m*- w - Clpdigital.org

nil-. COST OF MOTORING ONE THOUSAND MILLS 5,5
cause he has paid for them in advance!
But the cost is there, nevertheless.
For instance—tires. Tires, motorist's
nightmare! Shoes for the car cost a
heap more than shoes for the children,
and rubber isn't going down any in price ;
neither is cotton nor labor.
It costs me $21.00 a shoe, for a
medium-priced—well, if you want to call
it so, a cheap tire. I manage six thousand
miles out of my thirty-two-by-four
tires. That makes my tires cost $0,014
a mile. For a thousand miles I have
spent $14.00 in rubber and fabric, just
as surely as if I dribbled fourteen mills
over the side of the car for every mile I
drove.
Your tires cost twice as much. Let
us say then $45.00 per shoe. But you
doubtless will get ten thousand miles out
of your big tires. I figure your mileage
cost, then, as $0,018 and charge you with
$18.00 against your thousand mile tour.
What ? Oh, come now! Of course
I know I am guessing. That is, you
may get 11,579 miles or only 9,652
miles, or maybe you will get 14,974
miles from a tire. But I am stating a
fair average. I have taken 10,000 from
a 32x4, on a rear at that, and I have
blown up at 3,700. I average the six
thousand I mentioned. All this story is
an average. No two cars, no two drivers,
are alike. You can't discomfort me by
pulling a special instance, and if you are
really going to play fair, you won't!
How do I figure gasoline? Well, I
don't figure it by the "average" the
ordinary motorist brags about. I used
to, when I was young and inexperienced.
I'd fill up the tank on a hot summer's
day, get 19 miles to the gallon, and forever
after that 19 miles was my "average".
It's different now. I have
stopped fooling myself. The gasoline I
use on a tour is the gas I pay for. I
start with a full tank, I end with a full
tank, and the total gallons used divided
into the distance, gives the real "average".
I find that with starts, stops, city
work, second gear in ruts and mud,
mountain climbing, etc., considered together,
the average $1,000.00 car which
"BE GOOD AND GENEROUS WITH OIL. FIRST. BECAUSE IT IS A HEAP CHEAPER THAN
BEARINGS; SECOND. BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP ANYWAY"