Quote:
Originally Posted by GOODOLEDAYS1016
and goodbye self esteem. Just bought a 1992 ford festiva the other day. Its gonna be my everyday driver. Beats driving my ole truck everyday. the savings I have just made are around 360.00/mo (4200.oo/yr) that I do not have to spend on gas. I am curious though as to how a vehicle that is 15years old had the technology to get 52mpg. but even a hybrid these days only brags of 35mpg. Not sure....My grandfather worked a ford for 30yrs and told me that when they started mfg'ing the festiva, all was well. by 90 or 91 they were told by Uncle sam they could not sell the car at 45mpg. Instead the could only estimate 35mpg. and by '93 (last year they were made) Uncle scam told them to shut the festiva down and they were no longer allowed to produce or distribute it in the US anymore....sounds funny to me. either way, I am still saving a buttload of $$$ at the cost of being laughed at every time I get passed.
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Two reasons.
1: Old EPA MPG ratings (before '07) are done with old-school driving styles. Slow starts, no A/C, lots of coasting. Today's standards are done much tougher.
2: Safety and convenience. Today's Corollas weigh more than yesteryear's Camrys. Today's Camrys weigh about as much as a 1964 Pontiac GTO. All of that weight goes into electric seats, crush zones, airbags, sound deadening, and so on.
Unfortunately, you can't fight weight creep. I'm happy with a motorcycle most of the time. Try talking some 5'2" soccer mom out of her SUV. "But I feel ... unsafe!!" is the usual answer.