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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Driving / June 2008Techniques to improve mpg on my Excursion
I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the macho intimidation factor I got from tailgaiting slowpokes on the interstate brought tremendous joy and pride to me in the early years. In addition, I camped a couple of times a year which the large space cam in handy. However, my commute has increased to 120 miles round trip each way. 120 miles@ 10 mpg = 12 gallons * 4.5 = 54 dollars a day on gas. My wages are $ 11 an hour and there is virtually nothing left after taxes and my gasoline expense. I have a family to feed and my credit cards are maxed out. I feel helpless. Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? > I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > expense. I have a family to feed and my credit cards are maxed out. I feel > helpless. Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? Suck it up, buy a Honda or VW, and quit whining. I realize this is a troll but the sad truth is there are probably people out there like described above. nate  Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel >> I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced >> reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > nate Thank you for the feedback. I can not trade my vehicle in as I am "upside down" on the loan and the dealers are reluctant to give me book value for a trade in. I'd like to get a Honda as you suggested, but I can't escape my current vehicle. > I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > expense. I have a family to feed and my credit cards are maxed out. I feel > helpless. Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? Park the excursion down by the river and live in it. >> I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced >> reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >Park the excursion down by the river and live in it. Close. Drive the thing to work, find someone to share the expense, and get a motel for the week. Better yet, ride with someone else that's getting 30 mpg, leave the big car at home for the wife to drive to the grocery, and get a room (apt., room in a home, etc.) where you work and stay all week. Anything to avoid the 120 miles / day. Alternative - get a job closer to home, even if it doesn't pay as much. Hell, quit and hustle ebay sales. > > I drive a V-10 Excursion. <SNIP> > > Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? > > Park the excursion down by the river and live in it. LOL We have a motivational speaker in our midst. :) SignatureJohn C. >I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced >reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >expense. I have a family to feed and my credit cards are maxed out. I feel >helpless. Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? You are going to get a lot of wise-a.s answers involving your choice of vehicle, hindsight being 20/20.... But here are a few hopefully contructive suggestions: 1. Slow down - driving a brick like an Excursion at 55 instead of 75 actually will improve the fuel mileage a great deal. Accelerate gently. 2. Make sure you tires are inflated to the manufacturer's recommended maximum 3. Do you have a co-worker you could couch-crash with a couple nights a week? Would suck to be away from your family but it would save you some money. 4. At $54/day, it would not take long for a cheap second car to pay for itself. My suggestion - a 10+yo mid-size V6 powered GM sedan. Dirt-Cheap, cheap to fix, and driven gently they will get near 30mpg on the highway. Pretty dire in every possible way, but beggers can't be choosers. At 10mpg pretty much anything is going to be a huge improvement. -Kevin Rhodes Westbrook, Maine >>I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced >>reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > -Kevin Rhodes > Westbrook, Maine Oh, come on, you know it's a troll. Anyone that makes $11 an hour and shells out for a new Excursion anyway probably isn't bright enough to make his way to Usenet. nate Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel > >>I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > >>reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Ah but I know personally two people who were making around $11 and bought SUVs on the 'never never plan' Last trade one made was from a 3 year old top line SUV into a top line ford PU "because I need something I can hal with" My question was "then why did you buy a bobtail pussy wagon"? No answer but I found out he was upside down on the trade by $23,000.. Never underestimate the level of stupidity what it comes to 'I want". Harry K > Ah but I know personally two people who were making around $11 and > bought SUVs on the 'never never plan' Last trade one made was from a [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the trade by $23,000.. Never underestimate the level of stupidity > what it comes to 'I want". Isn't minimum wage around $10/hr these days? anyway... if there is so much easy credit out there that they can sell people vehicles like that I could go visit the ferrari dealer and come out just as bad off proportionally but I'll have a Ferrari :). On Jun 17, 10:47 pm, Brent P <tetraethylleadREMOVET...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > Ah but I know personally two people who were making around $11 and > > bought SUVs on the 'never never plan' Last trade one made was from a [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > I could go visit the ferrari dealer and come out just as bad off > proportionally but I'll have a Ferrari :). I'd be happy with a new Cayman myself, I think. I don't think I'd be able to hold on to it for long though, and I make significantly more than $11 an hour. nate > On Jun 17, 10:47 pm, Brent P <tetraethylleadREMOVET...@yahoo.com> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > able to hold on to it for long though, and I make significantly more > than $11 an hour. I take it you won't settle for the base model ;) Base model is 50 grand MSRP... an exccursion was about 40 grand MSRP wasn't it? On Jun 18, 2:45 pm, Brent P <tetraethylleadREMOVET...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > On Jun 17, 10:47 pm, Brent P <tetraethylleadREMOVET...@yahoo.com> > > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > I take it you won't settle for the base model ;) Base model is 50 > grand MSRP... an exccursion was about 40 grand MSRP wasn't it? I have no idea... I also don't know why anyone would have bought an Excretion without the Diesel engine... and yes, i'd probably want the "S" model, and would still be dreaming about an engine swap from a more "senior" Porsche... Heck, if the OP *had* bought the Diesel (and was actually serious,) I would have been glad to swap him for the Ugly Truck, a six has to be more economical than 11 MPG... (not much, but still.) nate > I have no idea... I also don't know why anyone would have bought an > Excretion without the Diesel engine... Maybe because the diesel engine costs thousands more and there is no way you'd pay for the extra cost with fuel savings? I have a neighbor who has a large fifth wheel cattle trailer (holds 26 or so calves at a time). In the past he has owned Ford Super Duty Trucks with the diesel engine. Driving at reasonable speeds he would get in the high teens pulling the trailer loaded. Recently he got a new truck (an F350). I just assumed it was a diesel and asked him if the new diesel compared OK with the older 7.3L diesel. He told me he didn't get a diesel this time. He had a gas 5.4L. I then asked how well it pulled the cattle trailer. He told me he liked it better. It pulled the trailer at least as well. It did not get the same fuel economy when pulling the trail - it was in the low teens when loaded, but it had no problem on grades and the truck cost thousands less. Empty, the fuel economy was only a little worse than the older diesels, and with diesel selling for as much as $0.50 a gallon more than regular, it cost less per mile for fuel when unloaded (but still more when loaded). Ed On Jun 19, 4:52 am, "C. E. White" <cewhi...@removemindspring.com> wrote: > > I have no idea... I also don't know why anyone would have bought an > > Excretion without the Diesel engine... [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Ed Yep. The 'buy diesel because of the better mileage' went out the window when the 'clean diesel' came in. That caused the price of diesel to make it more expensive to use than gas on a mileage basis. I was talking to a big auto dealer the other day and he admitted that it was now all but impossible to sell a diesel. Same for SUVs of course. Harry K >>Ah but I know personally two people who were making around $11 and >>bought SUVs on the 'never never plan' Last trade one made was from a [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Isn't minimum wage around $10/hr these days? anyway... No, it isn't. I think it's around $5.85 federally (I could be wrong), but states can set it higher. I know just because I was bored one day and read the required notices where I work that it is $7.02 in Colorado. Funny thing - despite all the people whining about wages, we pay people way more than minimum wage to work in our plants. > I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > expense. I have a family to feed and my credit cards are maxed out. I feel > helpless. Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? Inflate the tires to the max cold air pressure rating, change the air and fuel filters. Change your spark plugs. Don't use the AC and drive with the windows shut. You could also invest in a cheap used motorcycle for your commute. You can also save money by getting rid of non essential services, such as internet access, cable or satellite tv. Don't use your residential AC unit during the summer and keep the heat set at 50 F during the winter. Try getting a second job as well, since you're going to need it. If you're married and your spouse isn't working, they should get a job as well to help out. If your kids could also get summer jobs and pitch in to help with expenses, that would work as well. Every little bit helps. Adjust the nut behind the steering wheel. SignaturePaul Hovnanian mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ This isn't right. This isn't even wrong. -- Wolfgang Pauli > I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the > macho intimidation factor I got from tailgaiting slowpokes on the interstate > brought tremendous joy and pride to me in the early years. How many of those slowpokes moved out of the passing lane because of your truck being behind them? It doesn't seem to get their attention until they believe that they're going to be hit. > In addition, I > camped a couple of times a year which the large space cam in handy. > However, my commute has increased to 120 miles round trip each way. Do you need the truck for your daily driving? Have you considered a motorbike? It would be very efficient and not very expensive to buy. > 120 miles@ 10 mpg = 12 gallons * 4.5 = 54 dollars a day on gas. I would buy a motorbike for 50 dollars a day. My fuel-saving tips include: Don't brake unnecessarily while going down hills. It takes more fuel to go up a hill than it does to coast down a hill. If anything, accelerate down the hill and coast up the hill. Don't brake for no reason. This causes braking waves and wastes fuel. Check tyre pressure frequently. Don't drive on underinflated or overinflated tyres. Don't carry any unnecessary weight in the truck. Accelerate quickly from a stop, and at the same time as any cars in front of you. Determine the optimal speed for your truck and try to drive at that speed. Shift through all the gears. If you have a clutchless shifter, don't sit at a stop with the transmission in gear and the brakes applied. Doing that is like putting an ordinary transmission into first gear and depressing the accelerator pedal while braking with the other foot. >> I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced >> reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > your truck being behind them? It doesn't seem to get their attention > until they believe that they're going to be hit. Now he's the slowpoke in the passing lane... trying to save a little juice. The most annoying thing is the congestion caused by all these idiots who bought a huge-arsed vehicle now puttering along trying to get a tenth of an mpg better fuel economy. Either pony up the money to fuel it or park the beast. On Jun 17, 8:52 pm, Brent P <tetraethylleadREMOVET...@yahoo.com> wrote: > >> I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > >> reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > a tenth of an mpg better fuel economy. Either pony up the money to fuel > it or park the beast. Yep. There is nothing they can do to improve the mpg more than a few percentage points. By using extreme measures he _might_ be able to raise 10mpg to 11 mpg but that is about it. Harry K >I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced >reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >have a family to feed and my credit cards are maxed out. I feel >helpless. Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? Well you could always have a mysterious fire caused by the cruise control - you wouldn't be the first. Ed On Jun 18, 7:50 am, "C. E. White" <cewhi...@removemindspring.com> wrote: > >I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > >reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Ed Or park it on 'the wrong side of the tracks' unlocked. Harry K > I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was > priced reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > feed and my credit cards are maxed out. I feel helpless. Is > there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? Sell the excursion, and buy a $500 beater and work selling pizzas for a month. You'd pay for the beater in probably 15-20 days just from gas savings. > I drive a V-10 Excursion. WHn I purchased it, gasoline was priced > reasonably and I had a relatively short commute to work. The roominess, the > macho intimidation factor f.ck YOU a.shole Not that I'm a slowpoke or tailgater but people who use their oversized vehicles in an attempt to intimidate others ARE a.sholes of the worst kind. > I got from tailgaiting slowpokes on the interstate > brought tremendous joy and pride to me in the early years. In addition, I > camped a couple of times a year which the large space cam in handy. > However, my commute has increased to 120 miles round trip each way. "round trip each way" WTF does that mean? You f.cking a.sholes who think you can use the size of your vehicle to intimidate other drivers are pretty f.cking stupid. Here's a clue - you don't intimidate me at all - I can out-accelerate you in my coupe at any speed and I carry more cargo than 95% of the SUVs on the road 120 > miles@ 10 mpg = 12 gallons * 4.5 = 54 dollars a day on gas. My wages are $ > 11 an hour and there is virtually nothing left after taxes and my gasoline > expense. ROFL - IOW you couldn't even afford the f.cking thing when gas was $2 a gallon. > I have a family to feed and my credit cards are maxed out. Boo-f.cking-hoo > I feel > helpless. You should. You are an idiot and you have no dick. Is there anything I can do to improve my Mpg? Yes - kill yourself. <snip> FYI, YHBT. |
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