Goose
Well-known Member
I had to go to Chappell, Nebraska in the west end of the state on the job today. It's simple enough. Get on I-80 a mile and a half from my house, turn west, set the cruise on 75, sit back for 4 hours and 300 miles, and get off at the Chappell Interchange.
As I'm sure I've mentioned on this forum before, if you push the right buttons on my Olds 88, the driver info display will read out average gas mileage. I got 24.6 mpg going out and 28.8 coming back. The reason is simple. Chappell is some 3,000 feet higher in altitude than my place, but it's such a gradual rise over 300 miles that it's not noticeable. I've noticed with other vehicles that you always get a couple mpg better mileage coming east from Denver as opposed to going west to Denver.
Now a question. If GM could build a car in 1992 with the size, comfort, and performance of an Olds 88 and still get that kind of gas mileage, why won't the current crop of four cylinder intermediate and compact cars do much better, if any at all? That includes both domestic and imports. What have their R&D departments been doing for sixteen years? THAT'S what smells to high heaven to me in this automotive schtick.
Or am I missing something?
As I'm sure I've mentioned on this forum before, if you push the right buttons on my Olds 88, the driver info display will read out average gas mileage. I got 24.6 mpg going out and 28.8 coming back. The reason is simple. Chappell is some 3,000 feet higher in altitude than my place, but it's such a gradual rise over 300 miles that it's not noticeable. I've noticed with other vehicles that you always get a couple mpg better mileage coming east from Denver as opposed to going west to Denver.
Now a question. If GM could build a car in 1992 with the size, comfort, and performance of an Olds 88 and still get that kind of gas mileage, why won't the current crop of four cylinder intermediate and compact cars do much better, if any at all? That includes both domestic and imports. What have their R&D departments been doing for sixteen years? THAT'S what smells to high heaven to me in this automotive schtick.
Or am I missing something?