Greetings!

[tiderfish]

Hello all! I have been reading this forum in my down time at work. I have to say there is a lot of good information here. Here is a little about me.

I live in Maryland and I have had several cars. I can't say I have ever modded a car to make it more economical, however I do enjoy checking my MPG at every tank, and I like to see that number go up! I used to have commutes that range in the 20 minutes to 3 hour range, however now my company has moved to 1.8 miles from my home! My car isn't even warmed up yet! I would like my 1st mod to be a engine block heater. However I am hesitant to modify this car. It's soo new and pristine.

So on to my ride! I had some mishaps earlier this year with my 1990 RX7. Basically someone slammed into it at about 40mph while it was parked on my street. So I started car shopping. I wanted something with a turbo charged engine, rear wheel drive, and a stick shift. You would be amazed how many cars actually fit into this category. (like 10) I was looking at second generation MR2s, third generation RX7s and some other similar early 1990s cars. I quickly realized I did not want a project, I wanted a car that works 100%. After about two and a half months of searching, I was starting to give up. I was using autotrader.com and cars.com to search. Finnaly I created a search for cars that were in my price range and had manual transmission. (a must for me) Then I went through all the manufactures to see what stuck me. I came to Mercedes-Benz thinking that I would get no results, since rich Americans want automatics. But low and behold I found what would be my car. A 2005 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor Sport in BLUE! Not boring black or silver! I thought to myself, wow this car is sharp! I went to see and test drive it, it was amazing. Even though I'd have to lax my rules, and 'settle' for a supercharger instead of a turbo charger. I went back the next day, and made the purchase.

It has a 1.8L inline four cylinder RWD and a 6-speed. I believe the supercharger is a root type. The sport model is the stripped down version with less options then the others in it's class, but you wouldn't know that sitting in it! On the ride home I watched the trip mpg meter as I drive on the highway back from Northern Virginia, to my home. I couldn't believe the mileage. I was doing +-80MPH, and getting around 30MPG! W00t I thought I finally have a car that will get 30MPG. Well obviously with city driving and warm ups, I was consistently getting 26-27mpg. Still not bad considering I would power-slide every turn I could.

I have been reading many of the DIY threads, and have some plans to mod this car. I want to start with a scangauge. I am going to ask for one for Christmas.