Thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, it's a Ford Escape, not Escort and no, I'm not a dumb blond as my name may indicate, even if I thought it was an Escort! I've already tried making longer trips and then doing errands on the way home and find that helps by warming up the engine. I suspect the main gas-eater is the long 2.5 mile hill climb up to our house and the cold weather. I'll try other driving strategies and hope the milage improves.