Ok, so you all know how I feel about charging over $1.00 to ship a chip. Well, here's one that I can't argue about and I'm sure a lot of you will be happy to incorporate in your handling charges.

According to the AAA, (per an article written in the Sacramento Bee by Jim Mateja of the Chicago Tribune,) motorists pay an average of 68.9¢ a mile, or $6,890.00 per year to drive 10,000 miles for a 2004 model car.

That takes into account gas, (before this latest big price increase) oil, maintenance and tires as well as insurance, depreciation, financing charges, license, title, taxes registration and plates.

Cost will vary depending on the size of the vehicle from 56.8¢ for a compact car such a Chevrolet Cavalier to 71¢ for a midsized car such a a Ford Taurus to 79¢ a mile for a full sized car such as a Mercury Grand Marquis.

The last line in the article said that the national average cost for all vehicles, regardless of size in 1950 when gasoline was 27¢ a gallon was .09¢ per mile or $900 a year.

I haven't checked this out, but the article said that more details (if your really interested,) can be found online at www.aaa.com