Mpg

FAOL Community Sound Off
1

Hello Folks -

Some of the discussions on the board recently got me to thinking about “miles per gallon.”

First of all, this is NOT a rant about the cost of gasoline these days. To make my position very clear, over the fifty years that I have been licensed to drive a motor vehicle, and that includes this morning when I filled up on the way home from the grocery store, gasoline has probably been the least expensive of all commodities used in our society on a daily basis.

As one simple example, when I was in high school in the late '50’s, gas cost about $.25-30 / gal. ( My senior year, one of the gas companies put out a super high test gas, like 96 octance rating, that I ran in my dad’s '57 Plymouth Belvedere V-8 two door hardtop when I used to drag race light to light against all comers on K Street in Sacramento, CA, that cost $.42 / gal. ) A pair of Levis jeans back then cost around $3.00.

This morning I paid $3.15 per gallon to fill up. I just checked JC Penny for the current price of the Levis jeans I wore back then - 501 Shrink to Fit, at $46 per pair, or $37 if you buy two or more. Do the math - gas is still, relatively, a better buy than Levis jeans. And before the price of gas took off a few years ago, when it was still well below $2.00, the price had inflated at a much lower and slower rate than any other commonly used commodity, whether clothes, food, toys, tools, etc. etc. etc.

Getting back to the MPG thing. I’m curious how others are doing in their current rigs for actual fuel economy compared to the sticker MPG when they bought the vehicle ( if bought new or if a used vehicle had the original window sticker in it ).

To get it started, my last vehicle was a '97 Toyota Tacoma 2.7 liter four cylinder with standard transmission. The sticker estimate was, as I recall, 23 highway and 19 city. Over 175,000 miles, it averaged, overall, about 27 mpg. My current ride is an '05 Tacoma 4 liter six with an automatic. The sticker estimate is 21 highway and 18 city. Over 66,000 miles, it’s averaged right around 25-26 mpg. I do a lot of highway driving, usually on cruise control below 60 MPH, so my figures are skewed to the high side.

So how are you folks doing ?? What kind of vehicle do you drive, what kind of mpg does it get, and how does it compare to the sticker estimate ? How do your driving habits impact your fuel economy, and your budget ?

John

2

My commuter car, a '97 Escort coupe is rated at an average of 27mpg
It gets 33.9

My truck is a '00 S-10. It gets 26 mpg.

My wife has a '93 Civic with about 230,000 miles. It gets over 35mpg

3

You people that “don’t count”:D…don’t have to answer:rolleyes:

4

My daily driver is a 2007 Pontiac G6 Convertivle with 3.9L V6.
Window sticker said 19 city and 27 highway.
In 19,000 miles it has averaged 20 city and 28 highway. Pretty close to what the sticker said.

My fun toy is a 1976 Corvette with 350ci V4 4bbl carb.
When I keep my foot off the floorI can squeeze about 14mpg out of it. The typical mpg is around 10-12mpg. I only put about 2,500 miles per year on it driving to car shows and cruise ins so it’s not that expensive to drive and the fun factor is well worth it.

Jeff

5

My wife and I were hit head on by a drunk driver in a Dodge Durango. We went from going 45 mph to 10 feet back from where he hit us in a nano second. I now drive a Yukon with side air bags and stability control. I will not loose that battle again. Good for you guys and your little cars. I am glad you have the guts to drive those things. Keep up the good work.

Godspeed

Bob

6

If you refuse to believe you are not part of the problem…
you are the problem

7

2 VW diesels
We average 42 mpg :slight_smile: 38 city/49 highway…EPA said 36/41. Of course they were pushing the Prius on us at that time and they over estimated it’s mpg by a TON!

49 on the highway…with 4 people and luggage.

Prius shmius:) :slight_smile:

8

Ther eis no problem if he can afford to drive them. I feel no ill feeling toward anyone that drives what they can afford.

9

I’m sure there’s a (very) few of us who kill and keep every fish we catch.
Then there’s some who throw back all they catch because they can’t be bothered or just don’t eat fish
But I think that a good solid majority of us only keep what we need and release the rest.

Why?

We know that to do otherwise would be a waste of the resource.

10

I drive a 2WD, 3/4 ton 2003 Chevy Express van for work and fishing. 11-12 in the city and 17 tops on the highway. It has the towing package which limits the mileage. Actual is right on the money with estimated.

Joe

11

If killing fish is a problem, then anyone who kills them becomes, by definition, part of the problem.

Likewise, if using gas is a problem, then anyone using it becomes, by definition, part of the problem. Albeit, a smaller part but, none-the-less, a part.

When the smaller offenders mock the bigger offenders, it becomes a matter of degree. Monks in Tibet would have very small need for refined gasoline.
And vegetarians seem to survive.

I make no excuses and cast no stones. Drive whatever you feel you need to for whatever reason. I’m okay with that. But be aware, they all burn hydrocarbon fuel. Even the electric ones get their power from somewhere.

Godspeed,

Bob

12

I get around 17 city and 20 highway. When I lived in Michigan it was a 16 mile round trip to the grocery store and a 60 mile round trip to go to Wally World, Home Depot, etc. Here in TN it’s 5 miles to get groceries and 12 to go to WW or Lowe’s. I try and plan my trips to cut out any unnecessary driving. I like my old Jeep (pushing 150,000 mi.) as it is great for hauling the 'toon and fishing gear. Of course being retired helps to conserve fuel. For those with a long drive to work everyday a high mpg vehicle makes very good sense.

Jeff, I had a 75 'vette. The only way to tell it from the 76 was the size of the “Corvette” letters on the rear!

13

I have a 2003 Acura TL Type S. This is a 3.2 liter six-cylinder. It runs on premium gasoline. Around town I get 26 mpg. Highway mpg is around 30 (doing between 65-75 mph). Highway mpg during commute hours mpg is around 26. Not bad for a performance rated car. It does a heck of a lot better than our '04 Toyota Sienna which gets around 18 mpg in town and 24 mpg on the highway.

14

Your Toyota numbers are definitely skewed. I have a 2005 Tacoma and a 2006 4runner with the same six cylinder that get 19-22 mpg. The 4runner has a computer display mode that shows mpg at all times and there is a huge drop even on the highway if you use cruise control over 80 mph. My best was 22.9 at about 63 mph on a flat 100 mile trip.

15

TaylinLoop -

Shortly after I first got my '97 Tacoma, I ran into a fellow at Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada who had an identical rig, except for exterior color and interior trim, that was also a couple months old and also had around 4,000 miles on it. At that time, I was getting closer to 28-29 miles per gallon without cruise control, but a very steady foot driving mostly on highways at 55-60 mph. He was from the San Francisco area, ran his truck on crowded highways at 70-80 mph, and mixed in quite a bit of city driving conditions. He was getting 19 miles per gallon.

I’ve talked to several other guys who have '05 Tacomas like yours and mine. They are usually in a hurry, have heavy foots, and do more city driving that I do. They also average around 20 mpg overall. On a trip back from California a couple years ago, I wanted to save a couple hours in the saddle and put it on cruise at 75. My mpg dropped to around 21 for that trip. Driving the way I usually do, I consistently run 25-26 mpg.

John

16

I believe that Gas prices were highest in 1981, if you adjust gas for the price of inflation. Gas went threw a period of almost 25 years where it didnt go up, as inflation was continuing to rise. The price of gas is kind of overblown, IMO.

I pay less now driving per mile than i did when gas was $1.00

8 years ago, when gas was a dollar i drove a 78 jeep wagoneer with a 401 big block. I got around 7-10 mpg.

Now i drive a stick shift, 4 banger, suby outback. And i get 21-25 mpg.

I also own an old chevy truck with a 350 that sees less than 2-3 thousand miles per year. It pretty much just gets driven in the mountains. Its expensive to drive. I couldnt afford driving around one of these as my primary vehicles.

In 10 more years, i see myself still in a vehicle getting around 20-30 mpg, but who knows.

17

2000 Neon sticker was 27-32 I average 33. 75% of time on highway.
1999 Grand Caravan I have noe clue what the sticker is but it averages 22.

18

Joe, if you would reduce the amount of emergency Spam that you carry in that van by a quarter-ton or so, I’ll bet you mileage would improve. Or at least the van’s mileage…

Ed

19

I suppose I am the problem…
My wife drives a 2002 Monte Carlo it gets 22 in town, and 32 on the highway (36 going down hill from Colorado to Kansas).

I drive a 3/4 Chevy Pickup, with an extended Cab and a full size box. Couldn’t get it in standard so it has the auto transmision with the towing package. I get 11 miles to the gallon with premium gas. I get 11 on the high way. I get 11 in town. I get 11 with a full load in the bed. I get 11 with the a/c on. I get 11 with the a/c off. I get 11 mpg.

Ed:cool:

20

I drive a 2004 VW Passat. I average about 26 MPG with a mix of city and highway driving. Most mornings I get over 30 MPG going to work (freeway driving @ 70 MPH), and most evenings I get about 25 MPG depending on traffic. I’m not sure anymore what the EPA mileage is supposed to be, but my numbers are pretty close to those of other Passat owners.

Nobody has mentioned this so I thought I would throw it out there. All 2008 model year cars now have to use the new EPA mileage standards. The old standards were created in the late 70s and early 80s and were based on freeway driving at 55 MPH and city driving of 35 MPH. I don’t know many areas where the speedlimit on the freeway is 55 anymore (where I live the average speed is more like 70-75 MPH), and the new mileage standards take this into account. I believe for freeway driving they are 65MPH and for city 40 MPH. In most cases this has lowered the EPA MPG for most cars. I know in the case of the Prius it knocked a lot off the EPA estimates (which as I recall didn’t please Toyota all that much).

Brian