What you used to drive (before eco-modding)

[Funny]

Only two cars in my history of driving for the last 8 years...

1985 Mazda Rx-7 GLS

2002 Toyota Corolla S

The Rx-7 was fun to drive, but there was never any goal for economy, but still got around 20ish, never really checked. The Corolla on the other hand only started getting ecodriving about 4 years ago (wow, has it been that long?). I was getting the low 30s then, now I'm getting the low 40s. I loved my Rx-7, but I would have killed myself in it eventually.

This is exactly what I drove in the beginning

And my avatar is what I drive now. Love them both

[Oval_Overload]

I've got a pretty short history with cars, but I may as well chime in...

My parent's cars I used to drive:
1989 F150 extended cab, long box, V8 with a 3 speed auto (The Ghetto Cruiser... I've been tailgated by cops and passed by a 57' Beetle in that rolling roadblock) 9 MPG , top speed of 62 MPH.

2000 Chevy Van aka 'The Billboard' because my dad's name is plastered on the side in big green vinyl letters. Six tons of delivery van bliss... 12 MPG

My cars:

1998 Ford Taurus "Angila", aka "The Mafia Mobile"... You could fit four informants and a bag of cement in the trunk. This was my first car, bought for its weight in scrap. She's rusty, wheezy, dented, the paint's peeling, the rotors are warped, the windscreen is cracked, and none of the accessories work below 40º F (including the defroster o.0 ), but she [almost] always got me where I need to go, including 5 road trips. 25 MPG

2000 Saturn three door coupe "SCarlet" Bought for $20. She's sporty, slick looking, super fun to drive, and extraordinarily efficient with a five speed manual.

I'm back to the old Mafia Mobile because SCarlet's got some electrical problems... Oh well, for $20, I can't complain

[pgfpro]

69 440 Charger R/T
66 chev truck
71 340 Demon
67 442 Olds
70 340 Cuda
68 GMC truck
82 VW Scirocco
83 VW turbo rabbit 1.8L
94 Honda Civic Si 1.6 SOHC turbo
87 Mazda Tubo II RX7
93 DSM Talon 2.0L turbo

[CoastRider]

Just started HM'ing this year
Bought this in 2001 stock it got about 25 with reasonable driving. As pictured it averaged 10 to 15


Before My 89 F150 I had
90 2wd ranger 5 spd best was 22mpg Bet I could top 30 now
2 88 Bronco II's
2 87 Bronco II's
86 celebrity
85 Bronco II
85 LTD midsize
85 corrolla
85 Dodge D50
89 taurus
72 Dodge D250
70 Dodge Dart

[Deezler]

Wow! Some of you guys are car wh*res, haha.

Interesting to see some of the guzzlers too, but I was kind of asking to see the SPORTS cars that some of us used to drive. You know, who modified their car for increased power before they got into modifying their car (and driving style) for efficiency?

RH77, why did the Evo change your outlook on driving? I was dead set on getting one to replace my DSM, and pined over them for a couple years, waiting for the price of a used one to get down to where I could afford it. By the time I almost could, I lost some of my need for speed and chose efficiency instead. Getting 20 mpg around town just kept me away.... sigh. What could have been.

Coastrider, the Bronco looks like fun though. Living in central PA pretty much requires a trail rig, I'd suppose.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by Deezler

RH77, why did the Evo change your outlook on driving? I was dead set on getting one to replace my DSM, and pined over them for a couple years, waiting for the price of a used one to get down to where I could afford it. By the time I almost could, I lost some of my need for speed and chose efficiency instead. Getting 20 mpg around town just kept me away.... sigh. What could have been.

It's really the story of how I got into EcoDriving, oddly enough.

I really enjoyed that car, but here's the deal...

I bought it new and it was one of the first NA market Evos, which had lots of problems. The transaxle was mis-aligned, which caused grinding of shifts at high RPMs, in first to second. It was in the shop a LOT. They had to have a technician from Mitsu Japan come in to attempt to repair it. It was never really fixed properly (and honestly showed how poorly their dealers treated owners). I replaced the rubber clutch line with a braided steel hose, which helped a bit, but it never shifted right.

In cold weather starts, I had to sit in the vehicle with the clutch depressed until the transmission warmed-up (at least 5 cold minutes), or it would stall from the thickness of the fluid while in Neutral. Then getting it to shift even after 5-minutes was a chore. it also had random CELs from a glitch in the A/F ratio at moderate boost. The car was a lemon from the get-go.

Ah, but what fun to drive every day! It truly was a budget supercar. In the Winter, I put on some snow treads and went everywhere a 4x4 could (with much more stability). People who knew what it was, knew not not to race The pull in second gear at 18psi was phenomenal. Which brings me to more consequences...

Speeding tickets (a few of them). Add that to the 12-18 MPG of Premium fuel and it was expensive. Full throttle launches would burn-out the clutch early, which is another big cost. Insurance was through the roof. I finally had enough of it when the warranty ran out, so I dumped it on a used TL and started saving money.

Since my Wife was driving loads of miles every day, I we essentially switched cars: TL for Integra, and I had a revelation: it's fun to drive fast once in a while, but for the rest of the time, how can I really save on fuel -- might as well, right? Helps the environment, budget -- everybody wins. So about 3-4 years ago, I did some digging around the 'Net, joined some forums, met some of the great people here today, and the rest is history.

I still participate as a Medical volunteer in the National Rally Championship and will be the first to admit that sometimes acceleration and twisty roads can be fun once in a while...

RH77

[ALS]

1970 1/2 Z/28 350ci/350HP
1967 Buick Riviera GS 430Ci / 360 HP
1965 Pontiac GTO convertible with 389ci Tri-Power 4 speed 360 hp.

Then got the Gas mileage bug in College

1981 Volvo 242 Turbo 2.1L 5 speed
1986 Volvo 740 Turbo 2.3L 5 speed
Gave it's life for me hit by drunk driver.
1987 Volvo 745 Turbo 2.3L wagon
1997 Volvo 960 24V 2.9L I6 Highway car.
2010 Toyota Prius.

The 87 Volvo got lowered, roof rack removed, Auto box replaced
with 5 speed and rear gears dropped to 3.31's. Highway tank mileage went from 325-340 miles to 400-425 miles.

1997 Volvo got some custom under carriage aero metal work. Highway range increased from 500-515 to 550-575 miles.

[Vman455]

I'm sorry this thread died before it had a chance to get interesting, so I'm resurrecting it. Here are my last two vehicles prior to my getting smart:



No one needs a 500-horsepower truck, but it was fun--in a "holy s%@#!" kind of way. Before that:

[Gealii]

1995 ford explorer brakes went out at 208,000 miles - sold
1996 ford Taurus oil pump died sold 118,000 miles
2000 Oldsmobile intrigue current 170,000 miles

[Ed-in-Maine]

My lowest MPG vehicles were
1. 1968 Chevy Chevelle SS 396, with lots of go fast goodies, 5-12mpg. Got Religon and started racing sports cars
2. 1970 Ford F100 360cid, 11-12 mpg. Sold when we moved on to a boat.
3. 1986 Mazda RX-7 15-32mpg. Seals shot if left sitting for two days restart took forever.

Highest
Tomos moped, MPG so high who cares. Filled every few weeks