“Mcrews, I agree with you: the challenge isn't simply what is the best FE I can get, but what is the best FE I can get with what I have. Who really rises to the challenge? The driver who buys an economy car, or the driver who improves the efficiency of a luxury car/ sports car / muscle car / truck? Personally, I'm much more impressed by a driver who manages 25 mpg out of car rated for 18mpg than I am with a bandwagon greenie who gets 30 mpg in a car rated as such. The same type of narrow-minded thinking you are deriding here is rampant in the performance drivers' groups as well - just apply it to racing rather than FE. I commend your quest to improve mileage while enjoying your drive as you do. I don't think it is impossible to serve more than one master, so to speak.”
Mifunego,
KUDOS!!! Very well said.
And that is exactly my point on the larger scale of life. I read an article in Sports Illustrated several yrs ago about a high school football player who had lost his hand in a power saw accident. He was a starting wide receiver prior to the accident. He wasn’t kicked off the team because “all football players have to have two hands”. And while he did not start he still had several key catches his senior yr. That kid is my HERO.
I had a 66 mustang with a 200ci straight six when I was in college. It was also baby blue. In the 70’s if your mustang didn’t have a 289 V8 you were considered a sissy car.
I discovered that Ofenhouser (sp) made a 3 one barrel carbs adaptor. That and some headers made for a real surprise
when I turned it on! Also new found respect.
“Depends on your goal.
If saving fuel is the true #1 goal then you will select the most economical vehicle that has the capacity to meet your hauling needs AND you will operate and mod it for max fe AND you will seek to not even use that as much as possible, by walking, biking, trip combining, whatever it takes.
What you won't do is waste time and effort trying to make a sow into a sipper.
If you're just into the challenge of modding, that will work on anything. It's better than nothing anyway.
If you're into the bottom line moneywise, what you choose to do all depends on what your starting point is, how resourceful you are, and what you find.
Having said that, I believe it is possible for any and everyone that wants to, to have and afford to have a vehicle that does what they need and gets 30 mpg +; even if it means adding another vehicle to their fleet”
Frank Lee,
Agreed.
I have a nice bike that I use not only to get exercise but also to go the 1.7 miles to the post office (it’s always a nice day
in Northern CA) instead of driving.
I drive to see my clients and I office out of my home (instead of being an ‘ugly American’ and having a big wasteful office that I would hardly use). I carry a bag in my car with an HP OfficeJet J3680 copier/fax/scanner/printer. I also have a small netbook. That way when I am at the client’s home I don’t have to leave the house to make copies of documents (like an ugly American who works for big oil might do
). I also purchased a scanner last yr and am 90% paperless in the home office (I hate to see spotted owls homeless
).
And speaking of examples and children, my 22yr old daughter who is in college and works full time, rides a bike to college even though she owns a 2007 KIA Sportage EX. I have no idea where she got the idea of riding a bike……
..oh wait, I used to take her to preschool on the child seat that I had mounted on my bike 16 yrs ago. (before I had a big oil chushy job).
You know, the bad part about being a self-employed American is that you have nothing to fallback on if you don’t make it. So you look outside of the box to save money and be efficient.
Amazing how the underlying motives and thoughts
tend to rear their ugly head so quickly.
