Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My current vehicle a Honda Ridgeline is the worst we have owned. I get ~17MPG. However it is also our favorite vehicle by far. We don't care about the mileage as we don't commute anywhere so it is no big deal. Comfort, amenities, etc. are far more important.
My first car, a 1975 Chevrolet Impala with a 350 V8, which I bought used in 1979. I got it up from 7 to 8 mpg in town after tuning it up. The owner of a Lincoln Town Car I talked to in the parking garage got better mileage than I did.
This was during the second gas crisis. Used cars that got good mileage were simply unavailable. The pollution controls, starting in 1971 when they lowered compression ratios, really hurt mileage and performance. Not only that, but Chevrolet small blocks of that era were subject to premature camshaft wear. Gasoline may have been cheaper back then, but my wages were much lower, and I was commuting long distances for a while.
My next car was a used 1978 Chevrolet Malibu with a 305 V8. It also had a bad camshaft, and got 12 mpg. I then bought a new 1983 Plymouth Horizon 2.2L, which got 28 mpg! My 1988 Mercury Tracer got over 30 mpg in town, and thanks to electronic fuel injection, started and ran properly. Finally, technology had advanced far enough to make cars that met pollution requirements and still ran well.
Technology had really advanced by 1997. My Pontiac Grand Am with 2.4L quad four and automatic not only got 25 mpg on 91 octane fuel, but was quick too.
I has a 19701 Camaro (350) with a holley 4bbl carb that did nto really fit on it, headers with glass packs, some sort of silly water mist system that was supposed to increase HP and I cannto remember what all else. I think it had upgraded heads/cams, but I am not certian. At times, I think that thing got around 4 mpg.
For a time, I used a 1930 ford truck tooperate our neighbors apple orchard. It had a 3 speed transmission on the column. granted, it was not running properly, but it took about 2 gallons to go the three miles into town and back.
I've only owned one car, my '91 Cutlass Ciera SL. Its advertised gas mileage is 17 city/24 highway. That was excellent for its time. However, because the car is so old, I'm certain it doesn't get anywhere near that anymore.
I've owned 4 British cars, 2 Swedish cars, 1 French car (yes I admit it I once owned a Renault) 4 American cars/trucks and 1 American made German car. I lived in the UK for 40 years have lived in the USA for 10.
The award to worst gas mileage goes without fail to 3 of the 4 American cars/trucks and the German, every car I owned in the UK got 30+ mpg only 1 car over here has come close and that was a Ford Focus.
1975 LTD with the 400 and 3.07 optional axle ratio. 7.8 mpg! Indeed. However the AC would freeze you out. Previous owner must have mortgaged his house to fix it, I have never had a car with a colder AC system. Not bad for $400 (in 1997).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
