Month of January 2026 (Nat’l Avg price $2.833)

At work again.
Today , 16 deg F, wind NNW 11
33.1 miles, fcd = 51.2 mpg.
Ouch.

 

Headwinds of any kind suck.

Fog here and relatively warm before the 20s(F) resumption of winter weather tomorrow. I'll have to drive in to Worcester if jury duty holds, and I fully expect it to this time as I had a pass before the court date years ago. Life in limbo...

 

Hey Bill , do they pronounce "Worcester" in MA the same way as the British do ?

 

My English girlfriend (1998) pronounced it like "would" ...........wooster
She left England when she was 17 and had been living in France for 20 years.
Because she had never driven on the left side of the road, she appointed moi as driver.
We survived. And I found out the Ford Ka is actually a pretty good car.

trip home today at 2:30 PM -
23-24 deg F , wind SSW 9
32.8 miles, fcd = 57.4 mpg.
Tank is at 54.9 mpg. I have a dream of getting another 60+tank.
We'll see if the weather cooperates.

 

Today it is 25 deg F, wind S 13
33.1 miles, fcd = 61.1 mpg.

 

Left work at 1:06. Yeah, semi-retirement is good. Stopped
at Bubblehouse for 21 oz of golden nectar.
Home at 4:10.

Temp was 35-37 deg F.
Tank is at 139.6 miles, fcd = 57.6 mpg. I'll be driving about 70 miles
tomorrow, but no highway.

 

Even though it's not a workday, I still drove around 70 miles.
Met Mary Beth in Elk Grove for lunch, then we went to the Classic Cinemas theater
to see Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers.
The temperature was in the teens all day. In fact, it will stay in the teens until
sometime Monday, when we get to enjoy single-digit temps.

Tank is at 203.3 miles , fcd = 57.2 mpg.
Could be worse.

 

Got cold sooner than predicted. 8 deg F when I left to work out today,6 deg when I reached
home. Stopped at grocery store for supplies. I'm not leaving home until early Tuesday.
17.2 miles, fcd = 46.6 mpg.

 

Today it is 3 deg F in Naperville, 2 deg in Elk Grove

Wind SW 7

33.2 miles, fcd = 50.0 mpg

Tank is at 260.7 miles, fcd = 55.4 mpg

 

Today ,the local journeys of a semi-retired young man in Western DuPage County.
To Hyundai dealer (long wait, but I had entertainment) UPS store, Crooked Elbow.
27 deg F, wind = doesn't matter. local round trip was about 49 mpg


tank is at 322.9 miles, fcd- 54.9 mpg, Could be a lot better......................in May

 

Today it was between 14 and 22 deg F , wind W 18

At the end of the day, tank was at 389.0 miles, fcd = 55.0 mpg.
176 miles remaining.

 

Today is one of the worst weather days for driving.
No snow, roads are clear. That's the good news
Minus 5 deg F in Naperville, minus 4 in Elk Grove. Wind NW 17

33.1 miles, fcd = 45.9 mpg. Weather dot com says it will
still be below zero when I head home today.

 

When I left work at 1:00, it was minus 3 in Elk Grove.

33.1 miles, fcd = 50.0 mpg

Tank is at 455.3 miles, fcd = 53.7 mpg
91 miles remaining

 

excellent, Gord.

 

Today it is 13 deg F, wind WSW 12

33.1 miles, fcd = 55.5 mpg

Filled up Sunday for $2.609 (cheap)
503.2 miles, fcd = 52.7 mpg.

 

Our Lexus RZ 450e has been replaced by a Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Joyce and I discussed our long term car plans and potentially going down to one car someday. The RZ is not a good candidate due to shorter range, not great DC charging, and not well designed for extended cold weather use. The Tesla is unlikely to be the last car "standing" because Joyce doesn't like to drive it and also finds the ride uncomfortable.