The block heater will help with the short commute but so will the bicycle and the walk.
I don't know what the weather extremes are in Marietta but walking in the cold or heat are not my idea of great plans.
Nothing, even a gas rig, will appreciate the short trips you are talking about. The advantage with the diesel is the block heater. Most gas rigs don't have that option.

With either engine type, your commute probably isn't long enough to get your oil up to operating temp, which in my mind is the bigger problem, vs. efficiency. Your engine temp gauge may reach full operating temp, but oil temp will lag behind that somewhat. This means you should ideally change your oil quite frequently, which gets expensive, but generally even more expensive with a diesel (greater capacity). I have the same problem; I'm currently living in an apartment during the week that is barely a mile from my work.

To the suggestions of walking or cycling, I've considered that, but I have to lug my laptop both directions every day, and the heavy vehicle traffic would bother me as a pedestrian or cyclist, from a safety standpoint. There is also no bike rack at the office. Then there's inclement weather, darkness, etc.

You can't carry a laptop a mile? Maybe it's time to get a netbook! :D They only weigh a couple pounds!

I used to work a mile from my house. Problem was, my daycare was 6 or 8 miles :/ . Most of high school, I walked or rode a bike 2.5 miles, carried a bunch of books either way. Unless you're severely malnourished, your body adapts pretty quickly, growing, conditioning and training muscles as required. Nothing is as heavy hard or as far as it seemed in the beginning. Unless you're dealing with rain or snow, weather in the 30's is no fright to bike in, a pair of ski gloves or nice work gloves with thermal liners will help. I think you have an opportunity to be awake, alert, and have a smile when you get to work and get home. Having a bike that fits you and the way you ride is the best way make it a comfortable efficient way to get around.

Heads up, and wear a helmet, trouser clips or just keep the nice ones at work.

Short trips will eat your exhaust as well- you never have a chance to get it hot and blow the condensate out. Buy stainless when you exhaust goes if you do short commutes.

Also consider that you will never have heat, unless you warm it up for longer than your drive will be. If you get a move on, your body is making good heat in just a minute or two.

Oh no, that's the most fun to bike through. An element of challenge. I bike through town as fast as I can, try to never stop. Darkness--lights on the bike. Cold--warm clothing. Rain/snow--protective gear. If you don't want to carry a backpack--bike rack and saddle bags.

Bike it, 1.5 miles is nothing.

I don`t know why this wasn`t brought up, MOVE farther away, problem solved. engine will be happy, driver will be warm (in winter), A/C will have a chance to cool down the interior (in summer).

Have to think of safety first. bicycles are dangerous to ride, could get runover, MB has lots of sheet metal to protect you.
heat stroke in the summer, and will need shower when getting to work. could catch pnumonia in the winter, getting wet and chilled.




Plus it`s hard to drink your Starbucks and ride a bike, read the paper, shave and other multitasking.



Charlie

If you get heat stroke from biking a mile or two....then you have achieved ultimate wimp status. :D

No offense guys, but you forgot that most jobs don't like it when you show up sweaty. Bike makes you sweaty, and wrinkles up your nice dress clothes. Plus you have to mess around locking it. Don't tell me that if you're in shape you don't sweat, you still do.

I vote for walking and using an umbrella. 1.5 miles is NOTHING.

That being said, I used to ride my motorcycle to work .75 miles away. After work I'd usually go riding though.

Now if you want to be cool (like me) get yourself pretty much any $2,000 used motorcycle. Cheap insurance, crazy mileage, warms up by the time you've got your helmet on, and you will enjoy it much more. Honda/Suzuki/Kawasaki 500cc cruiser would fit the bill perfectly.

I normally don't get on my bike for less than 20 mi. Get a shower put in & make a 20 mi route ending at work. You can do it in the name of keeping medical premiums (theirs) and claims (yours) down. Only 2 caveats: keep the rubber side down & don't bounce off of a car.

Do yourself, your wallet and the planet a favor--get a bike. You can get a fancy new one for less than $1000, there's little or no maintenance, no fuel, repair or insurance cost, you'll lose weight, lower your cholesterol, tone your legs and get plenty of fresh air......win win win

I commute about 50 miles a day on the interstate in my 190d, spend hundreds a month on repair, diesel and insurance (not to mention all of the time I waste sitting in traffic), and daydream of a 1.5 mile commute on a huffy:)

1.5 miles of driving doesn't allow the engine to fully warm up, but as long as you make sure it gets some good driving during the weekend or maybe during a little jaunt after work it sounds like it'll be fine. Like someone else said, workplaces typically frown upon smelly sweaty workers. I don't know about the OP, but I can get just as sweaty and smelly walking a mile as I can biking. Does MARTA have a route that runs close to your place and work?

That's what a change of clothes are for and honestly in the north east at 7 or 9 am the weather is still relatively cool.

Locking isn't an issue either. Bring the bike inside or lock it up against a light pole. Problem solved.

I'm still going to be a green commie on this one. If it's short enough then bike or walk do it . It's incredibly healthy. If buying a bike is an issue, they have great 5 speed bikes on sale at Kmart for 100$

You're also sweating at your desk right now.

I biked all of this summer to work and I started out of shape. You don't start sweating to the point of a sticky mess until you are exhausted. If that's the case you should probably build some stamina up at a gym.

If you jump on a bike first thing in the morning you will also be rested and not sweat. The ride back home is a different matter, especially in the heat of the afternoon. If it's 5 then never mind, but I had to ride back at 3pm which was an adventure let me tell you! :D

You don't have to bust a sweat if you don't want to on a bike, it depends how fast you ride. You don't have to go all Lance Armstrong about it. If you ride at all of 6 miles an hour, you'll still be there in 15 minutes. You'll find that if you ride at a steady 10-15 miles/hour that you'll be on average, even with urban stop and go traffic.

Not to mention, doesn't everyone in Hotlanta sweat?

Man up already!

Gotta agree with the bike advocates on this one. I have a ~1.25 mile commute, and I ride if there's no snow on the ground. When it snows, I walk. I also agree that rarely will you sweat on the way in once you get used to the ride (which won't take long). If you're worried about the laptop, get panniers or a messenger bag. If it's raining, I wear a pair of military goretex over-pants and my waterproof softshell, and arrive basically dry. My workplace is cool with my parking my bike inside since it has a leather seat and bar wraps, and a few other nifty bits that would make it attractive to a thief and intolerant to rain.

Bike or walk... no sense putting wear and tear on a car for such a short commute! If you MUST drive, maybe buy a beater Geo Metro or something like that with an economical 4 cylinder engine.

EDIT: check with your auto insurance co. to see how much of a break you might get for making your car personal-use-only. Sometimes that can be quite a savings!