Confused in Dixie by kerminator

Why are they (Mass Media, Politicians, and such) telling you such misleading information? Is it to lead you down their merry trail?

Well here we go again, what they say is not what you really meant or need! Let's look at the recent Cash for Clunkers program currently suppose to help fix the economy, make everything green and support the US auto industry!

First they are allowing trades of supposed clunkers with government (substitute tax payer) money! OK lets' just look at that aspect of the program... Any vehicle getting less than 18 MPG supposedly qualify for the government rebate... Yesterday saw a couple of 2009 Chevrolet Full size trucks and checked out the New price sticker... Fuel usage as posted is 14 MPG City/ 17 Hiway... This qualifies for a clunker? Weird!

Then we see that the over seas models (Non US Manufactured) are getting the rebates also... So how is this helping the labor unions at GM, Ford and Chrysler/ Jeep ?? Second suspicious aspect to the program...

Finally looking from an engineering stand point; how can putting 20 tons of gravel into a couple of two ton trucks (which get better fuel economy) better than the original; 20 ton dump truck? Well since this may be over most people's head, I will keep it simple...

Let's say you have a old 20 ton dump truck which gets 10 MPG... Runs good but a diesel so has no polution controls!

Then some authority comes up with a plan to get you to use smaller more fuel efficient two ton dump trucks, which get 20 MPG... Looks good; or does it really? In order to keep up with your business, you now have to haul ten times as many trips just to stay even with what the orig. 20 ton truck hauled... This does not even consider either the extra drivers to drive more two ton trucks, or else the overtime you will have to pay the driver of the two ton truck; just to get the same amount of gravel moved! Even if you only use 10 trucks to haul the same load you have ten times the expense and not counting the wear and tear on the vehicles...

BTW: there will be maintenance on the newer greener trucks also... We did not even consider the tags, insurance, and other registration fees involved... The amount of fuel consumed and amount of total pollutants put out by the smaller two ton dump trucks ( not to mention the original cost of both two ton dump trucks) will be more that the original 20 ton truck...

Do the math... We have not even put the cost of two drivers, and wear and tear...

The orig. 20 ton truck got 10 MPG, so driving 100 miles it used 10 gallons with what ever exhaust gases...

a two ton truck driving the same 100 miles times the 10 trips necessary to get 20 tons moved would have to drive 1,000 miles total, will use 50 gallons of fuel! Boy is that a saving of imported oil and a reduction of exhaust gases, and wear and tear, and time, and delays in schedules, and such... HUH! So where is the saving? In must be in some politicians, or some mumbo jumbo man's head...

*** This is what happens when you trade in a larger SUV, which hauls (7) seven or more people plus their luggage for a newer green "Pea pod" vehicle which is what they will want to put you in, on the "Cash for Clunkers" program...

Let do the math... i.e. 7 people, in a let's say "Pea Pod" which can carry 4 persons, but not much if any luggage or cargo... You need two trips just to get the same number of people the same place, {actually more because now the driver has to make two trips which adds to the over all cost} along with the wear and tear plus maintain, the cost and exhaust gases will not be much different if any...

OK, I know that this is just one example, and some of those older major bad exhaust cars need to be put out to pasture... But now you can see that not all that you hear is good, just to get into a smaller car...

We are not even considering the crash/injury safety question here; which should be a major consideration! Yes, I have heard the argument about if all the cars were "Pea Pods" then there would not be any big danger getting hit by a larger, heaver SUV or Truck! Well do you think all the Semi-trucks will just go away , plus all the delivery trucks, plus all the fire trucks, plus all the Fuel tankers, plus all the cement trucks, plus all the full sized Pick ups, etc?? Do you get the big picture, this just will not work folks!

I guess I must be on the wrong page...

A vehicle at 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 800 gallons a year of gasoline.

A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year.

So, the average clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year
They claim 700,000 vehicles - so that's 224 million gallons / year.

That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.

5 million barrels of oil is about ¼ of one day's US consumption.

And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million dollars at $75/bbl.

So, we all contributed to spending $3 billion to save $350 million.