1998 Toyota Camry
245,000 miles
Grill block (upper and partial lower)
1 year in my possession. Parent's car, but they have my truck at the moment
I shift to neutral when stopped, often shifting to neutral while coasting to the stop. This lowers idle fuel consumption. Sometimes I downshift to get DFCO. I accelerate at 80% load and then let up on the throttle briefly to make the car up-shift early. While climbing a steeper grade, I will hold the throttle at 85% load and no higher so that it doesn't downshift. The car is gutless, so you have to build up momentum before a hill, and hold the highest load you can without downshifting or going open loop. Tires at 45PSI.
I love that it's reliable and gets decent fuel economy on road trips. Although it has a worse coefficient of drag than the Acura TSX and fewer gears, the top gear is still taller and gets better highway fuel economy.
It's a good thing the newer models use a timing chain. This car has broken the timing belt twice, and luckily the engine is non-interference so no damage was done.
Upper grill block is coroplast and lower is pipe insulation.
