I’m a January baby and have the planet of the rings as my ruling planet, which is fine by me, as it has always been my “favorite” as far as heavenly bodies go — well, besides Clooney’s among a few others’, but I digress…
I have only owned 3 cars in my 41 years on this particular planet. My daddy wasn’t one to buy and trade. He was a mechanic and would take old cars and rebuild new ones out of the old parts. As I’ve shared on here before, he built the last car he owned by taking a 1982 Chevrolet Caprice Classic front end and an ‘83 back to make it a one of a kind!
As we are all trying to make due with gas prices hovering at $4.00 per gallon, I’ve learned about a lot of creative ways my friends are finding to help ease the financial strain. I have to give major kudos to my dear Jeffraham Prestonian who just a year ago folks were scoffing at for doing the whole scooter thing…well, I had lunch with him the other day and let me tell you that he had businessmen downtown asking him details about what kind of gas mileage he gets, and so on. Jeff could easily be getting the last laugh, but he’s a sweetheart because he’s all about helping people learn more about how to conserve and make things better in this world. Stay tuned on that front.
Right before the 4th of July holiday, Mack had written a post about GM and their efforts to build a car that can compete in today’s competitive market of energy-conscious, well-built cars. He ever-so-slightly dissed on the ‘ol Saturn and it got me to thinking about how good this car has been to me.
No, it isn’t a Honda or a Toyota, but then again, I didn’t pay what one had to pay for those cars in ‘01 when my car was new, either.
When I bought the car it was for safety reasons first. I wanted a 4-door so getting my baby in and out of the car would be easy, and I would have plenty of room for all of the accessories you take along with a small child (stroller, etc.).
Not to mention that one of the biggest selling points on a Saturn was that the body of the car was so safe in a collision. That was so much more important to me than anything else.
Now, I am thanking my lucky stars for the great gas mileage.
On my trip this past weekend, I traveled 363 miles on a tank of gas. It has a 12.1 gallon gas tank, and I ran it until it was almost on “E”, and so, when I filled up it topped out at just under 11 gallons.
I estimated that I got approximately 32 miles to the gallon on mostly highway, with a bit of stop & go traffic.
Not bad for an 8 year old car!
The only downside I can think of for the Saturn is there are some cheap molding features and seals around the windows, I have had the annual “4th of July Tire Incidents”…literally….I have a tire issue each and every year…but I don’t think that could possibly be a car issue, I think it’s sheer coincidence….and, as mine and my friends’ backs can attest to, the car sits waaaaay low to the ground.
Other than those few things…my Saturn’s a keeper.
Filed under: Blogger Buddies, Current Events, Daddy, Just Stuff | Tagged: cars, gas, gas prices, George Clooney, GM, mileage, planets, Saturn, scooters
sister-in-law is still driving the ‘97 SL2 I gave her as her family’s primary mode of transport. It’s probably got 200k miles on it by now, but it still looks new.
I’m right there with you on conserving… especially conserving what’s in my wallet. The car stays at the house unless it is absolutely necessary. MTA and I have become great friends. $4.80 gets me an ALL DAY pass to most places I need to go in the city. Good stuff!
My last car was a ‘99 SC2 and I loved it dearly. I finally gave it up when it looked like a transmission repair was going to cost more than it was worth, but it was with a heavy heart. I’ve got a Honda now which I hope will prove wise on reliability, but my Saturn actually got better mileage (not Honda’s fault, it’s a bigger engine, but still… it just makes me wish the Saturn could have lived on)
I’m with you on not trading all the time. My Nissan Frontier truck is only the fourth vehicle I’ve owned since high school.
I was totally spoiled until I got out on my own in the “real world” — I am on my 5th car, the first I paid for. And yes, it was paid off 2 years ago, 3 years this coming February. (That being said, I drive a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe (yes, technically an SUV — also, it has a 100,000 or 10 year bumper to bumper warranty too. Hyundai is amazing! — oh, I’m at 98,000 miles or so)… 28 MPG on the highway. I work at home, and am SUPER-blessed to be able to not drive to work on a daily basis. And I am able to walk to a grocery store when small trips are needed.
Here’s a tip: when I go to visit my relatives 4 hours / 250 miles away, I’ve taken the advice regarding “slow down and take a more direct route” — in the past, I have driven 4 hours to near Tupelo, MS and I would arrive with 1/8 of a tank from 12 gallons. Now I take the Natchez Trace (speed limit, 50 mph) — amazing how I arrive now with 3/8 of a tank when I park my car at my Mom’s house.
I go home about once a month. With the savings added up, that’s about 1/2 tank per trip that I save – 1/4 tank per trip. That’s 3 tanks of gas per year.
Screw the oil guys…
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