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Consumer Reports mag tested the new restyled Ford Gran Torino 6 cylinder and they reported this: "last month we reported that the Mercury Grand Marquis was the quietest car we ever tested; the Torino was just about as quiet; we only heard slight wind noise and some whirring from the engine fan"
It also got good gas mileage, the 6 averaged 18 mpg on a 300 mile trip(range to be expected in normal driving was 11-21)
I remember the following year they tested the 302 V8 version and the car's range of mileage to be expected in daily driving was 8-15. That's terrible. And it idn't impress the CR testers as it did the previous year.
man I love this board. I can post my most maudlin memories and thoughts about cars and everyone is cool and no one puts me down for it.
The Consumer Reports "city" test really is city... meaning they stop and go every 100 feet or so. Something probably no one on this board experiences.
They reported 7-15 mpg for a '68 Cadillac and my '69 has never gone below 9 mpg (and the 9 mpg figure included burnouts and fast acceleration).
The CR highway and average mpg seems quite accurate, though.
did CR's clock the Caddy's highway mileage? my guess is that it did no more than 17 mph tops
what did you think of the only "fair" fully loaded ride rating for the 68 Caddy "the Cadillac was actually inferior to the Ford Galaxie and Dodge Dart sedans"
meaning the Galaxie and Dart rated Fair to good when fully loaded
it's hard to imagine a Dart riding more comfortably than a Caddy under full load
My first car was a 1949 ford coupe, got for $50.00 because no one could get the thing to start. Starter was locked up, new starter and VROOOOOM VROOOOOM lol. had alot of fun in that old heap.
did CR's clock the Caddy's highway mileage? my guess is that it did no more than 17 mpg tops
Yes, steady speed mileage was better than 15. Here are the actual figures:
Mpg @
30 mph-------- 18.5
40 mph-------- 17.5
50 mph-------- 17.0
60 mph-------- 15.0
70 mph-------- 13.5
Quote:
what did you think of the only "fair" fully loaded ride rating for the 68 Caddy "the Cadillac was actually inferior to the Ford Galaxie and Dodge Dart sedans"
meaning the Galaxie and Dart rated Fair to good when fully loaded
it's hard to imagine a Dart riding more comfortably than a Caddy under full load
Consumer Reports wasn't fond of luxury cars back then. I find it hard to believe, too. I've seen my Cads an those of friends loaded down with weight (mostly people) and they still rode well.
My first car was a 1969 Pontiac Firebird convertible. The color was supposed to be "Pontiac Red," but it was orange. Could see me coming a mile away.
I bought it in my junior year of high school from my mother's hairdresser and paid $100 a month for a year. Man, was I cool . . .
It had this button on it under the dash that when you pressed it, it was supposed to sound like a horse. I think it sounded more like the engine not turning over. I loved it when the guys would look under the hood because "my car wouldn't start"; then I'd get out there, move a couple of things around, give it a tap, and go back in the car and start it right up.
Good times . . .
Sounds like a nice convertible Firebird! Not that I like those cars or anything. (ok, I admit it, they are my favorite!)
i thought that at 70 mph the car would get better mileage, not at 30, but it looks like it's the other way around
so it looks like the Caddy's mileage at 30 mph is about 20% better than the upper range of the Caddy's figure(20% of 15 is about 3 mpg more)
Remember, air resistance is much higher at 70 mph than at 30. And at 70 mph, more throttle is needed to keep the same speed. I do recall a '68 Pontiac Bonneville with low 2.56 gears getting better mpg at 50 than at 30 mph.
Quote:
I wonder if all cars are like this. the 73 new Yorker had a range of 8-16 mpg in normal driving so perhaps it could get almost 20 mpg at a steady 30?
I have that road test. Yes, that New Yorker, with the 440 engine, gave 8-16 mpg with an average of 13 mpg.
Quote:
I remember the 73 Olds Omega 350 V8 with a 4 bbl carb got 11 mpg on a 300 mile trip. That was horrid for a compact!!!
That is low mpg. Maybe all the anti-smog equpiment on the engine?
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It never once let me down.
Fleet yeah another CR's reader!!
(ok, I admit it, they are my favorite!)
