<VV> Daily Driver Mileage

[HallGrenn at aol.com]

If the car needed is a daily driver that is dependable and gets good  
mileage then almost any car with fuel injection built in the last twenty years  
gets better mileage than a Corvair that was engineered to keep up with its  
competitors in the cheap fuel sixties.  As Frank Burkhardt said, my 3.8  full 
size GM cars, when driven steadily on the highway, get in the high 20s to  
low 30s on the highway on 87 octane fuel.  Plus they are dependable,  
comfortable and cheap to buy and maintain.  Peter Egan of Road and Track  did a 
whole column a few years back on his 3.8L Buick Park Avenue getting over  30 
mpg on the highway with the cruise set on 70+ mph.  And I'm sure other  car 
brands have similar benefits.
 
But they aren't Corvairs.  So, as Ray pointed out (and I experienced  in 
the 70s, 80s and early 90s), if you have the time, skills and tools to keep a  
Corvair on the road then the fun factor, low cost, great handling and 
braking,  and potential for breaking even or making a little money on resale 
(depending on  condition and the market for a 40+ year old car) make driving a 
Corvair  viable.  I hope to drive one again on a daily basis someday.  But  I 
won't worry about the mileage and I'll be burning 89 octane in a 95 HP 
engine  and 91+ in the 110 and 140 engines.
 
Bob Hall
Group Corvair
Corvanatics
CORSA