Finland on Cars

Tonight my host family and I had a roundtable discussion about the costs of owning a vehicle in Finland. Here is what we found. On top of insurance (which is similar to that of the states) there are several other costs that are worth considering in comparison to owning a car. Let´s take for example the classic Colorado all purpose car, the 2008 Subaru Outback 2.5i (this is the station wagon looking rig that nearly 85% of people in Colorado own). New off the lot run of the mill no special options this car will set you back a rounded $23,600 in the states, the same exact car in Finland costs €36,900 which rounds off to an even $57,200 (at an exchange rate of $1.55/€). A new Toyota Land Cruiser 4.5 litre V-8 power house with gold trim will run you a smooth €145,000, which translates to just about as much as the average cost for a home along the northern front range. Crikeys (as the late and great Steve the Croc Hunter would say)!! Now, we all know that you can´t run a car without gasolina. Let´s look at that comparison....tonight we purchased gas for the family´s truckster (volvo station wagon) that I´m staying with. We paid €1.42/litre.... roughly 4 litres to the gallon.... at an exchange rate of $1.55/€ gives you a gallon of gas at roughly....$8.50! (As a side note, I am predicting prices around $4/gallon this summer at the pumps). Next cost....every year we pay some sort of fee for having our vehicles liscensed/registered on the road. The Finns arrive at this cost by taxing you on the CO2 your car puts out. That means that the large gas guzzling Land Cruiser will cost you much more (roughly 3 times) than the smaller more efficient Peugeot 107 that runs on a balls out 1.0 litre engine that is the size of the glove box in the new Ford F350´s. What does all this mean?

- People drive smaller, more efficient cars in Finland. In fact, a lot of people drive diesel vehicles. It turns out diesel gets mileage (or kilometers) per gallon (litre) of fuel similar in respect to what we get out of our hybrids (less 10% or so).

- People use more alternative transportation. Biking seems to be the prefered method for short trips. Busses and trains will take you a little further from home if need be. It´s a way of life in these countries. Walking is also hugely popular. Age doesn´t seem to have a whole lot to do with it either, because I have seen just as many seniors as teens using their feet to get from point A to point B.

- Roads are in pretty decent shape. Sure there are plenty of dirt roads in this country that suffer from similar issues (weather mainly) as those in the states, but it seems as a whole the system is in pretty good condition. This seems to be mainly a function of the taxation associated with EVERYTHING over here. The Finland budget allocates a portion of the taxes collected to dedicated road and infrastructure improvement. This is an issue that CO constantly deals with as an end result of TABOR (tax) which hamstrings our state budget with the mandatory (perennially increasing) requirements for education spending (which I am not saying is a bad thing, I´m only saying).

- Finnish people are forced to purchase cars by evaluating cost AND carbon output (emissions) when choosing a vehicle. This puts pollution into the equation and possibly drives (pun intended) some of the decisions.

Now, despite the issues that are described above I don´t want to sound like I am anti-vehicle here. I understand that our current infrastructure doesn´t easily allow us to effectively use alternative modes like the bus system or trains (at least in smaller towns along the front range, with the exception of Boulder) to get where we´re going when we need to get there in every circumstance. It´s comparing apples to oranges in that sense. But, I do know that I could walk from point A to point B a couple more times per week. Additionally, I like to have the option to drive a 4x4 up a steep rocky road to a high mountain trailhead with my gas grill, 6 of my best friends, an inflatable pool, four cases of PBR, a dog (any breed will do), three circus chimps and a cooler full of bologna, but I also know that those trips happen maybe once or twice a year at most for people and that the rest of the time a modestly sized Mitsubishi Colt with a 75 hp (lawnmower) motor would be just fine.