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Worst Fuel Economy of Any Car.... What's yours?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by mjms2b, May 18, 2007.

  1. mjms2b

    mjms2b MJ Green

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    I was 18 years old and back then WOW we didn't even think about gasoline prices. I think it was 79-99 cents a gallon.

    It was my first car ever. A 1977 Ford Thunderbird, with a 400 Windsor engine. i think it weighed about 4000 lbs, and was 215 inches long. The MPG was 6-8. Yep I said 6 to 8 miles per gallon. I see pictures of her now and I feel like a kid again (even though some say i still look like one), but I loved her.

    Well we've come a long way baby, The price of gas is $3.70 a gallon and I'm getting 50 mpg in the blue bomb that is my '07 Prius.

    What about you guys? Some stats on your old cars, the worse the better.
     
  2. ewhanley

    ewhanley New Member

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    I had (have, but sadly totaled) a 1969 Chevrolet Nova that I built. It had a 454 cid big block chevy that was an absolute terror in a street-driven car. If I minded my manners, I could squeeze about 5 mpg out of it; though if driven properly, it got into the gallons per mile range.

    I can't even imagine driving that car now. It was expensive circa 2001-2.
     
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    1990 454SS pickup

    Original ad
    [​IMG]

    LOL this is the sticker for the 1992 version that had overdrive. Mine was a turbo 400 3 speed.
    [​IMG]
     
  4. ozyran

    ozyran New Member

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    Mine was a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4. It was big, it was loud, and it got noticed. I managed a best of about 19 mpg on the highway; I watched it go as low as 6 mpg in city driving!
     
  5. seasalsa

    seasalsa Active Member

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    Mine was a 1968 Olds Toronado, it was a real road machine at 6-9 MPG.
     
  6. bastcat8

    bastcat8 New Member

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    Hey my boyfriend has a Tornado, he restores classic cars and he has a girlfriend that tries to ekk out as much gas mileage she can!
    But I wasn't always this way...I still have parked in the garage my gas guzzler...its an 2004 Infiniti fx35. On a good day I can get 18 mpg. I love this car...it has the heated leather seats, awesome handling, & likes to go FFFFFAAAAAASSSSSSTTTTT!
     
  7. Stev0

    Stev0 Honorary Hong Kong Cavalier

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    I forgot the mileage, but it was a big ol' Dodge that was the only car I could afford at the time. It was actually probably the best used car I owned, too. Of course, once I moved to Boston, where having a car is a handicap, I sold that sucker right away.
     
  8. Presto

    Presto Has his homepage set to PC

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    I bought a '67 Lincoln Continental sedan back in the late 90s. I was going to restore it, but I was quite a ways off money-wise. It was definitely a sub-10mpg car. I sold it off to a friend that restores cars. I still think about it sometimes. It was a pretty sweet ride; power, comfort, and suicide doors. I think the curb weight was ~4500lbs. The thing was a tank! Stall parking, all the way! :)
     
  9. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Jeep C-J5 with a 304 V8; 16 mpg no matter what speed. Of course gas prices were a tad lower: 17 cents a gallon full service, and they would give you a free glass if you filled up.

    Tom
     
  10. Swanny1172

    Swanny1172 New Member

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    1994 Chevy Silverado 1500 extended cab with 5.7 liter V-8. It was a great truck, but the mileage was horrible. Of course, my wife's 2001 Mercedes ML 320 is not all that much better.
     
  11. mjms2b

    mjms2b MJ Green

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    All the 90's cars listed here make me feel old, I don't think I'm old, wait......I think I am getting old.
     
  12. ozyran

    ozyran New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ May 18 2007, 09:30 PM) [snapback]445390[/snapback]</div>
    Wow, that thing was $21,505 in 1992?! That's a pretty expensive looker there. I bet it could run, though. That's still pretty expensive for that year, IMO.

    (on the other hand, an LX Mustang of the same year was about $22,000.00.)
     
  13. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    1963 or 64 Cadillac Sedan de Ville. Black. I think it got 9 miles to the gallon. When it rained I had to open the hood and beat the windshield wiper box with my shoe to get it going. But boy the ride was smooth. Automatic transimission, power steering and brakes. My parents eventually sold the car and I had to drive a Ford Galaxee and then a Dodge.

    I eventually bought a 1960 Gray Sedan de Ville a few years back (complete with fins and wheel skirts), kept it for a few years in the garage and parked my Saturn on the street. The night I circled the block for 45 min. trying to find a space and then having to park a block away (at 10:30 at night) and walk home....I decided the caddy had to go. It was fun to take for an occasional ride on the weekend, but a second car was just too much of a luxury. I sold it for double what I paid for it on eBay, having only replaced the spark plugs and had the carborator cleaned and the timing done. It was a great car.

    [​IMG]
    It looked a lot like this. I used to wear a camp shirt and bermudas that were turquoise with pink flamingos all over them with flamingo earrings when I drove. I had cat sunglasses with rhinestones in the corners and a little nodding dog in the back windshield. Never did find a dancing hula girl. Oh, and I had fuzzy dice hanging off the rear view mirror too.
     
  14. dfrost7

    dfrost7 Junior Member

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    '64 Plymouth Fury. I loved that car. I forgot about that car. I loved my Prius and my Fury.
    Fully oxidized, Sanitation/dumpster green.
     
  15. ystasino

    ystasino Active Member

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    My 94 Camry V6 had 14mpg early on in the city...

    Must be love!
     
  16. tanglefoot

    tanglefoot Whee!

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    My first car: 1984 Ford Bronco (sorry, I'm a young'un)...2bbl carb, 302, 3-speed, 9-11 mpg. Taz "Back Off" mudflaps. Old-style BFGoodrich All-Terrains. Desert tan. I like thinking about it--it was a great truck. $0.97/gallon then. I'd sure would hate to fill it up now.

    It was replaced by my current 1985 4Runner 2.4L--a gas sipper at 20-24 mpg. :lol:

    [​IMG]

    Eric
     
  17. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ozyran @ May 18 2007, 08:31 PM) [snapback]445483[/snapback]</div>

    True true. I had a 1990 Mustang GT (stock) then got a 1987 Mustang GT (Vortech blown 351 etc) Funny thing was they (a stock LX Mustang) had the same HP yet ran the same 1/4mile times even though the truck was much heavier. The 454 had crap for HP but a ton of TQ. Well for 1990 anyway. Now 400ft.lbs. is easy out of much smaller engine. :)

    Some of you guys had some real gas hogs! I thought I was bad. :p
     
  18. robincx

    robincx "Fear is the mind killer"

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    Wow, some nice rides above this.
    I have always been a bit of an eco-guy (little european cars/vans) so the worst I had was my '94 Isuzu Trooper. At the worst of times I got 13 mpg, at the best 20.

    Keep the pics coming!
     
  19. tnthub

    tnthub Member

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    I have had so many (being born in 1958 had some advantages) but one of the worst was my 1992 Dodge Dakota with a 318... It had plenty or torque but was just not very efficient. I even had a new motor put in around 70,000 as one of my employees abused the original engine and toasted it and despite all efforts even the new engine got between 13 and 15 mpg... However it was a very fun truck to drive. :)
     
  20. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    I've only ever had 4 cars.

    1976 CJ-5 Jeep. It was a POS. I don't remember its FE. But it was worse than my

    1989 Honda Civic station wagon, which I think got around 35 mpg in the summer. I never measured in the winter. That was worse than my

    2004 Prius, whose FE was around 35 in a Fargo winter and around 45 in a Fargo summer and a bit better than that in a Spokane winter (where I have fewer short trips) and around 50 in a Spokane summer. But this is my gas guzzler because my

    2006 ZAP Xebra does not burn any gas at all! It goes a shade over 50 miles on $1 worth of electrons. So there! B)

    [Edited to add:]

    Those electrons are all renewable: My electric utility gets almost all its electrons from the Bonneville Dam, and the remainder from wind farms.