Whether you ride a motorcycle or drive a car, you eventually end up at a gas pump. These days that can be a pretty exciting experience. On your bike it’s not so bad, but lots of motorcyclists have pickup trucks with big tanks, let’s see, 30 gallons of regular @ $2.15, … ouch.
There is another side to this and the AAA has a report out that examines total costs to drive over one year. Their report looks at cars but the idea is the same for motorcycles and the conclusion is that total costs have hardly changed. Depreciation, insurance and routine maintenance are the highest costs in any given year. Recently, some costs have been going down:
Offsetting higher gasoline costs are overall reductions in the annual average cost of insurance, licensing, registration, taxes, tires and maintenance for the vehicles used in this study. The cost of gasoline in 2005 is estimated to average 8.5 cents per mile or $1,285 per year in the AAA study, compared to 6.5 cents per mile or $975 last year.
Vehicle depreciation, insurance and routine maintenance top the list as the three most expensive costs attributed to driving an automobile. AAA estimates the average new car will depreciate $3,879 per year of ownership, compared to $3,782 in 2004. The second largest expense is full insurance coverage estimated to average $1,288 per year compared to $1,603 in 2004. Routine maintenance – including the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance operations and tire expense — is estimated to cost 5.9 cents per mile or $885, compared to 6.1 cents per mile or $915 last year.
Looked at by itself, gasoline can get you upset, but if you look at the total cost of the vehicle you’re gassing up, it isn’t so bad after all.
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You’ve still not got it half as bad as we do over here in the UK.
80p per litre is pretty normal for regular 95 unleaded. That’s $6.70 US per gallon!
That’s true and it’s why we see so much more effort over your way with diesels and other ways to get better mileage. There’s a strong push in Europe right now to develop hydrogen powered vehicles, too. Those hold a lot of promise in the long term, but near term, pay up.
The reason we feel the pain right now is the speed at which prices jumped. Almost any price becomes acceptable over time and these prices may someday seem cheap. In fact, when hydrogen cars or any of the other alternatives become common, it will only be because expensive gasoline has made them competitive.