4-Day Workweeks and Other News

Well it was only a matter of time before this would happen: Utah is the first state to institute a four-day workweek for most of its state employees. You can bet other states will follow suit.

"What does this have to do with a car blog?" some may ask.

Well it's a trickle-down effect mostly. I would kill to have a three-day weekend every weekend and this would free up more time for my newest project, a restoration of my '69 Karmann Ghia. Besides, the extra days' expense of fueling up a vehicle could be put to better use like burying more money into my project. To put it into relative terms, the average worker commutes 29 miles per day, the U.S. average fuel economy for automobiles is about 24.6 miles per gallon, include the average jobs' two weeks of vacation per year, and in fuel cost savings alone, one could pocket $265 per year (based on $4.50/gallon).

Also in the news: car sales have slipped even further. While GM is still outselling Toyota, I wouldn't be surprised if the tables turn by the end of the year. Truck and SUV sales will continue to tank (a huge GM seller), and if you're in the market for such a vehicle, expect to see some big incentives especially towards the end of summer.

Update on that Wawanesa quote: I got my quote about 5 minutes after I made my post yesterday and they made a killing. 12-month quote: $1409, which would save me almost $50/month. I'll eat my words and be making the switch. Thanks neighbor!

DWD: 13, Miles: 723

$5.00 Gas?! Whatever!

My current car (or is it my wife's car?)... our car, a 2001 Lexus IS300 has served us well over the past few years, but when gas prices here in Southern California are soaring upwards of $4.85/gallon for the premium stuff (which the car requires) it's time to reconsider our priorities. I found this awesome website that the government has been keeping secret, or maybe I just haven't invested the time to look into such resources, my internet surfing split between researching prices on VW restoration parts (I finally have the Karmann Ghia here, will post about that later) and looking up the latest reviews on the new '08 CBR 1000.


Some features of the website include being able to plug in the year/model/type of car you drive now, miles driven, local gas prices, and conduct a side-by-side comparison with cars you may fantasize about, or may even consider purchasing. After extensive research we determined we are spending about $3500 per year in fuel alone and that figure is hard to swallow as we are roughly averaging 19 miles per gallon from the thirsty 6-cylinder. Of course we researched models and choices and while a hybrid is nice, these modern-day complexities are fetching a hefty sum, even for used examples, the average price of an '04 or newer used-Prius costs about $23k (a new model retails between $23,200 and $36,900). This is insane and the gas savings don't justify the outrageous markup. After a brief testdrive yesterday we decided to purchase a Honda Fit.

Next post: Buying a car and at least appearing informed...

The Metro Investment

A few weeks ago CNN reported an article on the rising cost of gas has forced consumers to get creative with ways to beat the costs at the pump. The Geo Metro, a forgotten piece of economical transport, the laughing-stock in automotive circles for its miniscule engine, a 3- cylinder powerplant producing a whopping 55 horsepower. One eBay listing was bidded up to the astonishing price of $7600 according to the article!! The price of one of these econoboxes back in the early 90's was around $9000, by my calculations those depreciation costs put almost every car to shame including such ultra-exclusive exotics such as the Ferrari 348 (cost of new example in 1992 = $94,000, cost today, about $44,000 for nice example). The Porsche Turbo from that same year cost $118K, and a used retail example according to Edmunds would only fetch $38,000 or so (still a hefty sum for a 16 year-old car).

In fact a look at eBay showed a top of the line LSI example of the Metro going for $2900 and this listing still had two days before the auction closed. As for the features on this faded puke-yellow example: it has a tachometer, automatic, air conditioning, and a flip up sunroof. No power windows, no power locks, no remote for unlocking the doors from halfway accross the parking lot.

To put things into perspective, a search of eBay for a Ford Bronco of a one-year newer vintage yielded 6 results and the only model with bids was a loaded model (leather, power seats/windows/locks, cruise control, etc.) and the highest bid was $710! Of course when one of these gas hogs gets 17 MPG tops going with the wind, it makes me glad that I sold my Grand Wagoneer a few years back!