Talk about silly money for a Precision...! 1959...?

[Dave W]

Right now it's about $2.40 a gallon here, +/- a few cents depending on the station.

Most of the price difference between here and Europe is due to higher excise taxes, not the cost of the gas..

[Highlander]

$2.40 is about £1.48...

God bless the British Government... 

I have never understood the blanket condemnation of SUVs...

IIRC you're involved with one of your countries seats of learning...? I think the issue, here, is mostly the chaos that ensues when the "school-mums" on the "school-run" clog our little cobblestone roads (sic) and compared to the wide open spaces you have, London just shut's down, due to a few "tractors" that will never see their potential... 

London is a breeze to drive through on a non school day...

(ps - there are still some cobblestones... 

[Pilgrim]

I understand the mega-SUV mindset.

My 280ZX was traded into a dealership in 1990 by a husband and wife who had just had their FIRST baby - and immediately determined that they had to buy a Suburban.  Idiots.  But this was in Texas, and carrying a side of fries and a coke there requires a Suburban.

I already had two kids, and I bought the ZX!  Still have it, too.

[Lightyear]

I have never understaood the blanket condemnation of SUVs...the small and mid-size ones are a great combination of size, utility and gas mileage.

Actually I love SUVs and I think that if someone wants one and can afford the gas for it so be it - i'm not giving up my Jeep Liberty.  You do remember Texas though, right?  More pickups and SUVs are sold here than most anywhere else.  My problem is with the soccer mommy mentality of the stay at home mommy that has to drive an Excursion, Expedition, Suburban or H2 Hummer to haul their 1.2 kids to dance, T-ball or run erands.  Too large of a percentage of these types can't park them, can't back up in them and a lot these women have a hard time getting in and out of them.  It's a status symbol and nothing much else. 

The gal accross the street from me just ditched her 1 year old Suburban because she got tired of fighting it - she traded for a loaded Altima and loves it and, yeah, she has one 6 year old kiddo.

Don't get me started on the 1 ton plus 4 wheel drive trucks with the lift kits and trailer hitch that would tow an aircraft carrier!  99% percent of these trucks never tow a thing and never go off road.

[Highlander]

(You just been reminded of that scene at the end of Pixar's "Cars"... )

[Pilgrim]

Last night we drove to Denver and back (120 miles) for an NBA game.  With 10 miles of stop-and-go traffic, we got 20 MPG according to the Murano's computer...and on the way back, drove 79 MPH most of the way (it's a 75 zone).

I'm liking this!

Actually, the Murano gets better gas mileage than my 280ZX.

[Dave W]

Isn't that about what they're supposed to get?

[Hornisse]

We bought a Honda Odyssey back in 2004 brand new.  It has 41K on it now and we've been very happy with it.  Had a '98 Grand Caravan before the Honda and I liked it as well.  The Honda handles better and has a lot more power.  We get around 16 mpg in town but on our long highway trips it gets 27 mpg which isn't bad for a 3.5 V6.  My '94 Toyota Pickup (with 71K) still gets 24 mpg in all around driving.

[Pilgrim]

Yeah Dave, highway is supposed to get up around 24 which would be pretty cool.  I'm actually not that worried about gas mileage, but I don't see any need to spend more than I need to on gas.

When I want to have a lead foot and get 14 MPG, I'm happy to do it.  when I'm highway cruising, P'm pleased to be able to get over 20.

[Lightyear]

Our 03 Jeep Liberty gets right at 22 on the highway - with the AC running.  Around town we get between 14 and 16 which I would like to be a higher but this is the 3.7 L 6.  The trade off is that this thing has tons of power - when you drop the pedal it jumps like a scalded dog.  Still you couldn't get me in Prius if gas were $6.00 at gallon - it hauls my junk, is easy to get in and out of and has great visablitly plus the ground clearance is fairly high too - helps for the frequent flooding down here.

[eb2]

We are around $2.40 per US Gallon up here.  My VW Passat gets decent mileage.  I had older cars that got better mileage though.  I have fond memories of a certain 68 Firebird with the thrifty in line 6.

[Denis]

My first '66 Dodge Polara had a 383 with a Carter 4 barrel and at 55mph it actually got 19mpg on the highway. Now, if you played around with that right hand pedal you could drop into the single digits in no time, but if you kept your foot out of it, you could go a long way on those 25 gallons.

[Highlander]

Anyone here ever got near a Veyron...?

[Pilgrim]

Anyone here ever got near a Veyron...?

Nope, but I drove a '66 GTO for a couple of years.  Probably as close as I'll ever get.

World record for that car while I owned it was 14 MPG on a long 60 MPH highway cruise.  But I could drive with my foot stuck through the firewall all day and get 10 MPG.  So.............the fun gained was well worth losing 4 MPG.

HIT IT!!!!

[Highlander]

Never had the chance to drive anything fancy or truly fast - got a car and a van up to 125mph long back in my reckless youth... rarely exceed the legals these days...