Getting amazing MPG all of a sudden

Stability control performs better. In addition, regenerative braking takes some of load off the conventional brakes reducing heating and wear.

-- Ron

Nor am I.

Cathy

I had a '95 Tercel with an AT, and consistently got 39-45 MPG winter/summer, using Gulf 93 Octane gas.

It would drop to about 36 using 89 octane.

I had a 5 speed, 4 cylinder, manual trans 2000 Accord that got me 35mpg going through the mountains. In summer. With A/C on.

I suppose you also run your engine on water, thereby getting HUGELY great gas mileage in addition to the hybrid component.

Using low sulfur diesel fuel alone is not enough for automotive diesel engines to meet current U.S. emissions standards. Vehicles with diesel engines that meet current U.S. emissions standards have particulate traps to reduce soot (and the associated technology to self-clean the traps) and urea injection to reduce NOx emissions. I am not that familiar with diesels, but I know the technology to reduce diesel emissions are not that simple or they would have been implemented a long time ago. I suspect that those two technologies add a lot to the already premium cost of a diesel engine so that the premium for a diesel is approaching the premium for a hybrid drivetrain.

The diesels will do well. The only drawback is that diesel usually costs more these days. I remember when it used to be cheaper than gas. My 05 Corolla does much better on gas than the 89 Accord I had, which weighed about the same. It would be lucky to get 30 mpg on the road, but it had a 2+ liter engine and a feedback carb fuel system. The 05 Corolla gets 40+ on the road easy. I get 42-43 mpg doing 65 mph. Probably 40-41 at 70 mph. Course, it has the FI 1.8 liter.. I remember one of my brothers had a Tercel back in the early 90's or so that would do that good or better. But I don't think it was quite as large as the 05 Corolla. It sure wasn't a four door like the Corolla. :/ I had the option of a Civic Hybrid for 1k more money, but I was paranoid of the future repair costs of hybrid.. I plan to drive the car till it rots most likely, and I didn't want huge repair costs way down the line.. IE: big $$$ batteries, etc.. I don't have anything against hybrids per say, I just wanted something more simple to repair in the future.

How much if you go over the mountains? Were there a lot of tunnels? I usually go through the tunnels using hybrid vehicles or electrically powered vehicles (i.e., trains).

jeff

Unless they made radical formulation changes on all the gas, I cant imagine that. We dont buy from a particular station, but all over the city.

Well its true........Maybe watering down gas is not a myth.....I dunno, I'm no chemist but it happened.....;0)

Could a connection to a temperature sensor have been loose or corroded and fixed itself because of all the hot-cold cycles or the warmer weather? Bad connection => high resistance => computer thinks the engine is colder than it actually is => richer fuel mixture than normal.