MSCOFF

the rps are the same on my 2004 xA standard. But 'll only go 70 max because I'm old. 70 = 3500 rpm. But That was the first thing I saw when I picked the car up. I test drove an auto. First tank around town I got 31 mpg. The temperatyre in CT was cold the beginning of march. That has a negative effect on mileage also. Mark S.

"You auto owners please tell me what RPMs ypur car is getting at 60-80-100MPH?
I am 3000RPM @60MPH, 4000RPM @80MPH, and an ungodly 5000RPM @100MPH (just did it briefly to see)

Thanks for the thereapy.

-will"

CBSIMONSEZ

I noticed the other day that cruising up & down 295, at about 75 MPH im at just over 3K RPMs. This is a nice change, seeing as how i am usually at 3.7K RPMs in my Neon, ( auto tranny as well ) doing the same speed. The xB is a nice cruiser in auto tranny, but takes for ever to get there some times. I still love my lava box though, and wouldnt trade it for any thing, well ..... maybe a SLK, maybe.

XeroCool

i'm at 32k at 80mph

jetpower

Interesting thread. My first car was a 1972 Datsun 1200 (in 1973). Pre-emission controls (EGR was the only thing it had). 35-38mpg until the day I sold it (at about 150k, just about ready for new rings). Been through the 1975 gas "crisis." Seen the Carburetor Club of America hop-ups (e.g., a Caddy that got 60mpg). Saw the first hybrid (225mpg) profiled by Larry Carrol on local news (and located that Plymouth Arrow with the B&S lawnmower engine recharging batteries that powered a 70-hp aircraft motor - the Santa Monica mechanic was "in talks with two major auto companies;" six months later, he was gone.).

Since Day 1, EPA estimates have been 10-15% high, based on test tube conditions rather than real-world conditions. It's just a baseline. However, some 25 years of road experience should provide a fairly enormous database for bringing those estimates in line with reality. But there is no law requiring this.

Now, I'm no engineer (as must be obvious), so I'll just rely on a few practical questions to present the options I see:

Whom does it benefit to be dead honest about publishing accurate numbers? Buyers. Whom does it benefit to rely on the bare-minimum, letter-of-the-law numbers? Mfrs. Who is most involved in defining these laws? Congress. Who lobbies Congress? You and I?

As long as we tolerate whatever "they" throw at us, things will stay pretty much the same. If you think the marketplace will consistently innovate towards things that are "better," dust off your halogens. If you think that we can coordinate real improvements through collective whining, you and I are on the same page.

It's pretty frustrating, not to mention shameful, that our cars fail to achieve much higher mpg in the 21st Century. But it's up to us - apparently us alone - to demand what we and our children deserve.

Otherwise, we'll get what we deserve.

An hour a week on practical change. Fewer commercials, better life.

Actual question, maybe for Scott17: When the carburetor madmen were doing their thing, the prevailing method involved heating the air and making the gas droplets smaller on entry to the carb. What's the deal, then, about these cold-air induction things yielding higher mpg?