Anyone downsizing?

[ChromiumSteel]

I'm curious whether anyone is parking their gas hogs and going to smaller more fuel efficient transportation? Especially for the commute.

 

[JTK]

Heck yeah. Gas price is the only reason I dumped my 2005 Trailblazer for the Cobalt last June. ~17mpg vs. ~30.

Joel

 

[55Test]

Well, I was thinking about buying one of these eBay moped bike kits. Wonder how well they work?

 

[Steve S]

When my 92 Toy 4x4 6cyl p/u got totaled I replaced it with a 06 Toy 4x4 4 cyl?

 

[SrDriver]

Wife and I both bought smaller vehicles about a year ago.

Have read several articles on the internet that we will be paying around $3.40 or so nation wide average this spring and around $4.00 a gallon or so later in the year?

Not much we can do about it other than consolidate trips when possible.

Spend more time changing oil and less time driving.

Tire pressure, etc!

 

[SD26]

Considering that my 83 Sentra would give me upper thirties to lower forties in MPG, and our new more efficient cars don't, I'm trying to figure out how using more fuel is better for the environment and my pocket book.

I thank the EPA.

 

[dhise]

Been driving my old subaru for a couple of years now and my f-150 sits in the driveway most of the time. It's a shame, I bought the truck brand new in 99 and it only has 45k miles on it now. Still runs and drives like new...

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

In a way, yes. My old Saturn achieves 36-39MPG in the winter. I would love to get something newer/bigger/more comfortable but given my commute is 75miles per day, buying a car that only gets 25MPG costs another $3.10/day. Multiply that by 20 days per month and I'm out $60 per month in gas just to drive something better. At this point in life, it's not worth it.

I haven't downscaled, I just haven't upscaled.

 

[Crashbox]

I downsized almost four years ago when I retired the ol' faithful 1975 Dodge Dart slant six which got about 21 MPG and started driving my 40 MPG 1995 Civic, mainly because the Dart's differential was howling louder than a dozen fire engines in sync! Otherwise it is possible I'd still be driving it.

The '77 Chevrolet 454 pickup, though, now only gets about one tankful per year; six to seven MPG around town (10 highway) is just too painful on the wallet these days...

 

[byez]

If i downsize, someone else will still be driving my old car around emitting the same amount of pollution as I am currently. So no, I don't see any need in downsizing. Perhaps my next car i will look for a more fuel efficient vehicle.

 

[biomed_eng_2000]

Yep, I just sold my Land Cruiser 16mpg

I was using it for my 60 mile per day commute, now I drive my 1989 Acura Legend for the commute.

 

[jason929rr]

Yeah i kinda downsized, i have a 06 mustang gt that only sees time on weekends and i have a 4 banger for during the week. my commute for work is 84 miles a day. I would sooooo love to trade in my four banger and get me a pickup but that would be foolish i guess.

 

[CivicFan]

I actually am going to go the other way. We have two fuel efficient cars now one of which doesn't get much use. The plan is to move that one up to a 700 series Bimmer, an E series Mercedes or an Audi A6.

 

[Kestas]

I drive 5K each year on my winter car, a 91 Grand Marquis that gets 17-22 mpg. It's condition - both mechanical and visual - rivals many newer cars. The market value of this car is very limited, regardless of how perfect it may be. I'm not going to throw away a good and elegant piece of iron (and comfort) and shell out big money just to save a few hundred dollars in gasoline.

Assuming 5K driven per year, $3.20 per gal, 20 mpg with the 91GrMarq, and 32 mpg with any new car, I stand to save $300 per year. Big whoop. Not worth it in my case.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

I got rid of my 06 Frontier. It was senseless to be driving a crew-cab pickup to and from work. Gas was eating me alive. I get much better mileage out of my 4-cylinder Mazda if I stay out of boost.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

You bet I did!

I parked my 10mpg V10 and am driving a 40mpg CRX.

I'll probably even drive it most of the time after I uncover the Z28 for the summer.

Smart money, any way you figure it.

 

[02Pilot]

When my 99 Saab 9-5 2.3lpt ate its transmission, I seriously considered going smaller. Looked at a MINI, Mazda 3, and a Golf, but I ended up with a BMW 525i. The interesting thing is that the mileage is not too different between all of these. The Saab (w/ automatic) got me about 21-22 in mixed driving and 33 in pure highway; the BMW (w/ 5-speed manual) gets me 24-25 mixed and 30-31 highway. The three smaller cars were all rated within a few MPG of the two larger cars.

 

[Tosh]

What is there to downsize into? Even with a Honda Fit, it comes with a 1.5 liter, a 'big' engine that isn't available anywhere else. The rest of the world gets 1.2 and 1.4 gas sippers. Yaris is the same, Versa similar. And there's no diesels either anymore. Am I supposed to go looking for an old CRX HF or Sentra (or Golf diesel or Smart)? I don't see a $25k Prius as an 'economy car.'

 

[bob_ninja]

Another "downsizing" effect is on driver habits. My neighbour has a Jeep SUV that is predictably inefficient. So she drives it to the nearest bus station, then uses bus for the rest. Any time she goes with my wife shopping they take our smaller cars. So they still have SUV and a pickup, but she drives it less than if she had a more efficient car.

I am guessing that in general bigger vehicle drivers (VANs and SUVs) are more selective in their trips. After all, there is a big difference between a fillup costing $100 for a SUV/pickup and $30 for a Honda Civic (smaller tank).

 

[Gilitar]

I haven't downsized, but the Neon will now be a long term commuter car for me. 25-28 mpg isn't the best, but it isn't horrible either. Mitsubishi is coming out with the a Lancer diesel in the next couple of years. If it gets 50mpg and cost less than 21k I'll give it a look.