Sunday, July 1, 2007

42 MPG Experimental Vehicle

I was driving on US60 just east of Apache Junction and saw this strange vehicle.

"42 MPG Experimental" (1of4)

The owner has chopped most of his mid 1980s model of Toyota Corolla off to increase the vehicle's gas mileage. On both fenders, he has written "42 MPG Experimental" in black markers.

"42 MPG Experimental" (4of4)

"42 MPG Experimental" (3of4)

5 comments:

  1. I'm not sure what to be more surprised about. Someone doing that sort of modification to his car, or thinking that 42mpg is a good figure. My ordinary (unmodified) 2004-vintage Renault Scenic gets me over 58mp(US)g (over 70mp(UK)g!) quite easily. Indeed if it dips below 49 mp(US)g then I'm starting to question what is wrong with it.

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  2. heh. That reminds me of the bozo I saw driving an 80's style van with a residential air conditioning unit hanging out the back window of the vehicle.

    On second glance, I noticed the lack of a rear bumper which means the car is not street legal.

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  3. My non-chopped 2000 gasoline Honda Civic averaged about 39MPG on a recent trip across New England.

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  4. I used to have a 1993 ford festiva 5 speed with one of the more powerful engines offered for those... 55mpg US highway / 45 city, and I drove like a teenage guy because I was.

    I laugh at prius commercials, when they brag about the mileage they get with their car that cost five or six times as much. I always wonder how efficient gasolectric hybrids are when the battery doesn't take a charge well or hold it. I bet disposing of that big old battery is wonderful for the environment too. And there are a lot of powerful diesel cars that are extremely efficient.

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  5. The question is why haven't manufactures really got in to developing higher mpg vehicles with the current technology more economic vehicles should be easy to produce/devolop mid size saloons with decent diesel engines are easily getting 50mpg and more should be possible,so why are we waiting ?

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