I don't expect anybody to read this as Slashdot articles grow exponentially in comments each hour but...
The price of petrol in London is about 116 pence per liter http://www.whatprice.co.uk/petrol-prices
1 US gallon = 3.78 liter
4.39 GBP (pounds) per gallon
1 pound = 1.5 dollars (exchange rates are always crazy)
= 6.59 dollars per gallon
miles driven / mpg ... -> total cost of gasoline?
195k / 49.5 = 3939.40 * $6.59 = $25,960 (hybrid)
195k / 30 = 6500 * $6.59 = $42,835 (fuel efficient car)
195k / 15 = 13000 * $6.59 = $85,670 (normal/big car)
So, while many will argue that "Europeans" are "controlling their oil consumption" through taxes, I would argue that the world has been susidizing the oil industry. Additionally, many American vehicles get 20 mpg or even 15 mpg.
PLEASE REMEMBER, money is fiction (pieces of paper), work is economic fiction, government is fiction, and the price of Gas/Fossil Fuels is fiction. We all agree to a system but the system can and should be changed towards improvement.
IEA: To promote efficiency, cut fossil fuel subsidies
- http://www.cnet.com/news/iea-to-promote-efficiency-cut-fossil-fuel-subsidies/
- http://www.iea.org/files/energy_subsidies.pdf
- http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_04_23.html Table 4-23: Average Fuel Efficiency of U.S. Light Duty Vehicles
So perhaps instead of silly electric car rebates we should reduce Fossil Fuel susbidies and increase the tax on gas (yes, there are both Federal and State taxes on gas already so I'm not proposing some radical communist ideology), thereby making the market pay the actual costs (not even counting externalities like environmental impact!).