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01 / 05
Even with Gas Prices at Historic High, Your Time Takes You Farther

Blog Post | Cost of Living

Even with Gas Prices at Historic High, Your Time Takes You Farther

You can drive 62 percent farther for your time today than in 1980.

Summary: Although nominal gas prices recently reached historic highs, your time can get you further than ever before. As this article explains, the time price of gasoline has decreased by 4 percent since 1980, and the time price per mile driven has fallen by 38 percent.


The top-selling car in 1980 was the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Gas mileage on this vehicle averaged 20 miles per gallon (17 city/23 highway). By 2022, the Honda CR-V claimed that title. The CR-V reported mileage at 31 miles per gallon (28 city/34 highway). This represents an increase of 55 percent over this 41-year period. Mileage has been increasing at a compound rate of around 1 percent a year.

Back in 1980, gasoline was selling for $1.19 per gallon and blue-collar hourly compensation (wages and benefits) averaged $9.12 per hour. This indicates a time price rate of 7.83 minutes per gallon. Today, gasoline is selling for around $4.18 per gallon and blue-collar hourly compensation is up to $33.39 per hour, indicating a rate of around 7.51 minutes per gallon. While the nominal price of a gallon of gasoline has increased by 251 percent, the time price has actually dropped by 4 percent.

But how much does it cost to travel one mile? That depends on the time price of gasoline and the car’s mileage. In 1980, at 20 miles per gallon, the time price per mile on the Cutlass would have been 23.5 seconds. By 2022, with the CR-V getting 31 miles per gallon, the time price per mile would be around 14.5 seconds. The time price per mile has decreased by 38 percent.

You can look at mileage from the perspective of how many miles you earn per minute of work time. The 1980 Cutlass would have given you 2.55 miles per minute of your time, while the 2022 CR-V gives you 4.13 miles. Gas mileage abundance, from your time perspective, has increased by 62 percent.

There are other differences to consider. NADAguides, a website that values automobiles and other transportation equipment, reports that the price of a new Cutlass in 1980 was $6,735. At $9.12 per hour, it would have taken a blue-collar worker 738 hours to own this new car. Today the CR-V is retailing for around $28,334. At $33.39 per hour, it would take the worker 849 hours to buy one. So, while the time price of the top-selling car has increased by 15 percent, the mileage, safety, reliability, and comfort have all increased by much more.

Yes, nominal gas prices are at historic highs, but it’s not the money that counts, it’s your time. Time prices are the true prices.

Reuters | Motor Vehicles

Tesla Rolls Out Robotaxis in Texas Test

“Tesla deployed a small group of self-driving taxis picking up paying passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the ‘robotaxi launch’ and social-media influencers posting videos of their first rides.

The event marked the first time Tesla cars without human drivers have carried paying riders, a business that Musk sees as crucial to the electric car maker’s financial future.”

From Reuters.

Associated Press | Motor Vehicles

Amazon Hopes to Deliver 10,000 Robotaxis Annually

“Amazon is gearing up to make as many as 10,000 robotaxis annually at a sprawling plant near Silicon Valley as it prepares to challenge self-driving cab leader Waymo…

The 220,000-square-foot (20,440-square-meter) robotaxi factory announced Wednesday heralds a new phase in Amazon’s push into a technological frontier that began taking shape in 2009, when Waymo was launched as a secret project within Google.

Amazon began eyeing the market five years ago when it shelled out $1.2 billion for self-driving startup Zoox, which will be the brand.”

From Associated Press.

TechCrunch | Motor Vehicles

Waymo Has Set Its Robotaxi Sights on NYC

“Waymo said Wednesday it has applied for a permit to test its autonomous vehicles in New York City, the Alphabet company’s first step in a sticky regulatory process to bring its robotaxis to U.S.’s largest city.

Waymo applied for a permit with the New York City Department of Transportation to operate its self-driving Jaguar I-Pace vehicles with a human safety operator behind the wheel in Manhattan. New York’s autonomous vehicle demonstration or testing permit requires a human driver to be able to take over; a $5 million insurance policy; and every test vehicle operator must be adequately trained in the safe operation of the test vehicle. 

New York law is especially prohibitive of autonomous vehicles. While securing a permit would be notable, Waymo is far from being able to launch commercial operations in the city — or even test without a human safety operator behind the wheel.”

From TechCrunch.

IEEE Spectrum | Motor Vehicles

BYD’s Five-Minute Charging Puts China in the Lead for EVs

“A five-minute charge for an EV, virtually as quick as a gasoline fill-up, has long seemed a quixotic dream.

Now electric Don Quixotes can save critical time on their quests, at least in China. BYD’s ‘megawatt charging’ is here. And the company’s 1,000-kilowatt fast chargers could eliminate perhaps the biggest consumer gripe over EVs: That they take too long to charge.

BYD, the automaker that has passed Tesla in global EV sales, demonstrated its record-setting tech in Beijing during the recent Shanghai auto show. The numbers are staggering: More than a kilometer of added driving range per second on the plug. It supplies 400 kilometers of fresh range (nearly 250 miles) in five minutes. Even by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s more-realistic estimates, that equates to about 270 kilometers (168 miles) of range in five minutes.”

From IEEE Spectrum.