I have always followed my gas consumption since I had my first car. I have no idea why, but it has always been a major thing for me. My first car was a 1989 Dodge Ram 50. That little car MAYBE got 14mpg. I should have easily gotten 20+mpg in that thing. I guess that's one of the reasons I junked it.
Since then I have religiously set my trip odometer at each fill up. I did this when gas was 90 cents a gallon, and I still do it today. I just can't help myself.
Last year I was driving up to visit my fiance (then girlfriend) in Utah. I lived in Southern California at the time. While I was driving up in my 2001 Nissan Sentra (that I bought brand new) I was rear ended on the freeway. The cost of repair was exactly how much I owed. I decided to take the insurance money and pay it off. I then sold the junked car to a company here in utah and made a small profit. I was free.
I had some weird desire to get a Jeep Wrangler. So i bought a 2000 Jeep Wrangler and drove it around with pride. The best gas mileage I ever got in that thing was 20mpg on road trips from Southern California to Las Vegas. I remember being so exicited that I broke 300 miles on my 15 (or was it 16?) gallon tank.
I moved to Salt Lake City, UT during December of 2004. I now work from home and my Jeep just sat outside most of the time. I was paying $300/mo in car payments and $100/mo in insurance for a car I rarely drove. Something had to be done.
I had alittle extra money so i bought a 1989 Honda Civic for $2000. I should have waited for a cheaper one, but what's done is done. Since then I have sold the Jeep (took long enough) and begun investing time and money into the Honda Civic. It's been a great adventure, and one that led me to create this website.
Right now I'm doing body work on the car. I've replaced three doors (rust and dents), the hood, and one fender. I havn't driven this car in over 2 months, but I can't wait to get in it again.
Here are some pictures of my car during the whole process:
<img src="http://www.gassavers.org/files/images/car1.jpg">
<img src="http://www.gassavers.org/files/images/car2.jpg">
<img src="http://www.gassavers.org/files/images/car4.jpg">
<img src="http://www.gassavers.org/files/images/car8.jpg">
<img src="http://www.gassavers.org/files/images/car9.jpg">
I'm hoping to paint the car myself this weekend. I have the air compressor and I need to buy the paint sometime soon. I have a makeshift paint booth all ready. Hopefully it will turn out well.
My car is my new hobby. I love it. Hopefully I will soon be able to start my engine modifications and other modifications to add fuel economy. In the end I think I'll end up spending around $4000 total (including the price of the car, not including the one major repare I had to do). A $4000 car that gets over 50mpg would not be bad at all... and it would be a fun project.
BTW, I want to have better gas mileage for a number of reasons. money is one, politics is another, and pollution is yet another. Oh, and I like figuring stuff out, so this is perfect.
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