the catalytic converter was replaced under warranty...i'm sure it would have run me a thousand dollars without. the engine light had come on...so i knew something was up, but the loss of mpg and perhaps some power was telling. the fix was immediate and noticable as i drove away. the dynamic mpg gauge was dancing rather being sluggish.
my lifetime mileage is no longer being tracked by the website banner...i'm averaging 40-44 on a tank. if i were to drive recreationally/hypermile at 59mph then i've done over 52 mpg on a tank of gas on long road trips to sandiego, phoenix or las vegas from the los angeles area.
however, during my daily commute...i'm usually a full on southern california driver...with the flow of traffic at 75-80...ocassionally see 34mpg when i'm blasting my way to work full ac the entire commute. usually i'll compensate on my drive home...and just to get the **** thing back up.
funny, as stated in my original post...the novelty of the numbers is waning. seems silly to have such a advanced fuel efficient car...yet suffer the indignities of a less than freshly pressed shirt for work just because you want to keep the numbers going or arrive home hot and irritable. life is too short isn't it?
my last three cars have been the mercedes s500, acura mdx, and mercedes e320. in light of that...
it's a real pleasure to put in regular unleaded gas.
on my s500 i used to think 28mpg was a GREAT tank, and on the mdx 22mpg was a great tank,...so when i got my first 50plus mpg tank on the civic hybrid i was initially hooked on hypermiling. tirepressures/drafting/pulse and glide/slow right lane driving i did it all...my best tank ever was 58mpg.
in the final analysis...early in my career i owned a honda accord which i put on over 400,000 miles in 9 years...would be interesting to see how the civic hybrid does for me.
100,000 miles down,...300,000 more to go!
100,000 Mile HI(brid) Club ;)
see you at 200,000.
Retired
