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When it comes to affordability, you can count most cars out. Between the heft gas prices, cost of maintaining a vehicle (repairs, etc.) as well as other miscellaneous things that might pop up such as vehicle registration, vehicle taxes and the like- owning a car can quickly become expensive. And while there has been a buzz about newer, more eco-friendly vehicles, don’t expect those to take off either.
Eco-friendly cars are a great idea. After all, we should learn how to not be so dependent on oil as our only natural resource when there are plenty of other options out there. The tricky thing about most eco-friendly cars is that the American public simply doesn’t know enough about them to feel confident about buying one. Just recently, in fact, the Smart Car seemed like it was taking off. Especially in places like California where everyone owns a vehicle and the roadways are crowded due to lack of alternate transportation, eco-friendly cars seemed to make sense. What doesn’t make sense a lot of the time is the price. While eco-friendly vehicles offer great incentives to buyers such as the fact that you would almost never have to fill up your car with nearly as much gasoline, the fact of the matter remains that they are not necessarily affordable. Like any new product that comes out, it tends to be more expensive. Also, because not many people have tried it yet, there is uncertainty as to whether or not the product will work for what it was built for. For example, critics of the Smart Car claimed that due to its small size, it would not be suitable for travel on major thoroughfares. It would also not be practical for large families or for those who simply wanted to do heavy grocery shopping.
We are a nation of big vehicles. The bigger the better. We drive around clunky, gas guzzlers that we can barely manuever into a parking spot and pay upwards of $75 each time we need to fill up at the pump. Given the uncertain future of the American economy, this leaves many SUV owners doubtful as to whether they will be able to afford their spacious vehicles. Only time will tell. What we can do now, however, is try to save where we can. For those who purchased SUVs back when the getting was good, there is (unfortunately) nothing much that can be done in the way of hoping to sell your vehicle back in order to downsize. More than likely, if you have an SUV, you’re going to be stuck with it for a while.
Regardless of whether or not you own an SUV, encourage not only yourself but others around you to save a few bucks. If you need to go shopping, try to do all of your shopping in the same general area as well as all at once. This will save you from having to make several unnecessary trips to go shopping. Don’t leave your vehicle idling. Turn your engine off when you’re not using your car. If carpooling is a vialbe option, then go for it. The more people who carpool equals less crowded roadways, which amounts to happier drivers and perhaps fewer accidents.
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