YMMV and the EPA ratings
May. 31st, 2007 02:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoGasoline prices have dropped a bit here this week. While Harvard (where I work) only went down five or six cents, Marengo (nearest city to where I live) has dropped by 24 cents a gallon in a week. This leaves a 14 cent discrepancy between Harvard's prices and Marengo's, for which there can be no justifiable explanation. The two towns are both located at the intersection of major highways, and have roughly the same amount of competition on gasoline prices (if it is competition at all.) They are in the same county, and just 15 miles apart.
Anyway, I filled the tank in Marengo today, and when I plotted the mileage even I was surprised. For this most recent half tank, the Escape has exceeded 30 mpg. The previous one came in at 29.05 and this one was 30.02. That's significantly better even than the EPA ratings for this car, and finally proves that I was right when I said I could squeeze better than EPA economy out of most vehicles. Whether there will be further improvement on Illinois-blend fuel is doubtful, but I'm hoping to make a trip to Michigan soon... The overall average for the entire time since I bought the car is now better than 28.
Of course, the price drop in fuel is a response to consumers finally starting to rein in their consumption enough that the producers and retailers noticed it. This is a standard scenario that has run a couple of times a year ever since the 1970s: slowly crank the price up until sales drop significantly, then drop it back down but never as low as where it started. After a few months, when people have lost it all in their swiss-cheese memories, repeat the process.
Anyway, I filled the tank in Marengo today, and when I plotted the mileage even I was surprised. For this most recent half tank, the Escape has exceeded 30 mpg. The previous one came in at 29.05 and this one was 30.02. That's significantly better even than the EPA ratings for this car, and finally proves that I was right when I said I could squeeze better than EPA economy out of most vehicles. Whether there will be further improvement on Illinois-blend fuel is doubtful, but I'm hoping to make a trip to Michigan soon... The overall average for the entire time since I bought the car is now better than 28.
Of course, the price drop in fuel is a response to consumers finally starting to rein in their consumption enough that the producers and retailers noticed it. This is a standard scenario that has run a couple of times a year ever since the 1970s: slowly crank the price up until sales drop significantly, then drop it back down but never as low as where it started. After a few months, when people have lost it all in their swiss-cheese memories, repeat the process.
