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60 MPG car

Posted by Jim1971

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60 MPG car #1
Jim1971 Jim Smith Cassidy, BC, Canada	Posted: July 21, 2012 10:39AM Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 5,632

We resurrected a 1997 Pontiac Firefly. This is the same as Chev Sprint. The car has a small 3 cylinder engine.
So far our average gas mileage is 4.5 litres per 100 kilometres. grinning smiley

This is around 60 miles to the imperial gallon.

Anyone get better gas mileage with their car?

This kind of mileage is better than any gas engined new car gets. The little thing seats 4 and will cruise for hours at 60 MPH with no issues.

How come they stopped making them? They are not the most comfortable car or loaded with options but are a great city car and just OK in the comfort department when on the highway.

Jim...Nanaimo, BC
1971 MGB collector
1975 MGB driver
1975 MGB in pieces waiting for V6
2005 Mini Cooper

A wise man overhauls his brakes before his engine.

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Re: 60 MPG car #2
racer76 Eric E. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 1968 MG MGB "Blue"	Posted: July 21, 2012 10:56AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 7,094

In reply to # 2125886 by Jim1971 How come they stopped making them? They are not the most comfortable car or loaded with options but are a great city car and just OK in the comfort department when on the highway.

Question asked and answered.

The market for cars that are not the most comfortable or loaded with options is probably not big enough.

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Re: 60 MPG car #3
Jim1971 Jim Smith Cassidy, BC, Canada	Posted: July 21, 2012 11:14AM Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 5,632

So true. The reality is we want our comforts and still complain about the costs. Human nature is to be incongruent with what we say.
The little car is every bit as comfortable as several of the new econo boxes. It has AC and 5 speed manual box. No leather or power windows/seats available were ever available.

Jim...Nanaimo, BC
1971 MGB collector
1975 MGB driver
1975 MGB in pieces waiting for V6
2005 Mini Cooper

A wise man overhauls his brakes before his engine.

Sponsored Links. You can hide this ad & support this site by upgrading to a Gold Membership ~ click here for more info.

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Re: 60 MPG car #4
gooser Drake Myers Danville Va, USA	Posted: July 21, 2012 11:36AM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 6,929

when gas goes through the roof everyone wants economy. when it's cheap everyone wants comfort and performance. gas prices change quicker than car makers can keep up with.

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Re: 60 MPG car #5
mgbgttf Roger Pratten Northampton, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom 1973 MG MGB GT 2003 MG TF 135 "None"	Posted: July 22, 2012 04:32AM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 1,731

I have a 18 month old Fiat Panda 1300 4 door, with all mod cons el windows, mirrors, air con etc, I drove from Le Mans and back (960 miles) at a average speed of 75/80 and got 66 mpg, if I drive at around 60 it gives me 72 mpg.

http://www.mygraffiti.co.uk
This is my web site with photos and videos of events around the UK and my USA trip with my 2003 MG TF.

Roger R-S.
Enjoying MG's since 1980 with a 1973 B GT and a 2003 TF135 since 2007. I have been a member of the national club since 1980 and a regional secretary for the UK National MGOC east midland's area since 1994, and my local club is the Northants MGOC that I joined in 1980 as soon as I got the GT.
I am also a member of the MGCC of Toronto, NAMGBR, MG Drivers Club and the
CMMGRCC (Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club)

http://www.cmmgrcc.org
http://www.mgnorthants.org/
http://www.mgtoronto.com/

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Re: 60 MPG car #6
Jim1971 Jim Smith Cassidy, BC, Canada	Posted: July 22, 2012 11:51AM Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 5,632

Nice car Roger. One day the powers to be will allow cars like yours here in North America. We would get one in a flash.
There are so many economical cars available in the rest of the world that can not be had here. Those small diesel pick up trucks are a perfect example. My brother inlaw's Thailand Isuzu diesel pickup gets 50 + MPG. This truck is a loaded 4X4.

Our little old car made by Suzuki gets better mileage than anything available here in the past. I think that the US car manufacturers have too much say in what comes into the country.

The NA crash tests are over the top. Yet we still allow motorcycles on the roads.
Maybe Canada will smarten up and be more like the mother country and start dancing to its' own tune. Sadly Canada does not have a single Canadian car manufacturer. They are all foreign controlled.

Jim...Nanaimo, BC
1971 MGB collector
1975 MGB driver
1975 MGB in pieces waiting for V6
2005 Mini Cooper

A wise man overhauls his brakes before his engine.

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Re: 60 MPG car #7
Northwest2go Phil Robinson Bury st Edmunds, Suffolk, United Kingdom	Posted: July 22, 2012 01:14PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 2,027

Over here, we are awash with high MPG cars from all around Europe, Japan and Asia. High 70s is now easily attainable from various cars.
Probably the reason they have no mkt in the US is because your fuel is so very cheap compared to the UK & Europe, and a V8 is fine compared to our 800cc.
I rented one of those fiats for a couple of weeks in Spain and was very very impressed by it's economy and performance.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2012 01:16PM by Northwest2go.

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Re: 60 MPG car #8
Jim1971 Jim Smith Cassidy, BC, Canada	Posted: July 22, 2012 01:47PM Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 5,632

Gas was cheep in the US at $3.65 a US gallon last week when I was in Idaho.
Here in Canada gas is $6.68 Cdn an imperial gallon.
Too bad we Canadians always follow the US in the marketing of vehicles. Seems we have lost the ability to be true to our British heritage. Maybe we need the Queen to make a royal decree that us colonials must follow England's lead in the car business.LOL

Jim...Nanaimo, BC
1971 MGB collector
1975 MGB driver
1975 MGB in pieces waiting for V6
2005 Mini Cooper

A wise man overhauls his brakes before his engine.

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Re: 60 MPG car #9
Northwest2go Phil Robinson Bury st Edmunds, Suffolk, United Kingdom	Posted: July 22, 2012 01:55PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 2,027

Sorry Jim, never noticed you were in Canada. Didn't the queen rule there once?
As many of you speak French, I'm surprised you don't get the vehicles from Europe.(must be too far to ship em).

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Re: 60 MPG car #10
LuvMyMG Jim Skinner Jacksonville NC, USA 1974 MG MGB	Posted: July 22, 2012 11:30PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 657

If we all drive high milage cars the states lose on gas taxes supposedly used to maintain our roads. I'll just keep driving my Mustang GT even though the mileage is 18-26 depending on how I drive. At least the miles are enjoyable. smoking smiley

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Re: 60 MPG car #11
Simon Simon Clowes Salem , Oregon, USA 1979 MG MGB "Big Red"	Posted: July 23, 2012 07:43AM Registered: 14 years ago Posts: 7,516

Did once get 56mpg out of a daihatsu Handy van (2 cylinders 600cc). The trip was newcastle NSW to Gold Coast QLD. Admittedly I was slip streaming my dad's 4l Ford Falcon.

1979 Roadster (Big Red) daily driver.
unknown GT somewhere in the future.
09 Accent

Don't got to bed made - stay up all night plotting revenge

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Re: 60 MPG car #12
hpmowog Karl Keiger Covington, LA, USA 1959 Austin-Healey Bugeye 1960 Austin-Healey Bugeye 1962 Austin-Healey Sprite	Posted: July 23, 2012 08:27AM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 1,994

A lot of it has to do with all of the mandated safety standards that cars in the US must now meet. Cars like the Firefly, Geo Metro, Suzuki Swift etc. could not come close to meeting current standards. All of the stuff that has been added for our "safety" adds weight. Even the US version of the Fiat 500 is a bloated 2363 lbs.

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Re: 60 MPG car #13
Lane A Lane Anderson Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, USA 1957 Porsche 356A	Posted: July 23, 2012 08:50AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 65

Just for clarity, an Imperial gallon is 1.2009 US gallons. This mean that a car getting 60MPG(imp) would get 49.96MPG(US). I get roughly 25MPG(US) in my BMW 128i, or ~30MPG(imp). The Europeans' tax structure has always made it more sensible to have higher mileage cars over there, but such a law would not fly here - at least not yet. Some of that is due to the necessity for cars that are better at handling longer distances, as we are not as densely packed and our cities are farther apart, particularly out west. Such cars tend to be larger and less efficient, although smaller cars are catching up in comfort.

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Re: 60 MPG car #14
DrewM Drew Maddock 74 MGB roadster, Southern California, USA	Posted: July 23, 2012 02:01PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 5,613

Both safety standards (a good thing, I think) and the U.S. consumer's "need" to be coddled with every kind of luxury item make the cars much heavier. Comparing an older high mileage car with a modern car, the first thing you notice is how spartan the older cars were. I still can't believe I loved to drive older cars with roll-up windows, no Sat-Nav system, one radio speaker, no a/c . . . oh, wait, I still do. My MGB. But most people don't.

If you stripped out most of that stuff you'd get higher mpg.

Drew Maddock
Pasadena, California

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