Do you care about the gas mileage you get?

[Onslaught]

Yes and no.

I don't care about the money at all. If I did the last car I'd have was an RX-8. But then again all the cars I like get piss-poor milage so it wasn't like I had much of a choice.

I do care about the environment however. And burning gas is in no way good for it. But I really don't have another option for transportation so fuck it.

[Rupert]

Haha I absolutely took the opposite approach.

Yeah, no shit.

[Colonel Cadillac]

So are you being condescending with the smiley?

[The Pirate]

I care enough that I'm driving a compact sedan and not a Silverado, but that's about it.  Some days I wish my car was more fuel efficient, but I'm happy with the Mazda returning 23mpg when flogged.  I feel it should get better highway consumption, but I'm not about to slow down.

The Audi I drive so infrequently that I don't care at all, and it's about 15mpg city and 22mpg highway.  Thirsty girl, that one.

[MrH]

I care enough that I'm driving a compact sedan and not a Silverado, but that's about it.  Some days I wish my car was more fuel efficient, but I'm happy with the Mazda returning 23mpg when flogged.  I feel it should get better highway consumption, but I'm not about to slow down.

The Audi I drive so infrequently that I don't care at all, and it's about 15mpg city and 22mpg highway.  Thirsty girl, that one.

Yeah, that engine isn't the best I've experienced.  Relatively simple and overall pretty reliable, but wheezy at the top end, and pretty shitty gas mileage.  I was around 23 mpg in the protege5 also.  All highway would creep up to 28 or so.

[The Pirate]

Yeah, that engine isn't the best I've experienced.  Relatively simple and overall pretty reliable, but wheezy at the top end, and pretty shitty gas mileage.  I was around 23 mpg in the protege5 also.  All highway would creep up to 28 or so.

I'd get an easy 31 mpg on the highway before ethanol came around.  It's around 27mpg now, which isn't awful considering the car has 146K miles and I'll run 75+ mph as often as I can.

[dazzleman]

I'd get an easy 31 mpg on the highway before ethanol came around.  It's around 27mpg now, which isn't awful considering the car has 146K miles and I'll run 75+ mph as often as I can.

On long trips, with the price of gas now, gas mileage can make a huge difference in terms of money.  That's also true for people (unlike myself) who commute to work a long distance every day by car.

But as I said earlier, gas mileage is much more about choice of vehicle than driving style.  I have no sympathy for people who are driving around in an Expedition complaining about how much the gas is costing them.  If you can't afford the gas, don't buy a fucking Expedition.

[93JC]

Hey Dave: Porsche Cayman gets 27-29 mpg on the highway (EPA)...

Just something to think about...

[S204STi]

I sort of care.  I mean, I'd love it if I got closer to 30mpg rather than 20mpg.  It's the main reason I bought the bike, other than the fun part.

[Colonel Cadillac]

I got pretty terrible gas mileage driving to Houston this weekend, but I kept my cruise control at 95 MPH so I was chugging along at a pretty high RPM. That's when 7 gears (from Porsche) comes in handy.

[Cookie Monster]

Not really. If someone bought you a nice car and is paying for gas, the least you can do is not be a douche about it.

That, and I'm only getting 29-30 mpg per tank (mind you, this is a smallish VW. I'm sure I could do 2-3 mpg better). Guess my words and actions don't quite align.

I tend to drive my parents' cars pretty slowly but I do drive the Miata very fast. I don't see the point in having a nice car if I can't enjoy it. Plus most of the time I fill up anyways on my own dime, and I put like 5-6k miles on the car a year, so when I do drive it, I want to have as much fun as possible.

[The Pirate]

On long trips, with the price of gas now, gas mileage can make a huge difference in terms of money.  That's also true for people (unlike myself) who commute to work a long distance every day by car.

But as I said earlier, gas mileage is much more about choice of vehicle than driving style.  I have no sympathy for people who are driving around in an Expedition complaining about how much the gas is costing them.  If you can't afford the gas, don't buy a fucking Expedition.

Oh, no doubt.  I wish my car did better than 27 mpg, but it's also paid for. 

[2o6]

Somewhat.

[CJ]

I very much care.  I'm getting around 20 MPG in the Volvo right around town and when you make as little money as I do, that matters.

[Rupert]

I'd get an easy 31 mpg on the highway before ethanol came around.  It's around 27mpg now, which isn't awful considering the car has 146K miles and I'll run 75+ mph as often as I can.

Hehe, the 944 gets 29 on the highway, cruising at 75-85.

[dazzleman]

Oh, no doubt.  I wish my car did better than 27 mpg, but it's also paid for. 

27 mpg isn't that bad.  When I think of bad gas mileage, I'm thinking of 15-20 mpg on the highway, like many SUVs get.

[Tave]

Wow, I can't imagine ever caring, especially when buying a new car. As much as I deride it, warmology is at least a quasi rational basis for caring but finances simply isn't, at least in the US whereby depreciation is such a major hit in the first three years. A person will never be remotely close to being financially ahead buying a brand new Civic that gets ~35 MPG vs. a low mileage '05 Civic that gets ~31 MPG.

If gas mileage was the only factor in purchasing a car, you'd be right, but you have to look at it from a more holistic point of view.

[Vinsanity]

I cared about it a bit more when I was driving 25K miles a year, but not as much anymore.  I care about it in the sense that I calculate what I averaged on any particular tank, though I don't keep a record beyond a mental note of what I typically get, what my best ever tank was and roughly what my worst was.

I also care in the sense that if I am buying a new car and am comparing two similar vehicles (size, performance, etc) and one gets considerably better mileage than the other (or one requires premium while another requires regular), I'll give some points to the one with the lower fuel cost.

Same here on both counts. I care enough to know that I'm getting roughly 18-19 mpg per tank, but I don't even care enough to try to get it over 20.

As for choice of car, I would give a few extra points to the better mpg car if I were shopping between two similar cars, but I don't think I could pass up a CTS-V vs. an Infiniti M hybrid, for about the same price.

[93JC]

27 mpg isn't that bad.

Porsche Cayman 6-speed = 27 mpg hwy. Just saying...

[68_427]

Porsche Cayman 6-speed = 27 mpg hwy. Just saying...

Please, you can get a 500hp Corvette that will do that.

[sportyaccordy]

When I drive boring cars I drive slow. I.e. my mom & dad's cars. But some cars beg to be thrashed. The ideal car for me would be something both mind fuckingly fun and economical. I really want to try my hand at a 12:1 compression Prelude or Maxima. For less than a late model Civic I will get something w/decent gas mileage and engaging performance. But that's way down the line.

[Atomic]

yes. i would rather save my money for a great annual vacation. with such great MPG as a large 2012 chrysler 300 with decent power of the pentastar V6/8-speed transmission, for example, one does not have to compromise all that much when shopping around. the 2012 300S (with V6) is the best of the 300 line, in my opinion, with "all things" considered.... check them out on chrysler's website. the only 2012 300 model not yet posted on their homepage is the top-of-the-line '12 chrysler 300C executive (RWD or optional) AWD.

[dazzleman]

When I drive boring cars I drive slow. I.e. my mom & dad's cars. But some cars beg to be thrashed. The ideal car for me would be something both mind fuckingly fun and economical. I really want to try my hand at a 12:1 compression Prelude or Maxima. For less than a late model Civic I will get something w/decent gas mileage and engaging performance. But that's way down the line.

My driving tends to vary depending on how long the drive is.  If I'm in a period when I'm not driving that much, I tend to go more slowly.  If it's a long drive, or during a period when I'm driving a lot, my speed increases.  I don't think the type of car I'm driving has that much to do with it, though I can't really test that theory except over time, since I rarely drive a car other than my own.

[MX793]

When I drive boring cars I drive slow. I.e. my mom & dad's cars. But some cars beg to be thrashed. The ideal car for me would be something both mind fuckingly fun and economical. I really want to try my hand at a 12:1 compression Prelude or Maxima. For less than a late model Civic I will get something w/decent gas mileage and engaging performance. But that's way down the line.

Of course, with 12:1 you'll need to run super premium grade fuel, or possibly mix a little race gas or octane boost to keep it from detonating.

[sportyaccordy]

My driving tends to vary depending on how long the drive is.  If I'm in a period when I'm not driving that much, I tend to go more slowly.  If it's a long drive, or during a period when I'm driving a lot, my speed increases.  I don't think the type of car I'm driving has that much to do with it, though I can't really test that theory except over time, since I rarely drive a car other than my own.

I kind of do the same. Actually I def do the same. I try to make long rides interesting though. I download stand up bits and audio books. Helps a ton and is much more engaging than music.

Of course, with 12:1 you'll need to run super premium grade fuel, or possibly mix a little race gas or octane boost to keep it from detonating.

Compression is dynamic :) People run those ratios on pump gas all the time, even on Cali 91 octane. They do it for performance though. I want to do a "fuel economy" build.

[2o6]

Of course, with 12:1 you'll need to run super premium grade fuel, or possibly mix a little race gas or octane boost to keep it from detonating.

Mazda's new SkyActiv is at 14:1 and higher, IIRC

[MrH]

Mazda's new SkyActiv is at 14:1 and higher, IIRC

Direct injection though.  What sporty is talking about wouldn't have direct injection.

[93JC]

Please, you can get a 500hp Corvette that will do that.

Corvettes are for greasy looking old geezers who failed to notice the interior of their car is garbage.

A Porsche Cayman conveys sophistication and discerning taste in automobiles.

[GoCougs]

Yes, one can sky high non-DI compression ratios with street gas providing the proper cam is used (tons over overlap). And actually, the sky high CRs are needed to support the huge cam, not the other way around. The caveat is these motors run like total dogs at lower RPM as all that overlap results in a very low effective CR at lower engine speeds.

[cawimmer430]

I care, because my parents pay for gas. If I paid for my own gas, I wouldn't.

No wonder they bought you a fuel-efficient VW Golf GTI.