My sister does not drive for gas mileage

[jcp123]

Her motivations are just like mine were at the beginning - $ave $ome ca$h. Now I'm in it just for the personal challenge. I have to admit that I like how it trained my mind in terms of situational awareness though, and feeling a car out in a very new way.

My wife is a hopeless cause. I think I've snidely remarked on her ~14mpg average in her van.

I'll say this about having a seven seater with two kids - when you're married into a Hispanic family, 7 seats suddenly feels inadequate more often than you'd think. Plus my Pa uses the van as a utility hack now and then since he traded his truck for a Corolla. My Mom's Mazda3 may be a hatch, but it's a small one.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Ecky

The few times I loaned my father-in-law my Insight, he left it in 3rd on the highway.

To be fair, there are stretches of highway where you really need to spend a lot of time in 3rd. In the Bay Area, going north on I680 from San Jose to the I580 junction, for instance. Just can't climb some of those hills in 5th, and seemed to get better mpg in 3rd than 4th.

[Xist]

Keeping it in third downhill is better than braking!

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

To be fair, there are stretches of highway where you really need to spend a lot of time in 3rd. In the Bay Area, going north on I680 from San Jose to the I580 junction, for instance. Just can't climb some of those hills in 5th, and seemed to get better mpg in 3rd than 4th.

The irony of this left me a bit slack jawed. When we were still in the Bay Area, one of my Dad's co-workers was an amateur racer. Hid DD was a Saleen S281 convertible, and he took me for a ride from the IBM campus on Cottle Rd., where they worked. We ended up on 680, turned around in Sunol, and came back. The entire freeway portion was basically accomplished in 3rd, some fourth, and zero 5th. Since the statute of limitations is long past, the speeds averaged around 90. Being right seat for high-speed showoff driving should be scary, but he was incredibly smooth, calm, and deliberate. I know that's not something which plays well here, but it's a highlight of a life memory for me, and seeing "3rd gear on 680" is too ironic for me not to mention it.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by jcp123

... he was incredibly smooth, calm, and deliberate. I know that's not something which plays well here...

We do smooth, calm, and deliberate here as well. The overall goal may not be a lower lap time, but the skills and techniques overlap a lot: performance driving is performance driving.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by jcp123

Since the statute of limitations is long past, the speeds averaged around 90.

Though assuming you can find a time without much traffic, that's not much over typical traffic speeds through there. More usually, things move at maybe 15 mph :-(

Being right seat for high-speed showoff driving should be scary, but he was incredibly smooth, calm, and deliberate. I know that's not something which plays well here, but it's a highlight of a life memory for me, and seeing "3rd gear on 680" is too ironic for me not to mention it.

Smooth & deliberate works for speed or mpg, sometimes for both. Like the people who race up to a red light, hit the brakes, and come to a complete stop a couple of seconds before it turns green - while I just let off on the gas a bit, and roll right through.

[rlee94]

Originally Posted by Xist

We had a station wagon with four kids and survived, but who still makes station wagons?

I know this is some time later, but General Motors have brought back the Buick Regal as a station wagon. Turbocharged 4-cyl, AWD, 8-speed auto.