So, we happened to go to Yellowstone this weekend and were debating on whether to take our Trailblazer SUV or the 2-door Chevy Cavalier. We decided we could save around $120 in gas if we took the Cavalier, so with all 3 kids in the back seat (with carseats even), we packed every square inch of the trunk and left.
There's a radio ad by Chevron airing here in Utah that says if you drive 55 mph instead of 65 mph, you can get an extra 30-60 miles on a tank of gas. I wasn't about to drive 55 all the way to Yellowstone, but I did try an experiment to keep it at 65 the whole way, which tried my patience, especially since it's 75 mph speed limit from Ogden to Idaho Falls (I normally drive around 8 mph over the speed limit).
Just to give you a baseline, the Cavalier gets good gas mileage (around 34-36 mpg). I didn't expect to get a lot better than that, but we filled up in Rexburg, ID after going about 300 miles and when the car only took 6.5 gallons, I was surprised. If you do the calculation, that's about 45 mpg (25% improved efficiency or about 150 more miles on one tank of gas)! Pretty incredible.
So, the moral of the story . . . drive slower, don't "jack rabbit" when sitting at a stop light, and I bet you'll be surprised. I know our lives are busy, but are we always that rushed? It's worth experimenting at least, especially when gas is as expensive as it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment