I am what one might call a car fanatic. I love cars of all shapes and sizes, from hybrids to Hemis. Truly. I think that sets me apart in the car world — that I am just as comfortable talking about fuel efficiency as I am discussing horsepower.
There are so many cars out there, that the only way to see most of them is to go on a road trip. So that’s what my girlfriend and I are doing this summer. We’re driving across the country, checking out all sorts of cars, auto shows, museums, and new companies along the way. And I’d like to invite you to follow us on our adventures.
Part road trip, part opportunity to separate ourselves from our vast collection of “stuff”, Nicole and I will be living out of a tiny, four-cylinder, 1989 Mustang for the summer. Or until our money runs out. As we’ve quickly discovered, living on $100 a day ain’t easy on the road, and we’ve already run into a slew of problems.
We actually left almost two weeks ago, on June 1st, and made it as far as the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia before the transmission gave out. One week and $1,900 later, we are back on the road, making our way through Tennessee, Kentucky, and heading westwards. There are a lot of places we want to stop, and we simply can’t see everything.
But we are going to try.
Along the way I’ll still be writing for Gas 2.0 about anything relevant we come across (in addition to news). You can also follow us along on our blog, www.threemonthsinamustang.com. And we’re open to any suggestions of places to stop and see along the way, so if you know of something cool happening, let us know when and where and we’ll try to make it.
So follow along as we see this great nation, and get an idea of what the future might hold in store for performance and fuel efficiency alike.
Oh, and for those wondering, so far we have averaged about 28-32 mpg in a fully loaded, twenty year-old car. Not too shabby!
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About Christopher DeMorro
Good luck, Chris! Watch your ass on the Penn Turnpike!
Good luck, Chris! Watch your ass on the Penn Turnpike!
you should try to meet up with smaller clubs that look to homemade solutions. ‘mpg tuners’ or electric car conversion enthusiasts or HHO enthusiasts. Just a thought, but you might be able get a few more mpg out of that old ‘stang
you should try to meet up with smaller clubs that look to homemade solutions. ‘mpg tuners’ or electric car conversion enthusiasts or HHO enthusiasts. Just a thought, but you might be able get a few more mpg out of that old ‘stang
“I am what one might call a car fanatic. I love cars of all shapes and sizes, from hybrids to Hemis. Truly. I think that sets me apart in the car world — that I am just as comfortable talking about fuel efficiency as I am discussing horsepower.”
That’s funny, Chris, I thought I was the only guy like that. At one time I owned both a big-honkin’-V8 ’96 Impala SS and a 3-cyl, 5-spd Geo Metro and I loved them both. When I drove the Impala SS, I was just as proud of the 28 mpg I averaged on an 1100-mile road trip as I was of its 14.5 sec. 1/4-mile timeslip. When I drove the Metro, it was always a contest…how much can I granny it to max out my fuel economy for that tank (55 mpg was my best). I also owned an ’02 Jetta TDi and had a good mix of both performance and ultra fuel economy (54 mpg was my best on that).
When I’m out on the road, I admire the Gen-1 Honda Insights as much as I do a Corvette. I know there must be others like us, but we’re definitely in the minority.
“I am what one might call a car fanatic. I love cars of all shapes and sizes, from hybrids to Hemis. Truly. I think that sets me apart in the car world — that I am just as comfortable talking about fuel efficiency as I am discussing horsepower.”
That’s funny, Chris, I thought I was the only guy like that. At one time I owned both a big-honkin’-V8 ’96 Impala SS and a 3-cyl, 5-spd Geo Metro and I loved them both. When I drove the Impala SS, I was just as proud of the 28 mpg I averaged on an 1100-mile road trip as I was of its 14.5 sec. 1/4-mile timeslip. When I drove the Metro, it was always a contest…how much can I granny it to max out my fuel economy for that tank (55 mpg was my best). I also owned an ’02 Jetta TDi and had a good mix of both performance and ultra fuel economy (54 mpg was my best on that).
When I’m out on the road, I admire the Gen-1 Honda Insights as much as I do a Corvette. I know there must be others like us, but we’re definitely in the minority.
Haha…my 1989 Mustang’s transmission gave out in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, of course, this was back in 1995. Have fun and good luck in that car.
Haha…my 1989 Mustang’s transmission gave out in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, of course, this was back in 1995. Have fun and good luck in that car.
You lost me after “four-cylinder”. The Boss 5.0 V-8, with 225 cast-iron horsepower, was available in that car; the V-8 also could be had with a 5-speed manual gearbox with a specially-built gearset.
Travel safely!
You lost me after “four-cylinder”. The Boss 5.0 V-8, with 225 cast-iron horsepower, was available in that car; the V-8 also could be had with a 5-speed manual gearbox with a specially-built gearset.
Travel safely!
$1900 for a transmission on a 1989 4-cly Mustang? Doesn’t that exceed the value of the car a bit? Private Party Blue Book in my area runs ~$1000 – $1400 for such a car. Sadly, there comes a time in every car’s life when the best thing to do is to park it with keys & title inside, and call a taxi.
$1900 for a transmission on a 1989 4-cly Mustang? Doesn’t that exceed the value of the car a bit? Private Party Blue Book in my area runs ~$1000 – $1400 for such a car. Sadly, there comes a time in every car’s life when the best thing to do is to park it with keys & title inside, and call a taxi.