EM Sticker contest #2: guess Mom's MPG! ('97 Camry 4-cyl auto) ends Sun., Feb. 3

[MetroMPG]

The contest, in a nutshell:

This is the sequel to contest #1, where my dad's driving in his '06 Corolla was scrutinized.

After seeing his ugly results (22.4 mpg - sub/urban driving only, in a decidedly non-hypermiling fashion), my mom stepped up to the plate and asked if I'd put a ScanGauge in her car. I double checked with her on the weekend, and she's a go. Set it up Sunday evening.

(Note: it's out of sight.)

So, you've got until next Sunday evening. As with last time, the person whose guess is closest to the actual fuel economy after a week of driving wins a free Ecomodder window cling.

The car:

It's a '97 Toyota Camry, 2.2 L, 4-cyl., automatic transmission with oh, let's say 180,000 km (112,000 miles) on it.

FE specs:

EPA city/hwy ... 20 / 28 mpg (US) (new figures)
NRCan city/hwy ... 10.5 L/100 km (22 mpg US) / 7.2 L/100 km (33 mpg US)

What's it capable of?

I haven't driven the car much, so I can't provide numbers. (But I will when it's over, just for kicks.)

fueleconomy.gov lists 14 owners' data for the same car, with an average of 26.4 and a range of 22 - 37.

What kind of driver his she?

She's a grandma.... literally! Modest acceleration, no hard braking, inhabits the lower 50% of the average speed of traffic.

Besides those things, I wouldn't say she consciously uses any particular efficiency tactics.

Her biggest FE hurdle is the fact that she mostly does short trips.

She says all of her driving this week will be local (sub/urban). If anything changes, I'll report back so guesses can be adjusted.

Note the weather forecast is calling for wet / light snowy weather for the next few days, temps generally around freezing or a bit below for the week.

Contest ends sometime next Sunday (Feb 3/08).

Post your guesses!

[igo]

Lets get this started.

24

[Lazarus]

I'll go with 19

[Gone4]

22.7

[WaxyChicken]

22.8 MPG city-since she only does short trips, then i guess you're not taking hwy EPA ratings.

[tasdrouille]

25

[Who]

Hrmmmm -- All short trips? 13.4 LHK / 17½ MPG

[DifferentPointofView]

aw man, they took 19, I'm gonna go with 18 combined then.

[MetroMPG]

Remember, it's not combined - it's just "city" use. There likely won't be any highway driving in there. (And if there is, I'll let you know so you can re-jig your guesses.)

[Chris D.]

18.5