Summer Gas-Price Outlook Fuels Car Nostalgia
Reader Comments
Still drive one...
We bought a '99 Metro for $7200, financed total was $8400. Still gets about 45 mpg combined. It's little, it's noisy, no air conditioning in this one, and it's a bumpy ride. But it drives like a charm with little maintenance after 70k miles and does what we want it to. And the safety ratings are very good with a steel wraparound cage and two airbags. Wouldn't want to be in an accident with it, but that's true for any small car. Why did they phase this one out? Probably too little of a profit margin. A shame though- it's still the most efficient low price vehicle I've ever owned. Well, aside from the '78 VW Rabbit diesel that got 55 mpg. I can't bring myself to look at the "new" small cars today- they don't get nearly the mileage. I would buy another one tomorrow, or a similar vehicle.
Weight is the culprit
The Metro weighed about 1650 lbs while the Aveo weighs about 2500 lbs. Perhaps working class Americans will have to sacrifice safety for fuel economy, or just ride bicycles, as they do in India and China.
Chaps my butt
Here you have people making statements about how we should ride bikes and public transportation like we actually live in those countries that have that ability. I have lived in Europe and I did walk and use public transportation. The town I lived in was small enough to do that. Here in the states were the town I live in it is ten miles one way to work not to mention having to drop my child off at the day care. Not to mention the paltry attempts at public transportation are two few and far between. Here busses run every two to three hours. In Europe every 10 to 20 minutes. Get off the high horse.
gas milage not improved since 1970's
I was just commenting to someone this morning that gas milage doesn't seem to have improved much since the 1970's. Back then, the typical compact car had gas milage in the low 30's, and it still does today. Even a 2008 Camry HYBRID is still only rated in the low 30's for gas milage. Why isn't gas milage any better?
It goes back farther
Now, it may not be as fast or safe as modern cars, but my 1971 VW Beetle will cruise at an honest 75mph, keep up with most city traffic and is very nimble and gets an average of 30mpg! My 1964 VW Bus averages 25 and I can put 10 people in it.
And even newer, my 1988 VW Jetta is a 5 passanger family car with a huge trunk and get's 30mpg on the highway with the air conditioning on.
I think that the mpg out of many of today's cars sold in the US is quite sad. It's like we've went backwards.
No Excuse for Today's Weak MPG
I have not one Geo Metro, but two. One is the '91 two-door hatchback and the other is the '93 convertible. They are the best little cars going. The hatchback gets great mileage even when hauling loads of different items. It is so much roomier than anyone can believe.
I drove it 3,300 miles cross country with several hundred pounds of luggage and materials, and still averaged 45 MPG combined city and highway. So, weight is a really weak excuse for today's pitiful MPG. It would not make that much of a difference considering the technological advances.
By the way, the convertible is STILL turning heads and garnering compliments. I keep it in tip-top condition. And now, I am laughing all the way to the bank.
Off the high horse
But did it occur to anyone that the reason those intelligently laid out European towns that can have efficient transit and biking potential evolved in an absence of cars? Simply saying, "well, I bought this house 15 miles from the city and now I have to drive really far and there are no buses to my low density subdivision" is crazy. Now that our cheap gas is ending, that unsustainable societal planning will wane. Slowly but surely, as energy prices increase, only people who are willing to waste large amounts of money and people who don't mind working extra hours to send it out the tailpipe will make such foolish lifestyle choices.
No real improvement since the 1970's
Six months after I got married in December of '73 we were waiting on lines for 2 to 3 hours just to get gas. Got used to siphoning and swapping plates as well. I'm celebrating my 35th anniversary this year and not much has changed. Besides the total lack of leadership coming from Washington, the American people are also to blame because if it comes cheap, we don't think about it. I bought a Honda Civic 8 years ago because I'm basically cheap, knew it got great mileage and could care less what other people think about what I drive. I really watch the way I drive, take roads that don't require speeds over 60, coast to the light and ease on out after the light. I get 40 mpg on average. The Civic is one of the best built cars on the planet. I have 211,000 miles on it and plan to keep it till the wheels fall off. Detroit has been myopic while Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen have come up from behind and surpassed anything GM or Ford can dream up.
It the Greenies, Stupid
While you all can point to cars of the late 70's and early 80's that got better mileage, yes I had one too. You are forgetting the biggest reason. It is the environmentalist that is causing the biggest issue. My 1982 Olds with a 1.8 L engine and an old fashion carburetor could not meet current environmental standards. Thus more technology to make it cleaner, heavier and not as efficient.
Overweight Cars
One way to sell a car to a large and/or overweight person is to avoid making them unpleasantly aware of their body size when they´re getting in and out of the car. Littler cars don´t attract bigger buyers.
