Hi Iboomalot:

___It is always funny when someone says the speed limits are 60 - 65 around here but to move with the flow of traffic, you have to do 70 - 75 +. Does the right lane in your locale say off-limits to those that want to save a gallon of fuel an hour? Does the right lane say you have to go 5 - 15 over the speed limits? Do you not have truck speed limits wherever you live? Are all of the truly professional drivers in their massive 18-wheel’ed rigs driving 75 - 80 + miles per hour in the far right lanes? I absolutely love this kind of discussion. The Californian’s in particular love to defend such high over the limit speeds yet in my drive from Phoenix to Las Vegas, to Clovis, to San Francisco, to LA, and back to Phoenix last August, I found the professionals traveling at the ~ same speeds they do here in Illinois. Some higher of course as we have those as well but for the most part, that meant 55 - 65 miles per hour in the far right lanes. Again, you can choose to pass what ever big rigs you want, stay far above the limits in the center or left lanes as you want, or stay camped out in the far left lanes at speeds that would mean instant death if you were to ever encounter anything of significance as long as you feel it is safe. Those of us that actually give a **** about where the fuel we consume comes from, the emissions we output, and enjoy our rides as well as the drive will stay in the right lanes at or around the limits ( + or -) all while still inside the law.

___In regards to the RAV4, CRV, and Escape, you have your opinion and the almost 400,000 others that purchased those 3 vehicles last year have theirs.

___Some hybrid’s come pretty darn close to their EPA combined. Some do not, as the RHMDB shows.

___Finally, you figured out what the 4WD Escape is EPA rated at so please dispense with the Ford bashing as they are doing quite well with the offerings they have provided to date. Can they do better? Sure just as all manufacturers can but from my viewpoint, you have a small SUV using a body style w/ a Cd of .404 achieving remarkable mileage if I do say so myself. Not only is the frontal area probably 50% larger then that of a Prius II or HCH, the Cd is ~ 50% higher as well. Do the math and you can see that the Escape HEV was a major accomplishment and although there are some reasons I would not purchase one for myself, you cannot do better in a vehicle of equivalent size or utility unless going to a Euro III/IV based diesel and those things are not even close to PZEV’s.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net