Highway route longer but better for cars

Friday, June 30, 2006

Dear Tom and Ray: I live in Vermont, and I have two possible ways to go to work. The first way is what people who don't live in Vermont would call "quaint," but what I would call "lousy." The road winds through the hills and is dirt for part of the way. In mud season, it turns into a bog. It's rutted and has washboards in places. During winter, it's peppered with frost heaves. The other way is all highway driving. Seems like a no-brainer, right? The problem is that the "quaint" way is nine miles shorter each way. In the course of a year, that adds up to something close to 5,000 fewer miles. Which route should I choose: The dirt road that saves miles while beating up my car, or the highway that treats my car well but racks up thousands of extra miles a year?

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