I got stuck in Dallas today so I rent a Saturn Aura (3.6l) to get home. It was a very comfortable ride. Had all the bells and whistles. About 15 minutes into it my seat get hot and I noticed that I accidentally turn the seat warmer on.
I left Dallas and the cars outside temperature gauge was showing 100 degrees with a NE wind of 10 kts. I set the AC at 83 degrees and using the manual paddle shifts for the auto transmission headed to Austin. This is an impressive car for FE being so heavy. I don't think the rpm ever got over 1700. At 60 mph the rpm was 1600. At 43 in 6th gear the rpm was 1100. and at 50 it was around 1250.
I think with some work this would make a great FE platform. I drove 228 miles and put 6.2 gallons in. That's just short of 37 mpg. This is probably pessimistic because they are never really full when you pick up a rental and they left it idling outside for 10 minutes to cool down as I was filling out the paper work. I think 40 would be do able if not just a gridlock commute.
I did get a little help from some NASCAR want-a-be's as looking into the rear view mirror.
