Think about it

[Teekypt]

Originally Posted by ucantcme

In Michigan, the speed limit is 70 which means drivers go ~80 or your getting flashed to move out of the way.

Same down here...I average 19-20mpg...but ALL city driving. I've gotten 28 mpg before tho' (highway driving).

[Teekypt]

Originally Posted by quicksilverdon

Best tip? Keep tires inflated.

Yep! This is my best advice, if you are gonna drive fast.

[AlexJB]

Originally Posted by Teekypt

Yep! This is my best advice, if you are gonna drive fast.

lie the back seats flat and empty the ash tray, then you'll be more aerodynamic...

The PT is not bad at all really and yes, it can be significantly improved depending on the way and the speeds you drive.

As for this gas saver car rubish...
The auto manufacturers that just produce cars for the US have had their head in the sand for a long time and these feeble atempts at 'gas savers' are merely for show.
Thing is that Ford and GM are even bigger hypocrites because they make family cars in europe that can take 5 poople & baby buggy picknick, bikes ect on a day out and average 40+ mpg (US gal) That's real world mpg too not phony OEM highway mpg.
My wife drives a Peugeot 307 SW 2.0 turbo diesel (station wagon), it has 7 seats and with all 4 of us in and loads of stuff on a day out last month and real world combined driving (75-85mph on the motoway and 10 miles urban at either end of the trip) it got 36mpg (US gal) and that's a 2003 car, things have moved on further since then

Why aren't they for sale her in the US? Because there's no need.
People will pay $5 a galon and get 20 miles from that gallon and complain all day long about it but do nothing.
If I was an OEM I'd cary on pumping out the same stuff just facelifting and gaining the odd mpg here and there, why spend millions in development when you can just tell people it's a new model and look at the shiny new widgets inside...ooh, voice activated GPS and integrated phone... ooh.

In the late 70's in the UK the fule crisis neary trippled fuel costs over night and some places fuel was rationed.
All of a sudden cars dropped from 2.5 - 3.5 l v6 & v8's to 1.6 l 4 bangers as your average family car.

It's like cooking a lobster...
If you drop it in a pot of boiling water it will squeal.
If you drop it into cold water and slowly bring the temp up, it will just sit ther untill it boils and dies.

US drivers are being boiled slowly by the oil / car companies...

[Teekypt]

Originally Posted by AlexJB

lie the back seats flat and empty the ash tray, then you'll be more aerodynamic...

The PT is not bad at all really and yes, it can be significantly improved depending on the way and the speeds you drive.

As for this gas saver car rubish...
The auto manufacturers that just produce cars for the US have had their head in the sand for a long time and these feeble atempts at 'gas savers' are merely for show.
Thing is that Ford and GM are even bigger hypocrites because they make family cars in europe that can take 5 poople & baby buggy picknick, bikes ect on a day out and average 40+ mpg (US gal) That's real world mpg too not phony OEM highway mpg.
My wife drives a Peugeot 307 SW 2.0 turbo diesel (station wagon), it has 7 seats and with all 4 of us in and loads of stuff on a day out last month and real world combined driving (75-85mph on the motoway and 10 miles urban at either end of the trip) it got 36mpg (US gal) and that's a 2003 car, things have moved on further since then

Why aren't they for sale her in the US? Because there's no need.
People will pay $5 a galon and get 20 miles from that gallon and complain all day long about it but do nothing.
If I was an OEM I'd cary on pumping out the same stuff just facelifting and gaining the odd mpg here and there, why spend millions in development when you can just tell people it's a new model and look at the shiny new widgets inside...ooh, voice activated GPS and integrated phone... ooh.

In the late 70's in the UK the fule crisis neary trippled fuel costs over night and some places fuel was rationed.
All of a sudden cars dropped from 2.5 - 3.5 l v6 & v8's to 1.6 l 4 bangers as your average family car.

It's like cooking a lobster...
If you drop it in a pot of boiling water it will squeal.
If you drop it into cold water and slowly bring the temp up, it will just sit ther untill it boils and dies.

US drivers are being boiled slowly by the oil / car companies...

Shoots, if Houston had decent public transportation, I would just cruise Shugga Plum on the weekends!

[StoneWhitePT2]

GM is offering a Heavy Rebate on SUVS now and I think I heard something about they are going to stop production on Full size SUVS soon, If not already.... Now Is the best time to buy in general because of the economy and Its a Good time to buy a SUV if you really want 1...

[wasmussen]

US drivers are being boiled slowly by the oil / car companies...

Truer words were never spoken!!! Closed door meetings with the Bush jr. and Oil companies sure didn't help things either.

I would be game to not buy fuel on a certain day with ALL the others in the USA which would hurt the oil sucking companies.

[BlackieGTurbo]

Yes the big auto boys are noticing the current feeling among consumers, namely, a hint of panic and a touch of desperation, so trot out those "gas savers". I get a creepy carnival barker/slimy salesman vibe from the screaming commercials touting "massaged" mileage figures. I'm a new cruiser so I'm not qualified to quote specific figures but I do know that if I lug the GT my mileage is closer to about 26 or so and if I want to enjoy the turbo it drops to the low twenties. All with premium fuel no less and well worth it I say. It's the most enjoyable and just plain fun vehicle I've ever driven, and my other car is a 93' Stang 5.0 five speed so that's saying something.

[ptborder]

Still, it all comes down to driving habits. I drove a private bus for a year, logging 350 miles daily, 5 days a week with an avg. of 26 passengers per trip. I learned to accelerate without spilling coffee, and stop from 55 without making a sleeping head snap forward. Yet I still drive at least 5-9mph over the limit on the hiway(79-85)without cruise, and get 30-32 consistently(5speed). My 05 GT auto got 29 if I set the cruise at 80-85 and left it alone.

A new Cobalt advertised at the dealer got my eye the other day...46 mpg on the windshield. It was the xpg model(something like that). Same engine as the regular Cobalt, 5speed, 2door, a/c etc...the difference is apparently some "tweaking" of the engine settings and low rolling resistance tires. Now if they can go that with this model, why not perform the same tweaks and tire specs on all the Cobalts, plus a few others? What I laughed at there was the Aveo with automatic...23mpg if you're lucky, and it's a econobox.
BTW...has anybody noticed how the guy on the GM commercial with the hybrid SUV's and the little kids looks like Obama? Kinda that pied piper leading the little kiddies to nirvana...