Drumroll please...
I give you Oval_Overload's new ecomobile... well sort of. It burns more oil than Saddam Hussein's Army, but I can live with that in a car that gets nearly twice the fuel mileage of my old ride.
Its a Saturn SC1! Rated 29/40 as opposed to the 18/22 of my old Taurus.
And, its the bargain-basement model! I'm actually quite thrilled that it has almost no options because there is nothing to break. The power locks and windows never worked on my Ford in the winter, so I won't miss those [in]conveniences at all.
The only options it has are power steering, air con, and a spoiler. The air con is never used except occasionally on the highway, because with just 100 horsepower, using the A/C often causes the engine to stall if I'm not lightning fast on the clutch. The spoiler is coming off as soon as I find some time when I'm not
supposed to be doing something useful. One of the hubcaps looks nasty, so I think I'll be heading to the 'Kitchen & Bath' department at Walmart for a replacement set
In the OBDII side of life, I need to fix the EGR valve to solve an internment high idle, an apparently common problem that
everyone I know with an S-Series has. It also throws an EVAP code, but that probably means a leaky gas cap. Simple fix.
I plan on installing a kill switch and a starter switch to make EOC easier (cranking with the key causes the radio to reboot. Its sinfully annoying). I also might install an accessory cutoff switch to kill the alternator and A/C when I'm accelerating or driving in traffic.
One last mod, as suggested by Sean T. is to take advantage of Minnesota's irritating requirement of front license plates. I'm going to remove the big fugly plate bracket and mount the plate over the conveniently small grill. Instant grill block!
And now the car needs a name. Is it a he or a she (or a tranny? I know a few
). I've been calling it "Smarter Car, because I think it is better than a Smart. Sean calls it Sharon, in the same vein as my old car, 'Angila'.
Lets hear some ideas!
~Jimbo