Gas prices

[Tom Schindler]

06 scion xb did 30 mpg on the trip down.

Actually, that is rather pathetic. Dad's Taurus did over 32 MPG going to Florida a few years back. With the Taurus, you actually had some room for luggage and your legs.



With all the technology in vehicles today, you would expect something respectable in numbers. At least 35 MPG when a Lincoln Town Car with a V8 will give you upper 20's.





Tom

 

[Julio R]

last time the oil market tanked and corrected itself was when gas hit $4 my guess is that it will go over 5 before the bubble pops and the market corrects itself again

 

[gary s]

"pathetic." :bwahaha:





"Dad's Taurus did over 32 MPG going to Florida a few years back"



highly doubt it.........

 

[Tom Schindler]

highly doubt it.........

Don't really care what you think.





Tom

 

[Kevin Lang]

Actually, that is rather pathetic. Dad's Taurus did over 32 MPG going to Florida a few years back. With the Taurus, you actually had some room for luggage and your legs.



With all the technology in vehicles today, you would expect something respectable in numbers. At least 35 MPG when a Lincoln Town Car with a V8 will give you upper 20's.

Totally agree. The little 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 I had once upon a time could make it from Annapolis, MD to East Ohio on a single tank of gas. That involves the rigorous hills of Appalachia. That's upper 30s at least for MPG, with a puny FWD 4 cylinder automatic, through mountains. A more modern car on the completely flat (effectively) journey from NY to FL should be getting far more than that.



32 mpg down to Florida is very possible, and maybe a bit low...man, I wish I had a car still at times like these. The ST can knock out 450-500 miles of highway driving per tank easily, but then I have to fill up that tank. If I fork over a Benjamin, I don't even get a Jackson in change. :boohoo:



30 mpg is maybe, MAYBE, 10 mpg more than my ST would get if I were to jump on I-95 and ride down there right now. The scion is a compact unibody car, and Toyota has access to more modern materials, which are lighter and stronger than what we had before. It's half the size of the ST, yet doesn't even approach double the MPG. Something seems off about that to me, but hey, it makes me feel better about driving a hulking ST in this age of ridiculous gas prices.

 

[gary s]

"The ST can knock out 450-500 miles of highway driving per tank easily"



easily, gee i had 3 tracs and NONE were able to produce near these numbers. that includes drives from long isle to fla and other long trips.



"It's half the size of the ST"



true, but interior room in the xb is very impressive. 2 adults, a teenager at 5'10", 5 bags of luggage, an end table and various bags of items were in the xb this trip. not to mention, an 8 foot ladder fit in the last time i went to lowes with a foot and a half to spare.



BTW: although a great vehicle, our 99 ZX2 was only able to squeeze out mid 20.s in the mpg sector.

 

[Tom Schindler]

My 1992 EGT could muster 35 MPG. Dad's 1988 Escort GL would get 43 MPG. The best my Trac ever got was 22 MPG. With a 22.5 gallon tank using 20 gallons of fuel would take me 440 miles. Run it dry and it is possible of close to 500 miles.



The wifes Pontiac Grand Am GT could only max out at 24 to 26 MPG.:angry:





Tom

 

[Rick Kent]

My ST can gets about 360-380 on a tank running as close to empty as I can get on long trips but it is 4wd and 4.10 rear end averaging around 17mpg.



I had an 88 Escort that routinely got 35mpg so i can personally attest to their above average MPG for the era.

 

[Andy Chase]

You can do as this article says and be happy w/ $5 gas.

 

[Kevin Lang]

That article is RIDICULOUSLY misguided. It makes the same failures as the "55 saves lives" propaganda did, and then some.



Traffic congestion will not stop as people need to commute, now they have to pay more for the privilege.



Higher gas prices will stop wars? WTF! What happened to the allegations that we went to war for oil? When something is in high demand, the incentive to go to war is there. Shoot, the USA fought Canada over trees once upon a time.

So, it can't hurt to walk the three blocks to the grocery or bike to school or work.

There is no grocery store within "3 blocks" of my house, biking to school or work is tantamount to suicide in morning rush hour (which will not abate with higher gas), and groceries are going to cost more as they need gas to be transported. If people can only go to their "local" grocery stores, those stores will have a monopoly and charge accordingly. Think of the "company store" in The Grapes of Wrath: "Sure you can buy that meat for a dollar less in town, but it'll take you 2 dollars to drive to town and back for gas. Your choice." (paraphrased)



My "local farmers" can't meet the local demand by themselves. Without gas to move produce, the suburban and urban areas will starve, and the rural farmers in the West will go out of business as they'll have huge harvests, but no way to take them to market.



It's been established that people by and large do not want to live by their jobs, and it certainly isn't practical. The idea of thousands of suburbanites trying to move into expensive cities, where there isn't enough housing for them all, is ridiculous. The DC metro is already having capacity issues, just imagine if the DC commuters in the 10+ commuter counties moved into the city to save on gas. It'd make the Tokyo train system look empty.



Lastly, the article makes a HUGE error in judgment:

If we let up on the gas pedal, we'll starve those oil-rich despots out of existence.

No we won't. Oil is used for much more than cars and electricity. Plastics require oil, medicines require oil, shoot, what doesn't require oil? Not to mention the idea that higher oil prices mean higher electricity prices. Sorry electric car, that makes you part of the problem, even though this article touts you as the solution.



I'm hoping that article was posted sarcastically.

 

[Kevin Lang]

BTW Gary, over almost 4 years of records for my ST here are my averages:



MPG: 18.22

Miles Per Tank: 386.73

Gallons Purchased @ Fillup:21.114

Avg Price per Fillup:$58.84 (not for much longer, sadly)

Avg price per gallon:$2.79 (I wish that were still true)



Here's a spreadsheet table showing my last ST "roadtrip", easily going over 400 miles per tank, and my maximum recorded miles per tank. (On my penultimate ST roadtrip.)

[Broken External Image]:

 

[Jacob Dryer]

KL is your speedo accurate with gps? Larger/Smaller tires any of that kind of stuff? When I had my ST I could get real close to 400 every once and awhile but it sure wasn't a constant 400+

 

[gary s]

jd,



i happen to agree. from what i remember 350 miles was the best i ever got out of a tank. a very rare happening on a trip down south.

i find 450-500 a very doubtful number as well as the 88 escort that gets 43 mpg's.

just my opin.

 

[Tom Schindler]

i find 450-500 a very doubtful number as well as the 88 escort that gets 43 mpg's.

The 88 Escort GL had a 1.9L CFI engine, 4 speed manual tranny. No AC. No power seats. It did have a sun roof, special wheel covers, and a stripe down the side that said "Sunsport". Nice little car that got AWESOME MPG's.



The pathetic part is that during that time, you could get a 5 speed manual tranny, with a 3 MPG reduction, all at a premium price.





Tom

 

[gary s]

i had an 87 & 89 escort gl. both were auto's w/ ac and no other power and no way was i able to produce near those numbers. imo, 43mpg is lil' high.



on a side note, the escort line was a very good choice.in the mid 80's to early 90"s, other then the timing belt and fuel pump, a great vehicle.

 

[Kevin Lang]

KL is your speedo accurate with gps? Larger/Smaller tires any of that kind of stuff? When I had my ST I could get real close to 400 every once and awhile but it sure wasn't a constant 400+

Tires are the same size as they came from the factory. While my average of 386 miles per tank was from all my recorded travel in ~4 years, the stuff in the picture was only from road trips. My record high there was from crusing I-70 from Baltimore to Lafayette, IN (1 hr NW of Indianapolis on I-65) late at night (no traffic). That might have been mostly over the flat plains from Columbus onward.



To specifically answer your question, it isn't calibrated via GPS. The only GPS I own is in my smartphone (a recent addition to my ensemble) and I can't use it and drive, and the only GPS-enabled app I really have is the integrated Google Maps for Android app. I don't think that reports speed, does it? (I have an ancient smartphone, still rocking Android 2.1...)



Some tanks have been as pitiful as 350, especially when my spark plug cracked and my tire acquired a slow leak. Other than that, 390-420 is pretty normal in spring/summer/fall. I do get a good mix of highway driving, and since I find it incredibly boring to drive on an interstate no matter how I do it, I try to lock in the MPH at a constant speed and ride it for hours...and hours...and hours. As Richard L is always advocating on here. It makes sense, and it seems to work, but it is boring beyond belief. (But if I'm going to be bored anyhow...)



Though I wait till I have barely any gas to fill up; the ST manual says that the tank holds 22.5 gallons. Most of my fillups require 21.xxx gallons or more. Like the DirecTV commercial says, "I push to limit, EVERY TIME!"

i had an 87 & 89 escort gl. both were auto's w/ ac and no other power and no way was i able to produce near those numbers. imo, 43mpg is lil' high.

I could believe it, though either way I wish I had it now. Scarily enough, according to FuelEconomy.gov, the 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 has a better MPG rating than the 2011 Scion xB. 30 MPG HWY vs 28 MPG HWY. After 13 years, I expect improvement. Engine efficiency has improved, driveline efficiency has improved, and materials have become stronger and lighter across the board. Yet a dinosaur beats the cutting edge, even according to our government. What is the reason for that? (Being slightly larger doesn't fly, not with our advances in materials. Also, Toyota swore that the box shape was in fact aerodynamic so that's not a reason either)



So much for "moving forward".

 

[Jacob Dryer]

I can't really comment other than my personal experience which was only pulling 22mpg once in the whole time I owned the ST. I was regularly in the 19ish range though, which meant on road trips I planned to fill up around the 400 mark, but it was almost always less than 400. I never gps calibrated either though so I'm not sure if my speedo was off either. Just trying to clear up any mud that is going to be slung if you know what I mean..

 

[H D]

I budget $200 a month for gas and never once think about miles per gallon or the price of gas. I'm still falling well within budget and with only two more weeks of school left, I'll be able to go back to using a single tank of gas per month when my bi-weekly 2 hour round trip commutes to class end.:banana:



Of course, I'm adding a Tahoe to the gas consumption in June. She uses less than a tank a month, though.



So, maybe somebody is getting 40 mpg in a tiny ugly vehicle. We're riding comfortably, driving vehicles we honestly do like, and are still spending less money.:bwahaha:



Can't wait to get my '69 Cougar down here and run around town getting 8 mpg!

 

[gary s]

the gen1 xb does better then the gen2 in fuel dep't. it is as aerodynamic as a brick.



imo, only recently (3-4 years) have yoiu seen marked improvement in fuel mileage.

take the new explorer 2011 versus the past (25mpg) and look at the chevy lineup. also fords new ecno box vehicles are providing great mileage.



the xb is a utility vehicle, so i am happy with the 30 mpg.

 

[Kevin Lang]

take the new explorer 2011 versus the past (25mpg) and look at the chevy lineup. also fords new ecno box vehicles are providing great mileage.

The new Explorer gets better mileage, but I still maintain it is possible to get that mileage or higher while still having a body-on-frame design. The issue is that the cars would be too expensive, and it seems that most buyers care more about initial sticker price than the price of maintenance & fuel of the car.

So, maybe somebody is getting 40 mpg in a tiny ugly vehicle. We're riding comfortably, driving vehicles we honestly do like, and are still spending less money.

My sentiments exactly. And if that vehicle we're driving happens to be the ST, we actually get the option of utility out of the ride. Utility that doesn't take up passenger space.