MSN homepage is running a cute little article of the true cost (ie long term hidden costs) of owning everything from a blouse to a puppy to a car. But some fact checker is either very bad at math or is just plain blind. Take a look at the following excerpt relating to the ownership of one of Ford's finest.......



But depending on the model, the price you pay for a car is typically just 40% to 60% of its true cost of ownership over time.
Let's take the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500, "the most powerful factory-produced Mustang ever built," according to MSN Autos, and a car that Pulitzer Prize-winning car critic Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times said has "the looks and numbers to make Mustang fanatics shake with anticipation."
It's a stash of cash, but how much do you need? And why should this take priority over other savings goals?



Oh, baby. But the $41,000 or so you spend to acquire this hot rod is just the start. When you count in depreciation, finance costs, insurance, fuel, taxes, registration, maintenance and repairs, the cost of owning this car over five years is an additional$30,000. That's according to Edmunds.com's "True Cost to Own" calculations. Total cost per mile to drive this car: $1.04.
That's more than double what you'd spend to buy and run something that made you look only half as good -- say, the Honda Civic two-door coupe. Not only is the Civic one-third the upfront price -- which means one-third the financing costs, depreciation and taxes -- but you'd spend only half as much fueling it. Insurance, repairs and maintenance are all about 33% less than with the Ford. All told, you'd spend about 50 cents a mile to drive this car.



Now....anyway.....I don't care about the math they used to arrive at the cost per mile figure, I'm more concerned with how they determined the other fraction....that driving a Honda Civic could make you look anywhere near even half as good as in a ShelbyGT500. This kind of sloppy journalism needs to stop :-)

 

And I don't know where you can get one for $41,000 either!

 

It is against the laws of physics to apply logic and reasoning to things as passionate as high performance automobiles. You do it because you can, not because you should.

*rubs the fender of his 168k mile 13yr old Toyota truck that costs $0.10 per mile and makes him look just as good as a Civic*

 

And has a working gas gauge, too!