Seven times in June and once in July, when I gassed up the tank of my 2000 Ford Focus, I recorded the number of gallons that went in, the price per gallon, the miles on the trip odometer, and the total dollars I paid. My math wiz friend told her math-challenged English teacher friend—me—that this information would be all I’d need to calculate if my car is really getting the 25 city/31 highway MPGs the manufacturer claims. That’s more MPGs than the 2008 model Ford Focus. And, unless you’re driving a Prius, Honda Hybrid, or Mini Cooper, that’s more MPGs than a lot of cars and all the SUVs on the road today. I was patting myself on the back for doing my economic and ecologic part.
Bike Racks Reduce Fuel Efficiency
Then, in the middle of August, I read on http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/factors.shtml that removing the rooftop rack results in better aerodynamics and increased fuel efficiency. What!! Guess who has a rooftop rack on her car? Me! It and a bike came with the car. And though I rode the bike, I never hoisted it up onto the bike rack because I don’t have the upper body strength. The rack has stayed on the roof because its value to me has always been that I could find my car in a parking lot, COD’s included. Knowing now that I could get even more MPGs, I decided I would take the rack off—it’s only held up there by hex socket cap screws—how hard could it be?
Very hard. I have the tools, but as of today, the rack is still on the roof. Why? I haven’t had the time. I don’t think I’m alone in the “I don’t have time” camp. We all truly want to do our best to preserve the only home we have—our planet—but there’s just not enough time and so much to do! Where does a person start? When I visited the National Geographic Museum this past summer, I picked up a copy of http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781426201134&ref=rec&name=display True Green: 100 everyday ways you can contribute to a healthier planet. Inside are practical and doable strategies, and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn that you didn’t know. In the back is a list of online resources for more information. Here’s advice #72, good for us all: put less on our plates and eat every bite.
Check back here in a month, and I’ll tell you how many MPGs I’m getting without the bike rack.
–Linda
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No Loss, But No Gain Either
My math wiz friend crunched the numbers yesterday. After a month of recording my gas purchases, consumption, and mileage without the bike rack on top of my car and comparing those numbers to my records of gas purchases, consumption, and mileage with the bike rack on top of my car, guess what? I wish I could report that my city mpg increased. But, I’m not unhappy, either. As the manufacturer stated, my car gets an average 25 miles per gallon city, with or without the bike rack.