How many VXs made/surviving?

[JESSE69]

Old cars simply die away. Like I rarely see Mazda Mx6's on the road nowadays too.

[StorminMatt]

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Personally I don't see 30 MPG on a Freeway as much of an accomplishment.

That depends on how you want to look at it. Yes, your old Dodge Dart might only get/have gotten a few less MPG on the freeway than my JDM ITR powered CRX. But can it do this while screaming down the freeway all day long at 80MPH, with no need to go easy on the gas or hypermile? Can it virtually leap over mountain ranges in a single bound, and without even having to think about downshifting (granted, my fifth gear is quite short, but still)? Can it badly embarass that snob in a Mustang GT or BMW M3 who thought they had the fastest car on the road? I am willing to be that it could not do any of these things. The same goes for a Pinto, BMW 2002, or old Bug. 1984 Nissan truck? I actually had a 1985. That thing could not touch 30MPG on the freeway when driven like a typical California driver. And it had virtually NO power - especially compared to a B18C5 CRX.

Of course, maybe you don't care about how much 'get up and go' your car has. And if this is the case, then more power to you (no pun intended). But if performance is important to you, then I think 30-33 REAL MPG (as opposed to some optimistic EPA rating) under real-world driving conditions (no hypermiling, driving like everyone else, and NOT driving like Grandma) is actually quite good.

Originally Posted by JESSE69

Old cars simply die away. Like I rarely see Mazda Mx6's on the road nowadays too.

Yes, but some cars die faster than others. In the case of the Mazda MX6, not many were sold. This means there were not many to begin with. It also means a lack of cheap, used parts available to keep them running. They also didn't really offer too much in the way of endearing qualities. So when they required a major repair, people simply didn't see enough in them that they liked to consider repairing vs junking. This last factor is particularly important, and is probably THE reason why you see SO many more older Civics on the road than, say, older Tercels or Sentras. The ability to hot-rod Civics has certainly played a role in keeping older Civics on the road, as is the availability of high fuel economy models like the HF and VX. So yes, there will one day be next to no VX models (or ANY older Civics) on the road. But it will take longer for this to happen with Civics than most other cars.

[DRW]

You've touched on the reason I'm *sort of* looking for a VX, but not really looking hard. I'd be giving up quite a bit of power, and the gain in FE is unknown. I'm sure I could do great things if I got one, but it's a gamble. What if I just take the money and mod my current ride? What if I got one and it turned out to sacrifice a lot of HP for only a slight gain in FE? My current ride is getting 46mpg, weighs 2650 pounds and puts out around 275HP. Stealth missle? Stealth long range ICBM!

[StorminMatt]

Originally Posted by DRW

You've touched on the reason I'm *sort of* looking for a VX, but not really looking hard. I'd be giving up quite a bit of power, and the gain in FE is unknown. I'm sure I could do great things if I got one, but it's a gamble. What if I just take the money and mod my current ride? What if I got one and it turned out to sacrifice a lot of HP for only a slight gain in FE? My current ride is getting 46mpg, weighs 2650 pounds and puts out around 275HP. Stealth missle? Stealth long range ICBM!

And what kind of ride might this be?

In any case, I would just keep what you have, and either buy a VX on the side OR do a VX swap into a 1988-1991 Civic/CRX. That is precisely what I am doing. I am not going to sell the CRX. But when my brother gave me his 1989 Civic HB in exchange for changing the transmission in his 240SX, this gave me a GREAT opportunity to try a D15Z1 swap. I have actually not done much with the car recently. But I am now making a big push to finish it. If it ends up getting good gas mileage, then GREAT. If not, then it's not like I spent big bucks on it.

By the way, I personally would swap rather than buy a VX. VX motors can be had for next to nothing (unlike an actual VX). And if you play your cards right, you can end up with a lighter car that will give you better mileage than a VX.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I just saw one on CraigsList for $3,500. No mention of mileage but sounds like a decent car...

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/859050595.html

EDIT: This one for $3,200 doesn't seem bad either...

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/863019050.html

One for $2,100
http://wichita.craigslist.org/cto/865376076.html

$2,700
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/871039870.html

This one needs minor body work, but for $1,800...
http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/873144294.html

$1,000
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/864108383.html

$2,800 / 83,000 miles
http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/873336976.html

Ok, I'm bored now... Anyway the cars are out there. This listing shows everything on Craigslist that's decently priced in the eastern half of the country. I excluded all cars over $4,000 and any car that had mentioned that the engine was swapped or heavily modded (one guy was advertising a VX w/ an integra engine as a "28 MPG CAR". If he only knew that 28 was half of what the car was capable of originally.

-Jay

[Nden]

dibs on the KY car lol

[Jay2TheRescue]

Go ahead and give them a call, if its still there, buy it.

BTW, I used www.crazedlist.com to search multiple cities at once.

-Jay

[VetteOwner]

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Personally I don't see 30 MPG on a Freeway as much of an accomplishment.

40 years ago I had a 63 Valiant that got 28.5 MPG.

An 84 Honda that got 44MPG.

An 84 Nissan Pickup truck that got 30 MPG.

Austin Healey Sprite, several old VW's, Ford pinto, BMW 2002, etc etc.

Now dont misunderstand my statement. Its not a judgement passeddon those who need to drive vehicles that won't get 30. I just don't see 30 as that much of a great accomplishment.

Instead, imagine what a VX could do today, if they had dedicated the last 15 years to refining the aerodynamics, and all other systems related to improving the efficiency. You would be talking about 60 MPG average today as the yardstick others would have to measure to call their models efficient.

regards
gary

my thoughts exactly...i HATe all these car ads saying so many of our cars get 30 mpg or better, its like wait a minute u guys were doing that 30-40 years ago with cars that are as aerodymanic as a barn door cars that weighed 3 tons, rwd, haul around 8 people + all suitcases, fully carbed engines!

car companies are already making cars that get 60 + today, thier just not sold in the US....

[opelgt73]

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Mine was totalled in 1995 and repaired in 2008, with 27,472 miles on the odometer. It was like a time capsule.

You will probably never see another one like it-----ever.

You'd be surprised what is out there. I have been into Opel GT's for about 15 years and every 2-3 years a O (ZERO) mileage car will pop up. And a few times a year a car with under 25K will pop up.

It depends on how hard you look. I find the best place to get a clean low mileage car is from retired folk. And the best way to find those is put a wanted ad in a local newspaper (not just online but in the printed paper). What you find is that people in their 70's don't drive much, keep their cars garaged and eventually want to get an automatic as they age. What they typically do is trade in the car (for next to nothing) for a Cadillac or something similar. The trick is, you usually have to find them (hence the wanted ad).

Back when I was 16 my great aunt wanted to get a car with power steering, she went to the dealer and they offered her $1500 for her 8 year old 17K mi VW Golf. She offered it to me for the same price and I tried like heck to get my parents to spot me the money for it but they had already "gifted" me their 13 year old 245K mi civic. My mom now admits that was a mistake!!!!

[R.I.D.E.]

Most of the cars of the late 60s and early 70s that were put away were due to high insurance premiums, sometimes more per year than the car itself cost.

Not surprized at all by that.

Most Civic VXs were bought by people who drive a fair amount of miles per year, in some cases 20,000 plus a year.

You are right, I would be surprised, in fact very surprised, to ever see another VX with under 100 K miles on the odometer. If another is around the chances are the owner knows what they have and it will not sell cheap.

Another major factor, regardless of the odometer reading is environmental conditions. In many areas of the country the mileage is secondary to the amount of rust and the cost of repairing the rust can easily exceed the cost of mechanical repairs.

regards
gary