 80's and 90's, with my Corolla GT-S the difference was about
3-5 MPG. Now, extend that over 249,000 miles!Also, I live in Mass. We are required to use 'oxygenated' fuel, with MTBE. This means we get Ethanol in the gas. While I am all for Ethanol, I get my gas in Vermont, since I work there and it's about $0.14 a gallon cheaper. They also don't mix it with Ethanol, so I pay less and I get about a 15% increase in economy.
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