The total cost of ownership only matters if you are deciding whether to own a car at all, and that is really less a question of cost than your willingness to ch

The total cost of ownership only matters if you are deciding whether to own a car at all, and that is really less a question of cost than your willingness to change your lifestyle around a commitment to non-car-ownership and stop doing the things which are only feasible when you have a car. For decisions about any individual trip, gas price really is most of the issue, because you're already committed to paying for the option of driving whether or not you choose to exercise it in any particular instance.