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Fuel Economy

I drove over a thousand miles in the past two days. Over twelve hours on the road yesterday, and about six today. I'm driving my little '91 Toyota Tercel with 176,000 miles on it. We kept it while in Ecuador, and I'm glad we did. Actually, we sold it to Ellyn's brother for $1 and then he gave it back to us as a gift! He drove it for a while, and kept it in great shape for me. It's burning a bit of oil these days, but apparently it's not burning as much gas--I averaged 43 miles per gallon on the way down here! I tried to drive the speed limit, which meant I kept it between 60 and 70 mph, even when the limit was 75 mph. The limit in Oregon is 55 mph, so in that state I drove the slowest. In Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada, most drivers are going at the speed limit or a little above. In California, most drivers are going anywhere from 10 to 20 mph above the limit. People are not happy with gas prices being so high, but it seems to me that most Californians on the road really don't care. If they did, they'd slow down and get better gas mileage. So, if you're barreling down a California highway in your SUV, and you see a little Tercel in front of you, please don't run me over as you go flying by!

Posted by David at September 25, 2005 11:44 PM