The gas mileage conundrum...

[S550_Magnetic]

There is a poll on this forum about peoples salaries and 40% or so make over 100k per year. Yes I understand a lot of that has to do with cost of living but this is the funny part.

Its funny how many people here drive a 5.0 liter performance car and are extremely concerned about gas mileage. There are several threads about it, it gets brought up on a daily basis. Heck on average, gas is something 2.50 cents a gallon right now. This time last year it was like $4/gallon.

I just wonder why gas mileage is such a hot topic for people that are above middle class (average middle class annual income is $25,500 to $76,500), driving around in performance cars? :headbonk:

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[TNcoupe]

Guy asked me the other day what mileage I was getting and I said if I had to worry about that I wouldnt be driving it.

 

[S550_Magnetic]

Guy asked me the other day what mileage I was getting and I said if I had to worry about that I wouldnt be driving it.

Exactly.

 

[Blk2015GT]

I'm not "concerned" per se but it would be nice to get the advertised mileage range. I'm only averaging in the 12-13mpg range right now city. Of course break-in matters too; noly have 1200 miles on it so that number will probably improve.

 

[Jeepwx03]

Just because someone makes 100k+ doesn't mean they don't care about spending money.

 

[H1 GT]

I realistically make less than $50k; I have a GT and the H1...I get a combined gas mileage of 30MPG. I don't understand how MPG is ever a concern. As long as the GT got better than 11mpg I'm happy.

Hell, I did the math - before my last move I was spending $10 a day to drive to and from work. Worth every penny because I enjoy driving my vehicles.

If you want huge MPG's to save money, go buy a TDI... It's the hippies that want huge MPG's to "save the environment" that I love to piss off

 

[Free Agent]

I didn't buy my car for gas mileage. My car has seen nothing but 93 octane from its first fill up as well. It does always blow my mind why someone would spend 40K or more on a car then balk at a few bucks here and there. It takes all types I guess.

 

[Mustang1260]

Just because someone makes 100k+ doesn't mean they don't care about spending money.

Bingo!

And they have a "nice" car etc because they do not throw money away either...

Gas is $3.00 for 91 here in Cali and can easily go back towards $5 in a heart beat. if your driving 15,000 to 20,000 miles per year mpg and using 91 instead of 87 that can add up to substantial numbers very quickly.

So Yeah- I do care. But I also wanted my LE for personal reasons at
whatever the cost, mpg didn't come into play as I barely drive it. I also put $25k down as I do not like car payments. I also spend 3-4 weeks each year in Europe on vacation and as I'm not a marine and I like my comfort I fly business non-stop ($4-6k roundtrip) out of SFO.

Not throwing money away allows for such activity. People need to open their eyes and see there is a far bigger world out there...ahhh it is only an extra $20 a week some say...nope that is an extra $1000 per year. An extra $1000 per year-- a $1000 here and there and eventually your into real money for some other activity.

Last winter (October-Feb) there was a stunning exhibit on late Rembrandt paintings at the National Gallery in London. Paintings that will never be brought together again, at last not in my lifetime. So yeah- I took a couple days off for a 5 day weekend (Thurs-Monday) and flew over to catch it. I love Mustangs (have owned over 10)...since way back in the 60's as a little kid but in the grand scheme of things they are minor....

I'm far from cheap but I do not just 'waste' money either.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

There is a poll on this forum about peoples salaries and 40% or so make over 100k per year. Yes I understand a lot of that has to do with cost of living but this is the funny part.

Its funny how many people here drive a 5.0 liter performance car and are extremely concerned about gas mileage. There are several threads about it, it gets brought up on a daily basis. Heck on average, gas is something 2.50 cents a gallon right now. This time last year it was like $4/gallon.

I just wonder why gas mileage is such a hot topic for people that are above middle class (average middle class annual income is $25,500 to $76,500), driving around in performance cars? :headbonk:

For me at least, it has nothing to do with the money. Unless gas gets towards $20 / gallon, it will have zero impact on my finances (probably not even then, to be honest).

But I have always tracked my gas mileage, in every car I've ever owned. When I was in college driving a 20 year old carbureted Toyota Corolla, I guess the difference between getting 20 mpg and 30 mpg probably mattered to me in a budgetary way, but it really hasn't since then. However, it really became a problem for me a few years ago when I was driving an old W126 Mercedes 560SEL with some serious engine problems... I was getting 5 to 7 mpg, and it only took premium. I was having to fill up the tank every 70 miles. It was getting horrifically, offensively bad gas mileage. It was driving me insane, as I furiously tried to figure out what was wrong with the engine -- I never did; ended up just giving the car away. But while I was driving the car, I'd literally lie awake at night fretting over what could be causing such terrible mileage.

Ever since then, I've sworn I would never go through that kind of existential angst again -- and I've tracked every single tank of gas I've put in a car over the last five years, to determine the precise gas mileage I'm getting, because in my mind I'm always striving to get better mileage this tank than I did the last. And if I don't -- if the mileage dips -- I take it as a personal failing, that I can do better than that. In the center virtual gauge cluster, I always have up either the vacuum gauge or the instantaneous fuel mileage gauge, and I'm constantly doing everything I can to keep the vacuum needle down or the fuel mileage bar up, because it's a game I play with myself to ensure that I'm doing everything I can to wring every last mile out of every drop of gasoline.

 

[MagneticMan]

If I was worried about gas mileage I would have bought a Prius

 

[klumpikat]

....It was driving me insane, as I furiously tried to figure out what was wrong with the engine -- I never did; ended up just giving the car away. But while I was driving the car, I'd literally lie awake at night fretting over what could be causing such terrible mileage.

Ever since then, I've sworn I would never go through that kind of existential angst again -- and I've tracked every single tank of gas I've put in a car over the last five years, to determine the precise gas mileage I'm getting, because in my mind I'm always striving to get better mileage this tank than I did the last. And if I don't -- if the mileage dips -- I take it as a personal failing, that I can do better than that. .

Sheesh, Jimmy, that's pretty intense.
Have you considered therapy? :headbonk:;)

 

[dude]

What's funnier to me are the people who buy a car that doesn't get good MPG, and proceeds to sell their car, take a depreciation hit, and buy a slightly cheaper car with better MPG.

They get hit with two losses (1st car deprecation hit & profit from 2nd sale). That hit could pay for many years of the difference in the gas price between the two cars.

What this means is, the person has no business buying a performance car in the first place.

 

[GoBlues38]

Just because someone makes 100k+ doesn't mean they don't care about spending money.

This.

One does not acquire wealth without being smart about how you spend it.

 

[wildsailor]

There is a poll on this forum about peoples salaries and 40% or so make over 100k per year. Yes I understand a lot of that has to do with cost of living but this is the funny part.

Its funny how many people here drive a 5.0 liter performance car and are extremely concerned about gas mileage. There are several threads about it, it gets brought up on a daily basis. Heck on average, gas is something 2.50 cents a gallon right now. This time last year it was like $4/gallon.

I just wonder why gas mileage is such a hot topic for people that are above middle class (average middle class annual income is $25,500 to $76,500), driving around in performance cars? :headbonk:

Well, there is a perfect explanation for this. It goes something like this....

It does not matter how much money a person makes their bills swell up to consume their salary. They are not really better off except what they are paying for may be nicer.

​

You cannot extrapolate what they earn onto your cost of living and say "wow, they have it made." It doesn't work like that. Unless, of course, you earn more than me then I can say that!

 

[BmacIL]

I'll repeat what I said in other threads about this:

I didn't buy a 5.0L performance car for fuel economy. It is my daily driver and I knew full-well that I'd be taking a hit to operate this car every day. I bought this car because I love to drive it. The fact that, when driving in a reasonable manner, I can get 22-24 mpg in my normal commute and 27-29 mpg on the highway is quite a nice bonus that I think is worth celebrating.

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