Tank 174 - 17 November 2007 (Better Late than Never)

Tank 174 was notable because I paid $1.699 per gallon for it. The last
time it was that low was February 25, 2005. Yes, 2005! I went 420.3
miles on 10.600 gallons of gas, revealing a fuel economy of 39.65 miles
per gallon. Normally I freak out in excitement at a number this high,
but my excitement today is tempered by the fact that it was at yet
another different gas station, and I strongly suspect that different gas
stations have different automatic stopping points for their pumps.

I expect to see a lower fuel economy number with this tank, which ought
to even out this nice high number.

Feelings about the mighty Corolla

The more I sit and think about things, the more I am convincing myself
that I must make sure my family buys "American cars" from here on out.
Shortly after we bought the Corolla, I learned of Toyota's desire to
lobby AGAINST raising fuel economy standards so as to keep it's "halo
effect" of being a car company that has good mileage. That ticked me
off. That, and all these "American car companies" are not doing well.
I think we need to support them with our dollars.

People argue that Toyota and other Japanese and foreign car companies
have American headquarters and employ Americans, but hey, so do the
American car companies. And the foreign car companies probably have
foreign headquarters as well.

Some days I feel so embarrassed driving my Corolla that I just want to
stop by Carmax and trade it for a Chevy Cobalt or something. But the
way they mark up cars and such, I'd get one with more miles on it. But
if I was real about my feelings, that would not stop me.

I saw a used Cadillac on the side of the road, looking about as nice as
our father's, for $3,000. I'm pretty sure the Corolla is worth more
than that...

We might trade the Corolla for an American commuter car, and maybe just
buy a third car for Courtney to drive around town in the daytimes while
the kids are at school, and keep the minivan for weekends or times we
all go out as a family. That minivan gets about 17 miles per gallon if
we're lucky around town. And the dumb trip computer reports inflated
figures like 18.5 to make us feel better, but it LIES!!

We shall see. But currently it appears "team McKane" is on board with
the plan. I must work on Courtney to limit her feelings to American
cars. I think I'm going to be one of those NASCAR loving USA guys from
here on out...

Tank 173 - Cheapest Gas since February 2007!

So I refueled this morning and got 37.57 miles per gallon, which is okay
and all, but I paid $1.989 per gallon at the Wawa near Friendly's on
route 3. Then I looked back to see when was the last time I paid less
than two dollars a gallon, and it was last February 5, 2007, when I paid
$1.939 per gallon. It has been over two dollars for over 20 months.

And apparently there is a BP gas station near my house that offers an
additional discount per gallon when you spend over a certain amount on
groceries at our local Ukrop's grocery store. I heard that gas station
is less than two dollars a gallon as well, but I don't have one of those
credit-card-sized Ukrop's bonus cards to swipe. But my wife does, and
she will or I will go over there at some point to fill up the green
minivan.

This was my 33rd tank of gas this year. Last year, my 33rd tank was
refueled in September, so I am refilling less often this year. That's
nice.