« Owning a Small Busin... | Main | I Have Poison Ivy! »
 

Entry bubble New Gas Mileage Rates and Estimates

By: Jake | June 30, 2008 | Category: Money

Those of you who use your car for business purposes can rejoice a little bit. The Internal Revenue Service increased the optional standard mileage rates for the rest of the year because of rising gas prices.

For every business mile driven from July 1 to December 31, 2008 taxpayers can use the rate of 58.5 cents to calculate deductible costs, 8 cents more than the 50.5 than the first half of 2008. The IRS also increased the standard deductible rates for medical/moving purposes from 19 to 27 cents. The agency doesn't normally change rates midyear but decided it was necessary due to rising gas prices.Fuel Pump

This change means that federal government employees who use their own cars for government work may see an increase in their reimbursement rates since the U.S. General Services Administration announced they're reviewing privately owned vehicle reimbursement rates. UPDATE: On August 1, 2008 the new rate for federal employees will be 58.5 cents per mile.

It seems whenever I post about something related to gas prices I get a few comments about specific types of cars. So I thought I'd mention that 55 years ago today the first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently adjusted automobile gasoline mile per gallon estimates to take into account idling and other driver habits to make them more realistic. Fueleconomy.gov applied these new estimates to every automobile manufactured since 1985.

I am curious how many miles per gallon of gasoline the 1955 Corvette got. By the new estimates a 1985 Corvette gets about 15 miles a gallon in the city and 20 on the highway. I bet the 1955 Corvette gets far less. Does anyone know?

| View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: business_mileage   fuel   gas_mileage   jake   tax  

Comments (6):

blue comment bubble Posted by Ali_Pine on June 30, 2008 at 07:28 AM EDT

From: TheVetteHeads Website about the '55
There was no doubting the V-8's performance improvement -- it was nothing short of stunning. The benchmark 0-60-mph sprint now took just 8.5 seconds; the standing quarter-mile only 16.5 seconds. Top speed was up to nearly 120 mph. Despite this, gas mileage was actually better too. Road & Track, for example, recorded 18-22.5 mpg with Powerglide, some 2-3 mpg better than the standard six-cylinder engine.

Another 2 seater to consider....
From CraigsList. 1954 NASH METROPOLITAN UP TO 35 MPG!!!! - $2600

Comment Permalink

blue comment bubble Posted by Cashflow420 on June 30, 2008 at 05:11 PM EDT

Does this mean I have to save all my gas receipts? That would make for another box of garbage.

Comment Permalink

blue comment bubble Posted by mercurygmls on July 04, 2008 at 01:39 PM EDT

I do not know how to judge all the milage but...a 1963, 283 2 barrel carb. and powerglide transmission got 22 mpg and the 3 speed standard trans got 24. These are over all miles and not judged as in city or as in highway.

Comment Permalink

blue comment bubble Posted by kac1487 on July 04, 2008 at 01:48 PM EDT

We should take lessons from the Brits where we seen Pinto engines getting 61mpg where here in the States that engine only gets 35-42 at best. What are they doing that we are not insisting our companies do for us? General Motors just last week had a Chevrolet the size of a Camery that was totally electric which got the same as 150 miles per gallon before recharging. I went to school for auto mechanics and I know an alternator will put out 180 amps, they should put at least 4 alt and recharge the system and never need to be plugged in. you may have to change the batteries every 2 years but it would still be a lot cheaper than gas or even diesel. they have the technology but the greedy oil companies will still want your money.

Comment Permalink

blue comment bubble Posted by Jake on July 10, 2008 at 12:44 PM EDT

Ali Pine and mercurygmls,

Thanks for your mpg estimates on the Corvette. I think one you sent me the email as well with this link:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1955-corvette.htm


Comment Permalink

blue comment bubble Posted by dan20441 on August 18, 2008 at 11:32 PM EDT

Another alternative in order to assist people in finding the best gas prices in their local area are sites like Crazy Gas Price,where you simply type in your zip code and you get a list of results with names and addresses of service stations in your area and how much they charge for a gallon of gas. Easy to use, and navigate. Visit www.crazygasprice.com - well worth the look.

Comment Permalink