First road trip. Horrible gas mileage

For whatever reason my dad was a mileage checking nut. I have inherited his old notebooks where he kept track of filling our '50 Merc with "ethyl" in every tank (and a '58 Chev, '65 LTD Ford). It had a single carb, flathead V8 with manual shift. Maintenance was much more frequent than today - it had an oil bath air filter and points ignition.

My 4.0L Taco has never - ever, gotten close to doing the everyday mileage numbers of the Merc - city or highway either one. And it probably weighs less.

 

I think the best fuel economy is around 55-60 mph, that speed allows top gear and less wind resistance. But I DO NOT recommend going this slow on public highways, you'll get run over or at least flipped off lol. Yes I know my truck is a 2.7 but I really think the best fuel economy to be had *at reasonable speeds* is 65 mph for most modern vehicles. Extra weight will have little effect on fuel economy unless you are in town stop & go or in hilly terrain. Once you are up to speed on flat roads, extra weight is just along for the ride, mostly. I consistently get way more than advertised MPG but my truck is 99% stock and I drive like grandma... mostly. I'm a closet hypermiler too, but I try not to let my habits mess with other drivers.

 

I dunno, i've done many trips from San Diego to Sacramento/Tahoe cruising at around 75mph and still get like 20-22mpg for all freeway driving. 14mpg seems unreasonably low.

 

Yeah, pretty much this. I average 23mpg in the summer, less in the winter. Speed limits are slower here, however. This doesn't bother me as much as it used to; I got tired of speeding tickets and arriving frazzled, so started to try and leave earlier, and check Google traffic. Doesn't always happen, but it has become more of the norm.
Time=luxury; any car that allows the driver to have enough time to drive the speed limit is my new definition of a luxury vehicle, (as long as you are not a rolling road block, as you stated.)

 

You might be surprised how heavy new cars are. They're incredibly "dense" for lack of a better word. Your truck probably weighs 800-1000 lbs more than any of our parents 50's or 60's cars, and I would wager that speed limits /drivers were slower, no AC, fewer automatic transmissions, less traffic etc.

 

Sounds about right. Ironically I took a 1000 mile trip pulling a 500lb teardrop trailer and tried to keep my speed to a max of about 70mph. Ended up getting BETTER milage (18mpg) than when I drive at 75-80 on other trips (16-17). My truck is a 4x4 V6 manual, btw. The only hope of seeing 20mpg is if I'm keeping it at 60-65 for most of my highway runs and being like grandpa with the throttle.

I've also noticed that driving with or against the prevailing winds can mean 1-2 mpg, everything else being the same.

 

80 mph over Siskyou summit is gonna bring those mpg's down a lot!

 

Sorry, I don't believe. I had a '71 Buick Electra 225 that tipped the scales near 6000 lbs. The green beast was powered by a small 455 cu in engine with a basic Rochester Quad Jet Carb and the Turbo Automatic transmission. Fuel mileage was never calculated. Just pumped in 25 gallons when the needle pointed to E. The car was steel. Good luck finding an all steel modern car. Today's cars are mostly Tupperware and recycled beer cans.

You should consider going back to verify your claims in car history and construction.

 

Look,you're tryin to push a brick though the air,what do you expect @80mph? I left Colorado after my elk hunting trip with a loaded truck. Drove 67-68mph with the cruise on. Went 420mi then got gas. 23mpg. The end/.

 

And you're totally wrong on your Buicks weight...fella.

 

Really???

 

5000 lbs........

 

Yeah,really.

 

Nope. Around 4200. I'm not trying to be a dick here,but old cars just aren't as heavy as people think. FACTS.

 

drives too fast.

 

Sorry, it was heavier.

But this the internet, so you must be correct. I clearly recall rolling over scales........tipping in over 5K.

I bow to you.................

 

Thank you sir...

 

Please....do not call me "sir".......

Thanks.

 

You must work for a living..like me.