TeC said:
You believe too many things that you read. Mileage ratings for many cars, especially domestics, are complete bullshit. My dad's lesabre use to claim something around 21/29 too. But we had that car for about 8 years and I think it's a bit closer to 15/20. Camaro = 30mpg freeway? LOL.
Park Avenue fuel Economy Testimonial per ROAD AND TRACK senior editor/Park Avenue "winter car" owner:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=26&article_id=26&page_number=1
"...On the trip to Indianapolis and back — about six hours of Interstate each way — I set the cruise control at 74 mph and averaged exactly 28.5 miles per gallon.
In the year since then, we've continued to average about 24 mpg in mixed city/highway driving, and actually squeaked past 29 mpg on a road trip to Atlanta. This is not too much at odds with the original window sticker (still in the glovebox), which shows a city/highway EPA rating of 19/29 mpg.
In any case, I stand by my previous figures, but have to admit the mileage amazes even me (yes, the sage of northwestern Rock County), so I can easily understand some of our readers having doubts, even if they are dead wrong and should be ashamed of themselves for ever questioning my superb math skills just because I barely passed high school algebra.
I mentioned this whole controversy to my friend Steve Kimball, a former R&T staffer and knowledgeable American engine nut who now does market research for a number of Detroit car companies. "The GM 3.8 V-6," he said, "is simply one of the most fuel-efficient engines ever designed. Also, you've probably noticed the final gearing on your Buick is fairly tall and the shift points are conservative. That helps, too."
I had noticed. The car likes to shift early and torque its way down the road, downshifting only when you put some boot into it. The drivetrain is genteel rather than frantic in nature.
...so our Buick — which is classified by the EPA, for comparison shopping purposes, as "LARGE" — gets fuel mileage that is not exactly dismal for a big car, and, in fact, is about the same as your average Acura, Saturn, Saab, etc."
How the EPA rates fuel economy:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#estimates
I've personally seen 29.1 MPG from my LS1, 6 speed Z28 @ a steady state, 70 MPH cruise (with the tach reading a mere 1,500 RPM in 6th).
Anything else you need to educate me on?
