On Earth Day, I bought a new car.
The good news is that, since my old car had been running for a good 6 months with the “Check engine” light on, I’m probably fouling the air less than I was the day before.
The bad news is that, since I wanted to buy a Detroit 3 product (even one that’s assembled in Lordstown, Ohio), I am going backward in fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions. My trusty ’98 Corolla was averaging a solid 30 m.p.g. (with a range from 24 m.p.g. — in winter if it was caked with slush and I stayed off the freeway — to 40 m.p.g. on summer trips through the UP).
My new ’08 Cobalt suggests I’ll average 26 m.p.g. So now, a number that used to be about my worst mileage is going to be my average.
Even at $4 a gallon for gas, buying the Cobalt is the better deal financially for me. (Corollas haven’t made much of a gain in fuel efficiency in the last 10 years, amazingly enough.) But I still expect I will suffer some gas pump shock for a while.
Finally, from the federal government’s fuel economy site, the comparison of tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year (based on 15,000 miles): ’98 Corolla – 6.6 tons (’08 Corolla — 6.3 tons); ’08 Cobalt – 7.1 tons.
Bottom line: Did I betray the cause of fighting global warming even as I was trying to support my hometown industry? Did I make the right choice?
