Month of June 2023 (Nat’l Avg $3.574)

Oh, yeah? Western Washington in our Snohomish County has the LOWEST COSTCO gas price of $4.219! Yuck!

 

Gord, thank you for starting our month.

Today , 65 deg F in both Naperville and Elk Grove Village.

The tank that I filled in Battle Creek , MI on Monday the 26th
has 425.6 miles and 91 remaining. fcd = 58.0 MPG.

 

……& now our county’s Costco is up to $4.269.

 

Just refueled locally at a derelict Citgo for $2.909/gal.

 

I filled up Sunday after burning the tank I bought in Battle Creek Monday.
511.6 miles , fcd = 57.7. $3.999 per gallon of 87 E10.
9.178 gallons.

 

Today , 58 deg F in Naperville and Elk Grove.

Wind NNE 5

33.3 miles, fcd = 55.9 MPG

 

Today , 53 deg F , wind N 6

33.3 miles, fcd = 54.0

 

Today , 51 deg F in Naperville , 53 in Elk Grove.

Wind N 4

33.3 miles, fcd = 55.9

tank is around 56. I plan to fill up Sunday as I will be near the gas station
where I filled up last Sunday.

 

Well….Have said I put “new” used over-sized tires on the car & am ready for summer travel. But, I’ve got problems. The least problem is the sky high gas prices are killing my travel. But more, I’ve got a major down turn in my economic & emotional life. Yeah, things are bad….again.
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From another thread:
But, I really need to get a low-priced new Electric car. With the EV I’ll be able to go long miles with my used tires, without the gasoline fuel & tire costs from the present extraordinary fuel prices now. Yes, driving many more miles with an EV will help to reduce my stockpiled tires as they wear out.
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Now my hope for purchasing an EV is reduced dramatically, even tho an EV would be the best way to powerfully reduce fuel & electric costs.

 

Transferred & expanded from the May 2023 Daily Grind:
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Edwin posts:
Believe it or not , the sportier versions of today's Cadillac sedans compete very well against
the Germans , at least based on the numbers. Car and Driver likes them…...
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litesong posts:
Into the last hour of the 24hours of LeMan, Cadillac Racing is presently in 3rd & 4th position in the Hyper-car class of the race. I liked the 24 hours & thought it spoke for good investment in practical technology. How such things translate to everyday car drivers on regular highways, I don’t know. Such racing must help the practical application of baby technology Lithium batteries. MaxxMPG & Wayne(anyone else?) probably have lots of details.

With less than 10minutes remaining, Ferrari is on the verge of winning their 10th LeMans, Toyota in 2nd place, 1min, 44 seconds behind. The two Cadillac teams are 1 lap & 1 lap, 3+ minutes behind.

On the last lap, about 341 laps of the 8 mile course have been completed & Ferrari does win their 10th LeMans.

In the LM GTE Am class, Iron Dames, started in 2017, placed 4th in this years LeMans.

Over(?) one third of the 60(?) racing teams failed to complete the 24hours of LeMans.

350,000 fans were in attendance at the 24 hours of LeMans.

 

Today , 56 deg F in Naperville and Elk Grove.

Wind W 7 , very light rain

33.3 miles , fcd = 57.3 MPG

 

In the northeast, we're in a warm-but-not-scorching dry weather pattern. The fair temperatures and some traffic volume to slow things down allow some good results in the Elantra hybrid.
Last night's trip home:

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Good work !

 

Today , 60 deg F in Naperville , 58 in Elk Grove.

Wind E 5

33.3 miles , fcd = 56.9

 

Today , 61 deg F in Naperville , 60 in Elk Grove.

Wind SSE 5

33.3 miles , fcd = 59.2

If I can do this in a 33/41 Fit , what might I get
with a 2023 Elantra Hybrid ?

 

You're about 50% over EPA. That translates into around 75 in the HEH. Light winds and temps in the low 60s with no precip are very favorable conditions. Higher temperatures can eek out higher numbers for drivers who can keep their grubby little finger off the AC button.
As mentioned previously, morning commutes offer lower numbers than afternoon, and I am in the same club. NY area traffic during afternoon drivetime never disappoints - Low speed crawling means the engine gets to nap for a while on the clogged highway.
For me, this morning was 18.4 miles and the FCD for the trip was 64.6, with the 60-70 range being typical. Last night's drive home was 85.6mpg over 19.2 miles, with 80-90 being what I expect. Take the average between the two and you're around 75, or roughly 50% over EPA.

 

Thanks , Chris. My Intense Blue Blue should be at the dealer
around the 23rd. We already made a deal on the phone.
I'm pretty excited !

 

The 23rd is in a about a week, and perfect timing for the hybrid-friendly summer driving season.

The car rolls out of the factory already optimized, and the only pre-delivery step for you to take is to ask your sales rep to make sure the tire pressure remains at shipping pressure and NOT reduced to placard pressure. The cars are shipped with the tires in the 45-50 psi range so they don't flat spot during shipment. You can request that they do not adjust the tire pressure downward as part of their pre-delivery prep work. The prep guys missed that request from the salesman and my car was delivered in the key of F minor (four flats), with pressure showing 35-36. A quick run to the quick-lube lane and a minute or two with the air hose corrects the condition.
The tire pressure does display in the screen in the dash cluster so you can check from inside the car after driving a short distance to wake the sensors up.
Recommended oil is very thin synthetic and alignment specs are pretty much ideal for good mpg.

It's one of those cars that offers good numbers "out of the box" without needing an engineering degree to make it really sing the high notes. Remember that Ford hybrids of 10 year ago, notably the CMax, needed a skilled operator to meet and exceed the EPA numbers. People reviewing the Elantra hybrid online are reporting numbers over EPA and they are not using any efficient driving techniques at all.

The numbers reported by the Fit suggest you have excellent throttle control - a well disciplined right foot that can dial in the exact pressure needed to achieve the desired result. That will pay off well with the HEH, where it is fairly easy to hit that deadband you want to sit in - zero thrust and zero regen as shown on the dial on the right side of the cluster - while the car rolls down the road toward the next intersection.

Speaking of that dial that shows "charge" and "eco" and "power", I think you will laugh just as I did when you realize how far you have to bury the pedal to get the needle into the "power" range. The only time you might be in the "power" range is when the police are chasing and you haven't quite had the time to sell off all that heroin in the trunk. Where it says "power", it should probably just say "felony evasion", if they wanted to be honest about it.

Knowing you and your capabilities, I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what you can do with BlueBlue.