I recently purchased a new home with the intention of being able to bike to work, which I'm looking forward to. I used to have a 20 mile round trip commute, now I'll be biking 4 miles a day.
With us essentially cutting down to one car, and me being concerned with environmental issues, I've been thinking about the best vehicle we could purchase. Initially I was excited to go test drive a new Rav4 Hybrid (40 mpg) but my wife and I were both a bit disappointed with the quality of the interior of the vehicle, considering the $30-40,000 price tag.
I also thought about a Tesla, but charging my vehicle with electricity generated by the local coal fired power plant doesn't seem like a net-benefit to the environment.
This got me thinking about older, less fuel efficient vehicles. We know that a significant portion of the environmental impact of a car comes during manufacturing. Taking cars out of service to buy new ones that are more energy efficient isn't necessarily a net-benefit to the environment. Couldn't an argument be made that buying a used car, say with 120,000 miles, and taking really good care of it, would be the most environmentally friendly form of car ownership?
Say you're able to squeeze 40,000 extra miles out of a car that gets 20mpg, versus buying a new one at 40mpg. That's going to mean you'll burn 2,000 gallons of gas vs. 1,000 gallons. On a pure fuel basis, you're definitely not helping the environment, but that ignores the fact that you're delaying the manufacturing of an entire vehicle for years. Sure, some pieces of a vehicle can be reused, but not without significant energy, and most of the pieces are thrown in the garbage. I have to believe this route is better for the environment.
Appreciate any help as I try to think through the right decision here.