The light bulbs goes on
Had one of those moments, you know? I’ve been monitoring the van for the last couple weeks, driving it carefully, watching the mileage.
Each time I checked, I was getting about 32 to the gallon.
THis is unheard of. Now, the Ford 3.0 Vulcan (damned good engine) is economical, it’s not THAT exconomical, so I’m freaking just a bit. How can this thing be getting 30 mpg? but I think, Shit, it’s broke, if it’s getting that kind of mileage- but I’m DAMNED if I’m gonna fix it and make the mileage worse. So I’ve kind of just been keeping it under my hat.
Until I said something to Partner and his brother on Christmas day. We’re talking and I look at Partner’s brother and say… “The odometer measures kilometers. The van gets 30-33 kilometers per gallon.” he looked at me and started laughing, and is laughing still. Here I was freaking out about the mileage, and it’s actually almost perfect; it’s getting approx 19-22 mpg.
Good lord.
Well, I guess I was overdue for a senior moment.
15 comments Og | Uncategorized
The 120 you were seeing on the freeway didn’t register, huh?
Gotta love those senior moments.
swmbo
Who looks at the speedometer?
totally reasonable, and 19-20 is still awesome mileage on a van, no? i thought they had to top out at 12-15.
didn’t you say it was a ford though? why would they be outfitting those with european metrics? that suprised me too, a ford on kilometers? since you speak the language of machines, can you explain to a layperson why would they do that in an american made van?
Canadian. Bought it from my brotherinlaw. Canadian market vehicles are all metric.
I drove a (rented) Chevy Malibu last year that allowed me to flip from miles to klicks…but I assume the van’s gauges are all analog, so that wouldn’t help much :)
Wierd, Nate- it’s a digital electronic gauge, but cannot be switched.
Og, I believe the dealer can reset it. We had a Pontiac mini van bought used that was originally titled in Canada and they had to change everything over to miles once it was sent here for sale. Newer cars only let the owner change speedo and others, not the odometer.
Actually, I cannot tell you how little I care. As long as it continues to move forward more or less undere itr’s own power, I’m tickled just to have a running vehicle.
That’s funny… while reading, I was thinking of other solutions, such as smaller than stock wheel/tire combo, etc that would be giving false odo readings. Laughed out loud, and made the little one look at me like “What’s funny Daddy” when I got to the kilo part.
Ha! You’d have been right if you’d been measuring the van’s efficiency in Canada.
My ’83 Gold Wing Aspencade had the digital instrument pod, (one of the first on bikes).
Was a laugh! to spoof my date, switching the MpH to KpH, and then having her look over my shoulder to see number such as “132” or the like on the LCD display.
Yep, you guessed it. They’d freak out, screaming and ineffectually beating my shoulders with they tiny fists.
Then I’d have ’em watch while I pressed the magic button, bringing us instantly back to an oh-so-serene 65 MpH or so.
A good “date evaluation tool” that. The one’s who’d laugh at their own silliness? Possibles.
The angry, pouty ones?
Let me take ya back to yer car, sweetums.
Makes me grateful for the lithle, lovely and stouthearted Irish lass I now have sharing my life.
Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Jim- I love that.
Hell, my 1985 Buick Regal had a digital dash that’d let you switch back and forth.
And when you went over 85 MPH? It flashed at you. It was kinda cool, in a Bugs Bunny “Is this trip really necessary” kinda way…
BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Bad engineer, bad! BWAHAHAHAHAHA.