All of these posts about getting better gas mileage have had me puzzled lately. I mean, its a truck for Pete's sake! I started agonizing over this a year and a half ago and an extra mpg or so more wasn't going to cut it. My solution...



Found this single-owner, '87 Civic Si. Manual tranny, fuel injected, AC. I've recorded just over 40mpg when I drive really easy on the skinny pedal. Oh, and at $950 it has already paid for itself.

Just thought I'd share the solution! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I dare you to put the T-100 badges on the door... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yeah! And how about a 4" lift kit and at least some 33s on that bad boy? Might as well toss in a SAS (front and rear) too.

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Don't neglect to look at the total costs of switching to a higher gas mileage vehicle. Maintenance, insurance, taxes, etc. Those things can really eat up the money you save on gas.

For example, my T100 gets about 18mpg, and I drive it about 20,000 miles a year. At $3.00 a gallon, that's $3,333 dollars a year in gas.

Switch to a gas sipper getting 35 mpg, and do the same driving. That's $1,714 a year. A savings of $1619 a year.

Sounds great! Or does it? $500 a year for insurance, another hundred for tags and such. $400 for regular maintenance and such. Now we're down to something like $500 a year in savings. And we haven't included the purchase cost of that alternative vehicle.

Don't get me wrong, having another vehicle can make a lot of sense for various reasons. But singularly as a way to save money with gas costs, it's shakey.

Take that same truck of mine, and boost the gas mileage from 18 mpg to 20 mpg. Easily done by simply slowing down and driving gentler. That's a $300 dollar a year savings.

Get creative and make a fast-back bed hatch and some undercarrage improvements, things like 25 mpg aren't at all impossible. Then I'd be saving a little over $1,000 a year in gas. An old storm door is strong, light, the right size (length wise) and comes with a window. Little fabrication and you could have a very effective hatch back truck.

I did a similar thing. Bought an 83 Civic for $400. Insurance costs: PL/PD $400/year. If it dies, no big loss. Have managed to put 15K on it so far @ 36 MPG. It's funny to see a lot of these older gas sippers showing up again as the prices go up.

Classic!
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Fox,

You make some excellent points. There are so many hidden "costs of ownership" that one doesn't consider.

When I started looking at an extra vehicle I did some spreadsheet work and determined that whatever vehicle I bought had to be at most $1000 and had to average 35 mpg or more.

Honda Civics are great in that parts are cheap and maintenance is light. New rotors are $13 each.

Other factors went into this decision... like wanting to keep the miles from accumulating on the truck so fast. I've certainly managed to do that.

Joel

My kid worked litter patrol last summer and ended up with a large collection of emblems gathered from the roadside. I stuck a Winnebago emblem on the back of the Civic. When asked about it I tell people it was an "official" Winnebago tow car. Part of a package from the factory. Some get it, some walk away scratching their heads.

Yeah, I don't think I've seen so many VW Bugs on the road in years, and beat up ones are selling for a couple grand now...sheeesh.