gas saver car.....opinions

[xcr440]

An 03 Taurus with 90,000 miles

This explains a lot. You bought the wrong car.

Indy, what does your "Vortec" get for MPG?

 

[Hoosier]

I have a home made steel one place 4'x8' with a fold down rear tail gate with surge brakes. The trailer scales out at 750 pounds, about the same as my two place. The trailer is only 6" off ground (Nice and low), with 18" sides, so a sled fits perfectly with the tailgate down. I have moved both sleds with the snowmobile trailer, but I normally don't have to move two together.

My experience is the weight is not the biggest factor for MPG, wind resistance is. I've been hauling about 1200 pounds of oak boards 240 miles each week, and it has plenty of power to run 70-75mph on the highway with no issues, and get about 25-26mpg in the summer, 23-24 mpg now in the winter. When I moved a sled last August, I got 24mpg, and that's a 550 pound sled. I got 23 mpg pulling the second sled in early November. That's running 70-75 on the highway. I'm sure I'd get better if I ran a little slower.

Sounds like that might be the way to go. One of the reasons I was thinking about converting this jet ski trailer over (besides we have it and aren't using it) is because it sits low to the ground. I would think if I put 18" sides and a front on it, I would get decent coverage from salt without adding too much wind resistance. I used to have a Blazer, and I think I got about 15 mpgs on the highway pulling a single sled behind it. If I could get 23-24 pulling behind a car, that would make the trip north a little cheaper.

 

[Hoosier]

also your suburban has a non vortec 350, much slower and much worse gas mileage than a vortec 350. I drive my sisters taurus all the time. It's so slow, I find myself getting it up to 3500-4000 rpms constantly.

The newer V8s aren't a whole lot better on gas, unless you are comparing them to the pre-throttle body ones.

 

[98panther]

An 03 Taurus with 90,000 miles driven by an old lady

We had an '03 taurus, Did the same thing at 91K. After leaving her (she wasn't an "Old" Lady though) stranded 3 times in 2 months.
First 2 repairs totaled over 3000. The third was a trans no way we were putting anymore in it.

'03 must have been a bad year for the Traurus

 

[redrat75]

x2 but... do you own a truck?

Your going to fork out at least 10 grand for a car, plus maintenance for that car, to save what, a grand maybe per year in gas? Then in winter, you have to drive a dinky car that does terrible in snow. Plus, since you have a car that gets good gas mileage, it makes you think "oh I can drive more now since I get good mileage". IMO buying another car to save money on gas is the dumbest thing on earth. Just my .02 I don't see how you're "saving"

Indy, It all depends on the personal driving requirements! I save over $300 a month in fuel going from a Trailblazer to a Jetta TDI. So for the amout I drive I will take the extra $3,600+ per year in fuel! Also the Jetta is by far alot funner ride than most larger Trucks and SUV's. It also handles great and has tons of torque and with traction control snow is not an issue. To to each there own but I take my fuel $ to the bank, or the Poo dealer! LOL

 

[indy_500]

The newer V8s aren't a whole lot better on gas, unless you are comparing them to the pre-throttle body ones.

vortec 350 is not throttle body its multiport injection hence the better gas mileage.

I've gotten up to 16.25 mpg pure highway. Normally I get about 14.

 

[xcr440]

I've gotten up to 16.25 mpg pure highway. Normally I get about 14.

So with a decent car, that gets 28mpg normally, you'd save $125 @$3.50/gallon per 1000 miles driven.

And you don't need to spend $10k for a car that gets 28mpg.

How old is your truck? What did you pay for that?

 

[anonomoose]

We had an '03 taurus, Did the same thing at 91K. After leaving her (she wasn't an "Old" Lady though) stranded 3 times in 2 months.
First 2 repairs totaled over 3000. The third was a trans no way we were putting anymore in it.

'03 must have been a bad year for the Traurus

All I can say is BEEE careful when you put hitches on these high mileage machines....they were really never designed to haul anything, and are provisioned for very light hauling for short distances. These newer trannies have given away plenty for weight savings and fuel savings...and one of these was a trade away to suv style machines for hauling stuff.

In moderation probably can haul light loads without much of a problem, but it only takes one trip to the tranny shop to cost you way more than your gas savings over a machine designed to do the hauling.

In general, the more shift gears an auto has the less it can haul. Just talk to the guys who get to do the repairs in the back room to confirm this. They will tell you "just don't do it"....

 

[xcr440]

Manual transmission is your friend moose. I know they are getting harder and harder to come by, not to mention most people don't know how to drive one. Kinda sad actually.

 

[lx700kev]

Fusion

My fusion 4 cyl gets mid 30s highway. Safe car and you dont need a shoe horn to get in it.

 

[Hoosier]

Manual transmission is your friend moose. I know they are getting harder and harder to come by, not to mention most people don't know how to drive one. Kinda sad actually.

Is that what you have in your accord? I know people who swear by the reliability of 90's accords with sticks.

 

[lenny]

my son has a 01 Taurus with v6 and it has 233K and runs like a champ. Probably maintance

 

[Team Elkhorn]

When I know we're going to drive something into the ground, like our commuter cars, I always get manual transmissions. When I tell the salesman I want the better fuel economy motor with a stick, he'll say "oh you want an inexpensive model". And then Ill say no, I want a nicely loaded model with the gas saving engine and a manual trans. Then I get the look. We spend a lot of time in the car. I want to save gas but I want to be comfortable too.
They always tell you that soon we wont be able to get manual transmissions any longer. But you know they will always sell a few manuals so they can continue to charge people extra for the automatics.

 

[indy_500]

How old is your truck? What did you pay for that?

My truck is a 98, it has 170k miles and I paid $1600 for it

 

[indy_500]

my son has a 01 Taurus with v6 and it has 233K and runs like a champ. Probably maintance

I'm not saying they are bad cars, but we sure as heck got a bad one. Whether you changed tranny fluid or not the tranny should last a lot longer than 90,000 miles. The starter went out, so I changed that this summer. A week later, the alternator went out and changed that also. It now has about 100k on it.

 

[Team Elkhorn]

And, not to mention the fun factor, how much fun is it to drive around in that 38 mpg car? how safe is it in the snow? how safe is it in an accident?

Indy, our Mazda3 gets 38mpg,(better if I didn't have a heavy foot), has abs and traction control so its good in the snow. I don't think Ive ever felt the need to take the 4x4 out just because it was snowing. It has front and side air bags so it has a good safety rating. And with the manual trans, its a flipping BLAST to drive!

 

[indy_500]

Indy, our Mazda3 gets 38mpg,(better if I didn't have a heavy foot), has abs and traction control so its good in the snow. I don't think Ive ever felt the need to take the 4x4 out just because it was snowing. It has front and side air bags so it has a good safety rating. And with the manual trans, its a flipping BLAST to drive!

You're just urging me to keep on arguing aren't ya I think people are twisting what I'm trying to say. If you have a truck, and feel like you're getting raped by gas prices, buying another newish reliable car that gets good gas mileage is not going to save you money. If you're buying the car because you can afford it, then fine by me. I'm not sure if this is the OP's case, but you will never come ahead owning 2 vehicles. Sooner or later, that "good gas mileage" car will break down and you will have to stick money into it. What is full coverage on a brand new prius? Pretty sure the insurance cost plus the cost of the car does not outweigh the money saved on not driving the truck.

 

[xcr440]

You're just urging me to keep on arguing aren't ya

Nah, you are a smart kid. I think its a good discussion.

I understand your point in getting a second car and the expenses associated with that. Like I said, I have one of each. But in all seriousness, if you had that good gas mileage car, it would NOT be your second car, the truck would quickly begin to sit more and more. Its basic economics at that point. Yeah, the "second" car will eventually break down, but ALL cars do. The truck will always be there then, but only for when you NEED it. Its also darn nice to have a backup vehicle you just jump in and go when you have an issue.

Hoosier,

Yes mine is a manual, 90's Honda Manual Transmissions are all but bullet proof. Ask anyone who had added serious power to the motor, what they spent on transmission upgrades. 99.9% will say ZERO. The clutch is your weak point, but as long as you don't slip it, you'll have no issues there either.

 

[1blue99srx600]

I had an '06 Wrangler with a 2" lift and 31 inch tires. I drove about 300 miles per week to work and back, so when gas prices
shot up and having a dad that works for Ford, there ya go someone on this site! I bought a Focus I got 35MPG, I hated it only
because it was not my Jeep and it was a car. I do not drive that much anymore and this Spring bought an Escape I get 27MPG highway,
its a 4cyl and it's a pig in acceleration but if I wanted that I should have bought a Shelby GT 500. The Focus is a good reliable car as is the Fiesta and the Fusion, before you say I am biased, I do auto dealer advertising for a living and must say I am very impressed with the Chevy Cruze and Sonic which gets 40MPG and the Kia Forte, I just wanted to sit up high again! Another car I love and kind of wish I had waited for is the Hyundai Veloster. There is also the Explorer with an Eco-boost 4cyl but don't know MPGs off hand.

 

[brooks]

Our $16,000, 38 mpg small car saves us 25 gallons of gas a week over our 18 mpg vehicle . Times that by an average of $3.50 a gallon you get $87.50 per week. Times 4, you get $350.00 per month, times 12 you get $4200.00 a year. Over 5 years you get $21,000 dollars, the car more than pays for itself. We save our $45,000 dollar vehicle and the environment.

If you are putting 45,000 miles a year on your "spare car", how many miles are you putting on you main car?