| 2008 Chevrolet Impala averages 33.8 MPG |
| Sunday, 07 September 2008 | |
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I've been doing the 55 mph routine long before I found this site. I've owned hybrid cars with the built in mileage computers, and had made it a game to push the graphics ever higher, and log ever higher figures into my sheets. I no longer have the hybrid cars, but still keep to the 55 mph rule. Case in point, my current ride, which is a 2008 Chevy Impala 2LT with the 3.9L V6 that cuts down to three cyilnders under low load conditions. Tonight on the way home, I've posted a new high number - 33.8 mpg by the car's computer. This isn't via a solid nonstop highway drive either. I have about 15 traffic lights on my 50 mile commute to get through, and three of them still managed to get me to come to a full stop, despite the late night hour that is my drive time home. I have a photo of the car's mileage computer as proof:
Bryan Foust Update, 10/14/2008 I am writing tonight to give an update on my efforts to push my fuel economy to new heights on my 2008 Impala. Tonight, not only did I beat my old record of 33.8, I practically shattered it. I pulled into my driveway after my drive home from work, to find the mileage readout posting a new high of 34.9 mpg. That is not all, for a while, it was showing as high as 35.3 mpg, before the hills in my immediate area took their toll on the numbers. As with my first email, I have a photo of the screen:
I don't care that the price of gas has been coming down as of late.
Maintaining my rule of driving no faster than 55 mph, combined with the
recent downward trend in prices at the pump (I will not call it "cheap"
untill we see pre-Katrina prices, and I'm not holding my breath for
that) both combine to further help give my fuel budget a bit of a break. Update January 4, 2009
Once again, I write back to share another experience of keepting to a
maximum speed of 55 mph. I recently just returned from a holiday visit
to family over the Christmas and New Year's holiday. The drive up to
Colorado included a battle with headwinds, and resulted in a none too
remarkable 32.3 and 31.7 mpg respectively out of the two tanks of gas
purchased for the approximately 750 mile drive. |