Howdy

[Shomeyrwit]

Well I'm from Texas so I thought you might expect that. Anyway cool site, found y'all through Jalopnik and have barely had time to look around but have aparently been a bit of an ecomodder for years. I'm sure some of what I say will seem apocryphal and in honesty I can no longer prove them but it is all honest observation even if it was non-scientific.
Currently driving a 00 F150 and a 94 Civic that gets precisely twice the F150's mpg. Have had many cars and been amazed at the small changes that make big differences in mpg.
I mainly joined this site on account of noticing a trend towards lower mpg in cars that used to do much better. I owned an 88 civic hatchback that unmodified would get 41mpg at 75mph with the ac on, when I went to look for a new car (that one was stolen) I was suprised that my options did not include a basic cheap high mpg model, instead everything seemed to have gone upscale and I was barraged with claims that what I really wanted was 150 hp quasi luxury car that is quieter heavier gets less mpg and cost to much. But this ws the story at all the major brands showrooms, I even had guys online tell me that proof of technology was that a dodge charger had 300hp and still got mid 20's mpg,,,, he simply could not figure out that I wanted the new equivalent of my 4 spd 70hp 41mpg civic and not 34 from twice the hp or 22 from almost 4x the hp?????
I also have questions about the state of technology that has led to my experience with a 2000 Freightliner Columbia Midroof. That truck with 876000 miles Fuller 10 spd, Detroit 340, 10 wheels on the ground, weighing 19400lb and the aerodynamics of my garage will get 14.7 mpg on the highway bobtailing (no trailer for those who dont know) granted this turns into 5.5 with a trailer and a 80,000lb GVW. But the point is if that truck can attain better than 14 why in the heck does a half ton pickup thats a quarter of the weight, areodynamic cg and pushing 6 less tires only do 5 more mpg over the same roads at the same speeds, which where 75mph btw???
Enough for now

S

[moonmonkey]

howdy!

[Fodor]

Hi welcome to the forums.

[gone-ot]

...per your handles' request: "...some are witful, others witless." I'm probably from the latter group.

...Welcome Aboard!

[SentraSE-R]

Howdy, S.

If there's a market for a 70 hp, <2000 lb car w/o air bags and crumple zones, I'd wonder about the sanity of the person who'd buy it. The closest you'll find are the Yaris, Fit, Smart, and Versa. Their base levels are upscale compared to an '88 Civic. You're going to get dual air bags, side curtain bags, crumple zones, AC, dual mirrors, and more, in a 2500 lb. car. It may or may not get 41 mpg at 75 mph, but it almost certainly will at 65 mph.

[Angmaar]

Welcome to ecomodder!