Shattered 30 mpg... In the Buick!!!

[RH77]

Originally Posted by Will

Thanks, I had a great trip that was long overdue.

The engine is a 3.1L 3100 series V6. I agree about the gearing. I do not have a tach in it, but there is a very noticable drop when it goes into OD. I must admit the Buick is one of my favorite cars there is. All the comforts you can imagine with the FE of most smaller cars.

I'll agree. It was always a treat to drive a Buick for work -- from the Skylark to the Park Avenue - Supercharged.

My Grandfather was a big Buick guy. His last car was a 70's Electra 225. Today, it would be considered an RV!



I'm afraid that the brand will die-out like Oldsmobile if they don't figure things out soon. They have 3 models available (2 passenger cars and one SUV). Saturn is poised as the "Entry Luxury" segment leader and could force them out, with Cadillac taking the full-in luxo branding. Olds could have easily done this with the addition of a "sporty" appeal. GM frankly gave up on it.

RH77

[wagonman76]

The old pushrod GM engines were great on gas. And usually very reliable too. Thats all I have in my fleet. The 4 speed auto does have quite a drop into OD, but the 3.1 has the torque to overcome that. Stroking the 2.8 into a 3.1 was one of the best things they ever did.

Hopefully you should be able to get quite a bit more out of that Buick.

[Daox]

Very nice and surprising mileage from that car Will.

[Will]

Yeah, I just wish I got to play with it more. My wife is a pro. photographer, so she needs the car to look that part. She don't let me get too close usually.

[Unforgiven]

Treated nicely, GM did have a sleeper in the v-6s in the Century, Impalas, Celebrities, Delta 88's and 98's and couple more models I cant think of off the top of my head. My stats dont show it since I am not home to drive my car, but even the large Impala can get some very respectable FE numbers. Will be interesting to see how things go when I get a couple of things done to it later on. One other sleeper was the Cavalier with the 3.1 and the 4sp auto, let alone actually getting the 5sp manual. Took one on a trip from northern Indiana to Chattanooga, TN... a trip of just under 600 miles. Drove 50 miles out of town, filled up and made it all the way down to Chatt.