Living Large

In Louisville this week, I rented a large SUV. A Toyota Highlander, actually. I did not really intend to rent a behemoth, but when I went to rent a car (last minute), the Compact SUV was the least expensive option from one of my usual vendors. I was expecting a RAV4, Kia Sportage, or something - but I got a juggernaut.

I did not feel all that bad about it - I only had to go a few miles - airport to hotel, hotel to hospital, hospital to hotel, and then back to the airport. 32 miles all told, per my rental receipt. Nevertheless, I put in almost 4 gallons of gas to fill it up - cost me $12. 8 Miles per gallon (assuming the tank was full when I got it).

I guess when I see these things on the road, when I consider that so many Americans are driving these beasts by choice and by preference, I have to consider that gas prices are not quite high enough. The only way we are going to reduce our consumption - through smaller cars, more efficient cars, greater utilization and availability of mass transit - is for the free market to work. Which means, higher gasoline prices, because clearly, with prices where they are, people are still living large.....

I'm feeling pretty punk about my little Saturn Ion - a bit cranky that the 2007 model I now own gets slightly worse mileage than the 1996 Saturn SL1 I used to drive. Part of that is transmission (manual vs. auto) and part may be the traction control, etc. Still, it gets 30 MPG on the highway, and would do better if I drove the limit.