MPG for "Other than Festivas"?

[blkfordsedan]

I thought it might be fun to post the best MPG we get (or got) from any of our other vehicles, be it from the '60's or a brand new car or truck. It might be interesting to see just how much progress the auto companies have made.

1986 Lincoln LSC - 5.0L H.O./AOD...................... 26 MPG Hwy
*All factory stock w/K&N filter

1997 F250HD - 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 gears..................... 18 to 19 MPG Hwy
*K&N filter, chambered muffler, timing bumped to 14* BTDC

2004 Mustang GT - 4.6L/5sp/3.27 gears.................. 27 MPG Hwy
*full intake & exhaust mods, custom tuned by Bama tuning/Am Muscle

1979 F250HD 4X4 Highboy- Mercedes OM352 6cyl diesel w/turbo,
4sp/Eaton 2sp aux OD/4.10 gears................................ 23 MPG Hwy

2002 Taurus SES - 3.0L DOHC V6................................ 26 MPG Hwy

1997 Mountaineer - 5.0L/AWD/3.73 gears.................... 17 MPG Hwy

1995 Protege' - B8/Auto ............................................. 34 MPG Hwy

1979 Fiesta - 1.6L OHV/4sp ........................................ 32 MPG Hwy
* Pacesetter header & re-jetted carb

[htchbck]

Current rides.

Wifey's '88LX auto: 32.2

'90 MX6 5 speed: 34.1

'94 Astro: 21.0

'92 Miata: 29.8

Wifey's 940: 23.4

Chuck (back when he was still an auto): 36.5

[sketchman]

In the US, the only "progress" seems to have been on vehicles that were so bad the only way forward was upward. Cresting the ridge between GPM and MPG, shall we say.

With that.

1999 Escort Sedan SE (ATX) = 31mpg best, 28mpg usual
04 Escape V6 (ATX and 4x4) = 20mpg with mom's(punch it and hold on) driving
1998 Dodge Neon Sedan (ATX) = 36mpg - 38mpg best

[getnpsi]

My mustang 5.0 with head work and f-303 cam <15 city 25 hwy
2004 Dodge SRT-4 23MPG combined tank after tank can't get it to come up no matter how I drive
2009 Camry 4 cylinder It gets about 26 MPG combined city highway

[getnpsi]

This is true sketch. the dodge ram ad claims 20mpg highway with 390 hp, and the smaller cars just seem to stay the same. Not saying that is a bad thing, but that just seems as a sneaky way to make statistics work for the big 3 when they report to feds about improvement as they sell SO MANY TRUCKS and passenger car sales are always way behind.

[PhoenixSHO]

my 2010 fusion 4 cyl : 25-33 mpg
my 2002 taurus with modded 94 sho engine : not better then 25mpg.

my ex-explorer 2002 with 4L v6 : 15mpg

[Clay]

2004 Silverado 2500 Crew Cab Short Bed 6.0L 4:10 gears, I have a spread sheet where I fill in the odometer reading, hour meter reading, and gallons to fill up, and it keeps a tally of my mpg, money spent, etc. Please note that I currently use the in dash odo to calculate distance. I suspect I am actually going a little farther that the odo is showing, but not by much (speedo says 74mph, I might be doing 76 at the most)

Max of 13.5 mpg in the summer traveling at about 60 mph with limited stops, and maybe 900 lbs or so of cargo

Min of 7.5 mpg in the winter towing a 4 place showmobile trailer in 4wd most of the time.

I also have a sheet started for my Festiva, but it only has 2 fill ups on it right now, 40mpg and 42mpg so far.

It may not seem like the cars have been getting all that much better fuel economy as time goes on, but I dont think people realize how much more power they have now, as well as how far they go before needing a bunch of parts or the amount of luxury that is standard. For example a friend of mine is getting about 50 mpg from his 1982 diesel Rabbit, which is hard to get with a new car, but it only has about 54 hp. It doesnt have air bags, or 7.1 surround sound or any of that stuff either.

Also, some people think that we should sacrifice emissions for the sake of fuel economy, but no one thinks about the long term affects of the polution. (example of this is using diesel to lower NOx emissions (Ram 2007+), everyone wants to do after treatment delete, which gets better fuel economy provided a good engine control calibration.)

Edit to add some info:
My first 2 vehicles were 1994 S-10 extended cab 4x4. They both had pretty much everything the same, but my second one had a little bit bigger tires. I would get the same fuel economy on the same trip with the 2nd truck as the 1st, but I could go farther on a tank of gas. Maybe even a gallon or more worth of driving. This goes to show how much having an accurate Odometer can affect your calculations.

[getnpsi]

Very true about tire size. Most people end up installing slightly larger tires even on regular passenger cars and say their best tanks were when the car was new. The heavier rim/tire combos can affect city driving more dramatically than a change in highway RPM. People evolve too, the better you get at driving for saving you offset the choices you made in the past good or bad.

[blkfordsedan]

Some good points. Weight is critical to MPG, and with so many emissions and safety regulations, it just adds to the weight. Convenience options also add weight. Even the new Mustang, Challenger, Charger, Camaro, etc. all push close to 4000Lbs or more. I remember a pre-election speach Obama made about the Model T making as good mileage as brand new cars....and then followed with the comment that technology has done little to improve fuel efficiency of the modern automobile. Obviously, there is a serious error in this logic. I do, however, find it ironic that I can bump the timing on my 3/4T pickup and gain 3-4 MPG. Even bolting on various intake & exhaust mods on my '04 Mustang and having it custom tuned via email, I still picked up 4 MPG, got improved drivability and picked up ~30 rwhp. I'm sure the last two cases were "detuned" for emissions reasons, but at what point does the decrease in emissions offset the decrease in MPG?

[Zanzer]

My 94 Suzuki Katana 600 gets around 46mpg and I've never checked the 98 1200 Sportster.

1996 F-150 4x4 - 5.8 351W F4 roller block, auto, 3:73 gears, 31x10.50 tires, FRPP GT40-Y aluminum heads, E303 cam, 1.7 roller rockers, Edelbrock upper and lower intake, BBK throttle body, CAI, underdrive pulleys = 17-19mpg, doesn't really matter if it's city or HWY

1995 F-450 Rollback - 7.3L Powerstroke - OD doesn't work but I'm pretty sure it gets a bit better than the 96 pickup based on fill-ups and average estimated miles traveled. I'd like to chip it to see if I can get a little more economy.

1998 Mustang GT - 4.6 2V, 5spd, 4:10 gears, 70mm FRPP throttle body, Accufab plenum, 99+ PI intake, custom grind Comp Cams (degreed), Steeda underdrive pulleys, gutted cats and Flowmaster cat-back, SCT tune = The OD hasn't worked in a while but on my last trip to Raleigh I checked it with GPS and got in the neighborhood of 22mpg. I was quite happy with this since the GPS said my average (moving) speed was 65mph, but a majority of the interstate driving was done between 75 - 90mph.



And now you see why I drive my Festiva 90% of the time

[kumalaba]

toyotafj 16 in town 22 hwy
93gl auto 38 hwy
91L 5speed 46 hwy

[getnpsi]

Pollution is measured in parts per million. This is why a brand new hummer "pollutes less" than a 1984 mazda GLC with all its equipment hooked up. Now if you spill 3 oz of gasoline trying to get it out of the filler neck all lame or trying to fill up your lawn mower and were clumsy you have now polluted more than the GLC with no cat on it driving all day long.

Rubber savings is going to be neck and neck with fuel savings once the festiva is on the road. I go thru two $150 tires every 20,000 miles on the dodge. I'm sure its the same story for 4x4 guys and others.

[Darlo]

My wifes 2000 toyota echo (auto) when she drives - 35mpg

My wifes 2000 toyota echo (auto) when I drive - 41mpg!

[deathegg]

My only car right now is the new Yaris. Averaging 38 mpg in daily driving, almost no highway miles, just city and country roads, etc. Can't wait to take a road trip in it to see what she'll do on the highway.

[Nerd Racing]

1990 Mazda Protege 4wd 5 speed BP 28mpg highway best, usually get 20-24 everyday driving it.