🚀 go-pugleaf

>If you don't believe this, consider an example.  The last time I bought a car
>I bought a sports car.  I average about 25 mpg.  Suppose I'd bought a more
>fuel-efficient car, say, that averaged 35 mpg.  What does a savings of 10 mpg
>mean?  I drive about 12,000 miles a year.  So the added fuel economy saves
>137 gallons per year.  Now, at $4.00 per gallon (European prices), that would
>drop gas expenses from $160 per month to $125 per month.  If we toss in $325
>car payments, $75 in insurance, and $50 or so in maintenance, then the
>increased gas mileage saves about 7.5% of total auto costs.  That's just not
>very significant....
>
>Bradley

That calculation assumes you have car payments. If like me you had none :-) 
the $35 saved each month could be quite significant.
An increase in the price of gas would also have the additional benefit of 
actually encouraging people to drive less (since every mile costs more). A
regulated increase in fuel efficiency would never be able to do that.

--s;