Commute too short

[czechsonofagun]

Wife best of all landed her dream job, AP at high school. I am very happy for her, of course, the only problem - the school is less than a mile commute.
Due to the character of the roads, there is no way she could walk or bike and I am afraid it is gonna kill the car fast.
One mile in the morning, one mile in the evening will not allow the engine to warm up properly and it will wear out the engine.

Am I suffering from engineer's paranoia here? Are short distance car runs as devastating as I always believed?

 

[MikeInEburg]

Get her a scooter or moped... Short runs are especially hard on exhaust systems - but I wouldn't loose much sleep over it. She is blessed to have a short commute!
Mike

 

[horsinaround]

Don't worry about it. Consider it a savings.

 

[RobS]

Is there a more bike-friendly route, even if it adds a little distance? A few miles a day is an excellent way to stay healthy!

 

[Egon]

Let the Kids give the car a Friday evening workout!

 

[jimmyj]

Prokop, how do you get to work? Could you trade with her a couple days a week?

One the other hand, she's going to be using the car so very little there won't be any other real wear and tear on it. Good for her.

 

[riptides]

Wife best of all landed her dream job, AP at high school. I am very happy for her, of course, the only problem - the school is less than a mile commute.
Due to the character of the roads, there is no way she could walk or bike and I am afraid it is gonna kill the car fast.
One mile in the morning, one mile in the evening will not allow the engine to warm up properly and it will wear out the engine.

Am I suffering from engineer's paranoia here? Are short distance car runs as devastating as I always believed?

Yes, Get up two hours before her, drive to DC and back. Then give her the car.

 

[LBrown59]

Wife best of all landed her dream job, AP at high school. I am very happy for her, of course, the only problem - the school is less than a mile commute.
Due to the character of the roads, there is no way she could walk or bike and I am afraid it is gonna kill the car fast.
One mile in the morning, one mile in the evening will not allow the engine to warm up properly and it will wear out the engine.

Am I suffering from engineer's paranoia here? Are short distance car runs as devastating as I always believed?

My wife landed a job last week that's only a mile and a half from home.
None of your concerns ever crossed my mind.
I guess I look at it as don't sweat the small stuff.
If it still bothers you You could always take her to work in the morning and pick her up in the evening.
Another solution is take the long way to work and back.

 

[Bird]

Are short distance car runs as devastating as I always believed?

I was always concerned about that myself; more so on the older cars than the newer ones. I think moisture in the exhaust system may lead to premature corrosion, and moisture in the crankcase would cause me to change oil more frequently. However, the fuel savings might offset the cost of more frequent oil changes and exhaust parts. And that's my purely unscientific opinion!

In 1968, I bought one of the first Plymouth Roadrunners with the high performance 383 cu. in. engine. I think carburetors and automatic chokes back then were worse on short trips than our current fuel injection systems. But with my wife driving that Roadrunner to the grocery store and schools, all short trips, about every 3k miles, I'd take it out on the highway, stomp on the accelerator, and watch the black smoke come out of the exhaust. And I had to replace carboned up spark plugs at least every 12k miles.

 

[Egon]

On my 1966 383 with four barrel carb I had to change plugs and points about every 8000 miles. It didn't have many short trips on it.

Still curse that one sparkplug!