Date:         Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:49:36 +0100
Reply-To:     Niall Mac Caughey <nmacc@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Niall Mac Caughey <nmacc@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Gasoline costs & MPG
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

I'd like to add my off-the-cuff 2c to Joy and Jens' postings with the view from Ireland.

  Fuel here is cheaper than Denmark, working out at about US$1.50 litre at present, but there are a lot of other cost which affect driving here.

  The most noticeable is the cost of cars. In addition to the normal sales tax (VAT) of 21% which applies to cars on the market for the first time (that is, if you buy a second-hnad car you don't have to pay tax again), there is also a Vehicle Registration Tax of around 30% of the value of the car, although this varies with engine size.  The VAT applies to the total value of the vehicle - including the VRT.  This means that the cheapest 1.4l VW Golf costs about US$24,000 and the cheapest Jeep Cherokee is $49,000.  If you're feeling flush and want a Mercedes SL, you can choose from a 350 at $154,000 up to a 600 at $240,000.

  There is also Road Tax to be paid annually if you want to drive (or park) your pride and joy on the public roads.  This ranges from $170 for an electrically-powered vehicle, up to $1,560 for anything over 3 litres.  The Golf above would cost $350 and the base model Jeep $1,200.  Fortunately my Vanagon is a Westfalia and campers get a break at $133.

  Given those prices driving is not as much of a leisure activity as it is in some parts of the US.  Having said that, Ireland is a lot more prosperous (a mixed blessing) than it once was and there are plenty of people willing to spend the money.  For example, my neighbour is a retired old lady whose family live about 300 yards away as the crow flies.  Her daughter regularly drives over to visit in her SUV.

  My wife has a toy: a 1980 VW Golf GTI with less than 40,000 miles on the clock.  I recently dug it out of 'storage' (under a cover in a friends back yard) and put some work into it to get it past inspection and back on the road.  I was surprised at the size of it.  Although the Golf could never have been considered a large car, it's downright tiny compared to the current model.  We read statistics telling us how are cars are suffering from 'bloat' and this has really brought it home to me.  I doubt that the increased fuel efficiency of modern engines can compensate for all that extra weight we're lugging around.

  Niall

  86 Westy 2.1    245,000 km
  87 Mercedes 190 2.0  184.000 miles
  80 Golf GTI 1.6   37,000 miles