t25torx wrote: I regularly got 30+ MPG from my '97 Celica ST with 50/50 driving. http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/celica/1997/aarivers/129208 Car was very reliable and being only 2200lbs was very fun to drive fast. I'd take a look at the Saturns like people have suggested. Plastic panels also means that most examples will still be in good condition body wise.
Cheap hop ups to make these handle, too. GRM had one as a project car.
camaro/Firebird/Corvette V8 manual trans. Good for easy 28-29MPG on the highway. Isnt a prius.
SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to alfadriver: Giving up the Focus and getting into the BMW was a misstep in hindsight, but it was born out of SWMBO's Saab taking a E36 M3 and the need to get her into something else immediately.
Asking the question probably means something bad will happen to me/my 9-3, but since I've recently become a SAAB fanboi, I have to ask: What happened to SWMBO's SAAB?
In reply to NY535iManual:
1996 900S 2.3 NA. 267k miles. Popped a head gasket. We were only $900 into it and other things were going wrong, so we cut our (very minimal) losses. We figured 30k out of a $900 car was pretty good.
2000 - 2001 Sentra SE w/sr20 motor. It won't get 40 mpg but should be good on the fun to mpg rating.
Honda civic with a few tweaks.
SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to Coldsnap: The 2015 is a top-to-bottom redesign with what is considered the best interior in any car short of $30,000. Massive, massive difference from the previous generation.
91-92 Caprice 9C1's would knock down 27-28mpg on the highway with cop tires, cop brakes and cop shocks. Handled pretty decent for a large car and were great at making smoke burnouts.....
My 99 Prizm usually knocks down mid 30s driving the hell out of it, 40 highway is easy, worst tank ever was 28, that was all city driving in snow with temps around 0. These have better than average crapcan aero, front end doesn't lift up at higher than legal speeds like some do. They call for odd plugs (use plugs specified in the manual with twin ground straps) and have a kinda E36 M3ty plug wire design, which will knock the mileage down when they degrade. They have a rear sway bar out of the box (or at least mine did) and are pretty damn neutral for a FWD Toyota, you can throw it into a corner and all 4 tires complain, reasonably entertaining to drive. Mine has some not the cheapest Monroe struts and a set of cheap spring rubbers in the back that both correct the sagging and made it handle a bit better. The 1ZZ takes something like 100lbs off the front end compared to the the old A series engine, which makes it kinda useless in winter without snow tires, but a good thing otherwise.
When you go from 19 mpg to 40 mpg for the same trip, that is HUGE.
At least it was for me.
bgkast wrote: Honda civic with a few tweaks.
Well that should decrease the theft potential abit 
.
Powar's solution seems the most GRM-ish due to opening up the trans. and changing gear ratios (not to mention the auto to manual swap)
bgkast wrote: Honda civic with a few tweaks.
Parking that looks about as easy as his current sedan
... you've never spent any time with an F2T, have you. This isn't like a Starion or some 2.2 turbo Dodge.
I own an f2t, 2.2 & 2.5 turbo dodges, and 2 (non turbo) g54b vehicles and i don't really see what you're getting at.
The Celica GTs did about 72mph @ 3000rpm in 5th gear. Whichever Neon got the longer final drive might be slightly better, but not much.
SOHC neon with stock tires does 2550rpm @ 70mph.
For serious mileage, don't berkeley around and get a MKIV Jetta diesel. They handle great and are reliable.
In reply to Mr_Clutch42:
Everybody I know with a MKIV TDI (three friends of mine) spends thousands of dollars a year to keep them going. They're also not exactly cheap cars ($4k+ for a decent one). I'm trying to get away from the whole German deferred maintenance thing, as no matter how well maintained they supposedly are, EVERY Euro car I've had in recent memory has been like this (except for my Alfa Spider, bizarrely enough, and my turbo brick).
SWMBO's '02 Saturn SOHC does around 37mpg year round. And it's amazing how well it continues to run when she doesn't check the oil for a few weeks.
Vigo wrote:... you've never spent any time with an F2T, have you. This isn't like a Starion or some 2.2 turbo Dodge.I own an f2t, 2.2 & 2.5 turbo dodges, and 2 (non turbo) g54b vehicles and i don't really see what you're getting at.The Celica GTs did about 72mph @ 3000rpm in 5th gear. Whichever Neon got the longer final drive might be slightly better, but not much.SOHC neon with stock tires does 2550rpm @ 70mph.
Saturn MP2 is 2390 RPM @ 70mph. The "short" geared MP3 transmission would be 2880
SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to Mr_Clutch42: Everybody I know with a MKIV TDI (three friends of mine) spends thousands of dollars a year to keep them going. They're also not exactly cheap cars ($4k+ for a decent one). I'm trying to get away from the whole German deferred maintenance thing, as no matter how well maintained they supposedly are, EVERY Euro car I've had in recent memory has been like this (except for my Alfa Spider, bizarrely enough, and my turbo brick).
This include the Volov C30? That car has a special place and my heart and I've always liked to think it would run to 250k no prob. Prob just a pipe dream.
1st Gen prius 
In reply to Coldsnap:
C30s are still $10-15k cars and the turbo five makes for crap fuel economy. But I agree, they are GORGEOUS. Just saying that my '87 740 turbo was one of the few dead-nuts reliable, low maintenance European cars I've had in recent memory.
In reply to Coldsnap: If they are anything like the S40 (and they are platform-mates, I believe), they will have a bunch of small issues but be ok overall. My friend's had his S40 T5 AWD since 2005-06 or so, and it's needed cooling system parts early, but otherwise it's been decent. Gas mileage is not great.
SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to Coldsnap: C30s are still $10-15k cars and the turbo five makes for crap fuel economy. But I agree, they are GORGEOUS. Just saying that my '87 740 turbo was one of the few dead-nuts reliable, low maintenance European cars I've had in recent memory.
Ya, they are still extremely expensive. $22k for 2011 model. I don't get why they are still priced so high, a lot of hot hatches have come out between 2011-2015. And you can get hella a hatch for around that price now adays.
http://www.cars.com/for-sale/searchresults.action?stkTyp=U&tracktype=usedcc&mkId=20044&AmbMkId=20044&AmbMkNm=Volvo&make=Volvo&AmbMdId=20749&AmbMdNm=C30&model=C30&mdId=20749&rd=75&zc=27518&searchSource=QUICK_FORM
Winter is coming in the Midwest--- drive something you don't care about, and keep something fun in the garage for next Spring.
Anything powered by GM's 3800 engine will return 30's on the highway, and the bigger cars are super comfy and have great AC / Heat. Those engines are bulletproof, and the supercharged ones make good power.....and they are oh so comfy.
Come to the $2015 Challenge......look at the classifieds near the "Villages" retirement community, and drive home in a mint Supercharged Park Ave for under $3K. Sitting in that cocoon of luxury, traffic won't seem so bad, and you can look forward to throwing a car around for fun come Springtime.
Or get a Corvette!
iadr wrote: Peter Egan wrote a column on how his 1988-1990-ish Buick midsize FWD V6 got unexpected good mileage. Good enough fuel injection system, short cam timing, tall gears, lock up converter. My B-I-L has the one with the reverse hinge hood, & quite rectangular styling- whichever that one is, and found the same thing. Put close to 400K miles on it, as did a lot of cabs back in the day.
Not long ago these things were the new rusty pickups of the south - they were the car most likely to be found outside a meth operation with plastic wrap over one back window, a busted tailight, and half an exhaust system. Which basically tells you they could be had for near free, maintenance was unnecessary or nearly free, and they ran for freaking ever.
Joe Gearin wrote: Winter is coming in the Midwest--- drive something you don't care about, and keep something fun in the garage for next Spring. Anything powered by GM's 3800 engine will return 30's on the highway, and the bigger cars are super comfy and have great AC / Heat. Those engines are bulletproof, and the supercharged ones make good power.....and they are oh so comfy. Come to the $2015 Challenge......look at the classifieds near the "Villages" retirement community, and drive home in a mint Supercharged Park Ave for under $3K. Sitting in that cocoon of luxury, traffic won't seem so bad, and you can look forward to throwing a car around for fun come Springtime. Or get a Corvette!
I agree with all of this. All of it.
I remember the folks renting a Buick Park Ave somewhere around the 96-2000 vintage IIRC. The took it on vacation because the "reliable car" was broken at the time. I remember beating the snot out of that thing, it getting 32mpg round trip and being completely boring. Used to have a customer that owned 4 of these W-bodies. The newest was his wife's at 200k, his was at 300k, oldest sons at 320k and the youngest son at 475k. Miles, not the mickey mouse kilometers you wierdos up north use. The only one that had been apart was the wife's car. He bought it with a blown head gasket for pennies, fixed it and she was happy.
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