Jeff Woelker : Chicago SEO, SEM, and Online Marketing Consultant

So I’ve been debating recently whether to ditch my car all together or not. Here are some of the pros and cons of both. Should be pretty obvious which is the better decision at this point:

Keep My Car:

1. Personal freedom - the ability to drive where I want, when I want and not wait for anything or anyone
2. Moving - Every so often I have to move this thing or that thing around for friends or family and it’s just nice to throw it in the car and move it, as opposed to having to think about getting a truck or having to borrow someone’s car
3. Travel - This really isn’t a big deal for me, as I prefer to take Amtrak or, as my sister is trying to convince me, the MegaBus back and forth to Michigan. But what about weekend trips or impromptu trips? I guess it just requires a bit of planning to rent a car or book travel ahead of time.
4. Supporting US auto makers - This really is the weakest reason I can think of, as I only got a Chrysler Sebring because of my grandfathers discount, and with Toyota and Honda opening more plants everyday in the US, what’s the difference anymore?

Lose My Car:

1. Car and Insurance Payments - This is really the biggest motivating factor. My car sits on the street 5 or 6 days a week and doesn’t do anything for me except suck up money.
2. I’m an enviro-hypocrite - I talk about fuel economy, environmental preservation, protecting existing resources, reusing, and recycling, but I drive a huge metal box that spews CO2? As my sister so eloquently puts it “Man Up!”
3. iGoCars - There is an iGoCar right around the corner from where I normally pick up the train every morning. So if I need a car, it’s just a short walk away and how can you beat these rates?
4. Car Rentals - There are several car rental places within quick riding, walking, busing, or training distance from my place.
5. Oil changes and upkeep - Since my car only sits on the street most of the week, it isn’t getting proper usage and is only going down in terms of resale value and money I’m going to have to invest in it eventually to keep it going.
6. Public Transportation and Biking - I have both a bike and easy access to numerous methods of public transportation to get to and from work.
7. Constantly moving your car - One great thing about living in a city that cares for the appearance of neighborhoods and streets is that there is constant street cleaning. As a result, I often have to play the parking game at least once a month and during the winters, I have to double check every time I park that I am not in a snow removal zone.
8. Cold hard economics - So the economics of my current car are $302 per month for my car payment (until Feb of next year), $160/month for insurance, and probably $10 in gas/month. That’s $472/month in sunk costs. If I were to take a cab to the grocery store and other errands, we’ll say 10 times per month (probably more like 3 or 4) for about a $10-15 cab ride on average, that costs $100. I could use an extra $370/month.

I think it’s pretty obvious. Anyone need a lightly used 2004 black sebring? 35K miles, original owner.

Any reasons I have forgotten either for keeping or getting rid of my car?

So I’ve been seeing these Chrysler ads lately touting 30 mpg as “great fuel economy”.

Does this strike anyone else as ridiculous? I know this guy thinks so. I mean, this is the 21st century. According to this source:

After 1920, mpg seems to have stayed in the range of 13-15 mpg until federally-mandated fuel economy standards were enacted in the 1970’s. As a result, fuel-efficiency increased from 13 mpg to 21 mpg over the next 25 years (after 1970).

For me as a scientist, futurist, and technologist, I find this fact offensive. In almost 90 years we have moved from 13 mpg to 30 mpg? That screams of laziness, complacency, and lack of American ingenuity. The Prius is getting 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 on the highway, which is still pretty impressive, but where’s the real vision? Why not 100 mpg? 200 mpg? 500 mpg?

The next focus after getting the fuel economy to admirable standards would be to make it economical for the average person to be able to afford them. That really will be who wins in the US auto market. Or you can just go car free. Thoughts?

Update: This got dugg. BOY HOWDY!

I got another email from SmartUSA the other day and I’m still kind of a twitter that these mini-cars will soon be coming to the US soon, but not soon enough. I can feel my Sebring getting right on the verge of a nervous break down and I’m trying to see how long I can go without putting substantial moneys into it. I’m hoping to trade it in eventually for a Smart Car or perhaps a plug-in electric, if that ever comes to market. Chevy Volt? I’m looking in your direction.

Smart has added a pretty cool feature to show colors and styles together, which is fun for a Friday afternoon. Anyone know anyway I can get these guys to move any faster? I mean, I’m already #5 for “SmartUSA” in Google.

Just got an email today from SmartUSA saying they are allowing online reservations for their Smart fortwo. I went ahead and made one even though I am still heavily debating the whole fuel efficiency with this model (40 mpg), however it would be better than my current Chrysler Sebring at 24 mpg. The thing that intrigues me the most about this car is the parking as well as the looks it gets. You can park two or three of these things in the space normally reserved for a regular size car. To me that means I can stop b*tching about my current “boat situation” and park in some ridiculous spots on the street. Also, it doesn’t look like anything else, so I’m sure there will be some fun convos to be had about where I got it, how it functions, etc, which I can hopefully be an advocate for smaller, more fuel efficient cars instead of these monsters.

As of yet, I have not sat in one of these so the fact that I am 6′ 2” does not escape me, since the car is only two feet longer than I am tall. Hopefully, the dealers get them in soon and I make that decision in person.

Reserve yours today!