Jon Bon’s Money

          Unless you have been living under a rock you realize that your weekly visit to the local gas station is really hurting you in the wallet.  Gas where I live just hit $4.15 a gallon, and since I fill up the tank about once a week for fifty two weeks would come out to almost $4,000 a year!             

           Now we can debate about the reason for high gas prices, it could be the super secret screw American campaign masterminded by George Bush and Exxon Mobile. Or it could be those speculators on Wall Street. That everyone seems to blame, but no one has actually been able to explain how they are actually affecting the price of gas. Or it could be the 2 billion people in China and India that are becoming middle class and can afford their first car that takes gasoline. This is just a simple lesson in economics about supply and demand, but I digress…

Here is my solution to the high gas prices.

          That’s right the Yamaha Vino 125, I think it gets somewhere between 80 and 100 MPG. It costs all of $1500 bucks, and if I put 3,000 miles on it, it will have paid for itself.  Call me a hippie, a pretentions snob, or a hipster I don’t really care. I will be the one buying my gas 1.2 gallons at a time. How many gallons fit in your tank?

          Here are the five cars that I find most useless and overpriced. Now I am sure they have their fans, and in some situations are pretty handy to have around, but in my everyday experiences I think for most people to own one is a waste of money.

5. Hummer

MPG:13/16 Price: $50,000 Passengers: A bakers dozen

            Too big! I like the idea, and the styling but it is just not utilized by 99% of people out there. Like most of the cars on this list it’s a “statement” vehicle. You want people to look at you and know you’re big, bad, and powerful. Plus it goes with your extensive collection of UFC graphic T’s.

4. Smart!

MPG: 33/41 Price: $15,000 Passengers: 1.5?

            Too Small! How is this car practical for anything? I would rather buy a scooter for 1/4 the price with probably better acceleration. Not to mention that I have heard horrible things about its actual fuel economy, transmission, and ability to merge into the interstate. The smart boast the slowest 0-60 MPH time of any car in production today.

3. Tesla Roadsters

MPG: Unlimited Price: $100,000 Passengers:2

            This car is pretty slick; it is essentially a super car in the electric version. The problem is that it has no trunk and no range. Sure it’s fast, but other then taking it out on Saturday nights it has no functionality. I mean they get points for trying something new, but the only people that want to buy it seam to be the activist Hollywood types. This car gets bonus points on this list because the founders have made a habit of lobbing lawsuits at each other.

2. Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

 MPG 20/21 Price $70,000 Passengers: 8

            It’s like putting lipstick on a pig…. I don’t even know why they made the hybrid version of this. The original Escalade is pretty expensive, but very nice and a lot of people like that even if it is just a “smaller” nicer hummer. Spending another 10k for  a measly 5 MPG improvement is pretty pointless.

1. Jeep Wrangler

 MPG 15/19 Price $22.000 Passengers: 3

            “It’s a jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand” Understand what? Your horrible gas mileage in your tiny car that is good for rolling over and does not have a real roof!? I guess then maybe I don’t. Yes jeeps are great for off-roading. As we have learned from the 100 million SUV’s on the road with four wheel drive no one goes off-roading! So basically your buying a car whose primary purpose is to drive on unpaved roads, and yet you will spend 99% of your time on paved roads where your car is out of its element. But oh yeah you drive a Jeep, so you get to wave at other jeeps as the drive by, lucky you….

Well I am at least thinking about it. The way I see it, SUV’s are like bank stocks right now, they are heavily beaten down in price, but there is still value there. Dealers and private party sellers are selling medium to large SUV’s for way under blue book.

                Everyone agrees that it is a great time to buy a house; I would say it’s a better time to buy an SUV, if you’re thinking about getting one and can deal with the gas prices; there is no time like the present. 

This is just one more example of people getting emotional about their finances. So it costs you $100 to fill up your SUV. That hurts your wallet no question, but selling your SUV for a $3k loss, and buying a prius for 2k over blue book is just foolish.

The Pros: Its bigger, has less miles, 4WD (it snows where I live), and it would be close to an even trade with my car.

The Cons: The gas mileage($), The insurance($), and the maintenance($).

Final verdict: Probably a good way to take advantage of panickedsellers, costs would be significant, but not out of control. But would the benefit of the more flexible vehicle outweigh the costs?

Feel free to tell me what you think.