One step forward, two steps back
 

Hello all,
my name is Kipling. I've been reading ecomodder for a while now, and for quite a while I've been interested in thinking about what sorts of personal vehicles would reduce pollution, resource consumption, operating costs, and congestion. Things like microcars, motorcycles, scooters, velomobiles, cabin scooters.

I had a 2007 Yaris hatchback with a 1.5L I4 and a manual transmission, which of course has pretty good fuel efficiency from the factory. I popped on some moon hubcaps and it was good to go.

But the Yaris was retired and for a while I was riding the bus, and that allowed me to think out my transportation situation. The Yaris was probably the right car to buy when I did, but what I wanted had changed. From a purely economic standpoint, starting with the assumption that I would own a car (mostly for the convenience) and that my short commute (which can be mostly highway driving if I do it outside of rush hour) would not significantly increase maintenance costs, I determined that with just 22mpg I would spend less than the $70/month of a bus pass (though I didn't factor in things like non-commute driving or the occasional train I would have to pay for separately, nor did I formally factor in externalities, side-effects, etc. like pollution, congestion, travel time, convenience, exercise, etc.). By this measure my Yaris was actually cheaper by a good margin.

Since I'm a homeowner and I'm about to build a garage (I like working on cars, motorcycles, and other projects for which a garage is useful) and do some landscaping including trees, I decided to get a small pickup truck (I hate renting and driving the giant hardware store trucks, and renting from somewhere else to drive to and from the hardware store is really inconvenient). I got a 1992 Toyota Hilux 2WD with a 2.4L I4 and a manual transmission. EPA over 22mpg highway and under 22mpg city. Maybe cheaper than the bus but certainly room to improve, so I'm planning to make some primarily aerodynamic modifications.

Cool I will be watching, do you have the 22re or the 2rz?:D

enjoy the truck, i'm sure you will have lots of fun with it

The engine is a 22R-E.

If the mileage I'm getting is any indication, you should be able to average at least 30 MPG with a few mods. My build thread has most of the details: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...yon-17070.html.

And there's a lot that I have not yet done....

kinscore -

Welcome to EM! Sounds like a smart move for you needs. I wish they made the el-cheapo bone-stock compact trucks from the 1980's. Yours could be from Japan or USA :

Toyota Hilux - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ha ha, you could also put a VW emblem on it and Confuse-A-Cat people :

Volkswagen Taro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CarloSW2

Some good mods there, JR. I've been thinking about an aero topper but lately leaning toward a cab extension wing and partial tonneau cover instead. The one I tend to worry about (though one that I was considering on my Yaris and now my Hilux) is grille block, but so far I haven't seen reports of engine problems resulting so maybe I'll try it after I add some instrumentation.

So mine was made in Japan—it is a JT VIN. That might mean slightly different construction—it did for my 1988 Corolla that was made in Canada.
I would have bought newer if the basic small trucks were still available. I even considered buying older but decided it wasn't worth it for me. Mine's in pretty good condition and should be fairly reliable but safety updates would be nice.
I might have bought a mini truck like a Subaru Sambar if they were still available street legal here (they're imported unofficially and specific laws make them legal for limited street use, but not where I live).
Ah yes, the VW Taro. It would be especially confusing if I swapped the front badge but left TOYOTA on the tailgate.

Cool my Celica has the 22RE as well, solid motor(a bit underpowered) :p I have had sucess in the past and currently with airdamsand grill blocks. .34 Cd. Up to 34mpg highway on E10, I pick up 3 mpg on non Ethonol gas.
Hoping to see some progress.