RE: Wrap-Up 2K10

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BLISSARD!

Wrap-Up 2K10

I refueled with 44 tanks of gas this year, which is 10% more tanks than
last year. But I also had that class in Maryland that I drove to each
day for six weeks, which more than explains the increrase. Also, thanks
to the large blissard "SNOWMAGEDDON" and the associated days off, there
were fewer days I actually drove to and from work.

I averaged one tank every 8.25 days, which is more frequently than my
average of once every 8.33 days.

Each tank took me an average of 422.2 miles on 11.413 gallons, which are
each my new high average, making for an average fuel economy of 34.02
miles per gallon. That's 0.43 miles per gallon less than last year, but
about half a mile per gallon higher than my overall average.

The mighty Corolla went past 100,000 miles this year, and I still have
never had the brake pads replaced!

Looking forward to 2K11!

Tank 261 - 11 December 2K10

I forgot to calculate my fuel economy from my last tank until JUST NOW.

No wonder I have had trouble sleeping the last couple days!

It was Saturday when, thinking my lovely wife would need to drive the
car on Monday, I refueled a little earlier than I have been. I only
went 383 miles, and put in 10.456 gallons of gas, making for an
unimpressive fuel economy of 36.63 mpg.

I did notice something that did impress me, and that is that this year I
refueled on December 3rd and December 11th. Last year I also refueled
on December 3rd and December 11th. In 2008, I only refueled on December
11th. So for the last three years, I have spent time at a gas station
each December 11th!

Given the work schedule for the rest of the year, it looks like I'll
refuel one more time in 2K10, for a total of 44 tanks for the year, a
10% increase in the number of tanks over last year.

Looks like my total gas expense for the year will be somewhere in the
neighborhood of $1,330, or about $3.64 per day!

Tank 260 - 3 December 2K10

Just now I refueled at the gas station at the BJ's in Woodbridge.
Unleaded cost, oh crap, I believe I accidentally put in premium unleaded
for $2.999 a gallon! No, wait, I just put the wrong number in the
"cost" space. It was plain old Unleaded at $2.749 a gallon. Good
thing, because the local Exxon had unleaded for $2.999 a gallon, so I
got a "good deal" on the gas.

So I put in 11.037 gallons after going 416.2 miles, making for a fuel
economy of 37.71 mog for the tank. This is about the same as my last 5
tank average of 37.64 mpg.

There's a chance that if I drive really smoothly and do a lot of
drafting behind large trucks, I'll be able to increase my mileage for
the year to match what I got last year. Well, no, I don't think that'll
happen. I'd have to have like ten tanks with 42 mpg each. No way I'll
use ten tanks in the next 4 weeks.

Oh well...

Tank 259 - 23 November 2K10

My delinquency in sending along these updates is appalling.

"Irregardless..."

Last tank provided 36.55 miles per gallon, after going 421.7 miles on
"11.537 gallons." The gas cap was on the opposite side of the pump I
drove up to, so the filler nozzle was all sideways and the hose was
stretched tight to refuel.

They say the filler nozzle needs to be "up and down" in order for the
shutoff mechanism to work properly, and this time it was more or less
sideways. This may have resulted in putting in more gas than other
pumps ordinarily would permit.

If this was the case, then my next tank ought to show outstanding
mileage, since I'd be replacing a lot of gas with a little less gas and
calculating the mileage on a smaller figure. We'll see.

Tank 257 - 3 November 2K10

The most exciting about this tank is that my fuel economy was 37.68
miles per gallon, which is exactly the same number as my average fuel
economy over the previous 5 tanks.

Tanks 254 & 255 + One for the Minivan

I refueled the mighty Corolla twice this month, but the car was taken
off to a weeklong class in Lynchburg before I could get the fuel economy
data. It worked out pretty good, as the week the mighty Corolla was
gone was a week where it was not driven by me, and got the worst mileage
since March 2009!

The last tank I drove went 447.4 miles on 11.527 gallons, making for
fuel economy of 38.81 mpg, but the very next tank, driven primarily by
an adult living in my house who is not me, went 406.8 miles on 11.934
gallons- 34.09 miles per gallon!

Meanwhile, during the switcheroo week, I drove the minivan, taking it
418.4 miles on 17.551 gallons of gas, which was a mileage number of 23.8
miles per gallon. When I got the minivan, it had gone about 50 miles on
the tank and the trip computer indicated a fuel economy to that point of
about 18 mpg. When I refueled about 375 miles later, the trip computer
indicated 23.7 mpg. Normally this number is about 20 - 20.5 mpg, but
honestly it was almost all highway miles as I drove it to work for the
week.

The driver does make a difference in fuel economy. But we all knew
that!

Bernoulli will be happy to learn that I used my bike pump to add more
air to one of the mighty Corolla's tires as it was leaving for the week.

Tank 253 - 20 September 2K10

Yesterday took about 90 minutes to get to work in the rain from what was
known as Tropical Storm Nicole. I suspect it was spelled "Nikkole" so
as to not offend as many actual people named "Nicole." However, I
didn't ever see the name printed, so I can't say for sure how it was
spelled.

Irregardless, I refueled at a Wawa in Woodbridge with 11.555 gallons
after going 426.6 miles. My mileage was a mere 36.92 miles per gallon.

Screw Bernoulli. The FREE AIR AT WAWA is easier to use than my bike
pump. Although I admit the bike pump in my garage is usually closer to
the car than the air pump at Wawa.

I will pass 99,000 miles on this tank and will likely roll past 100,000
miles before Halloween.

Tank #252 - 22 September 2K10

It's supposed to be like a thousand degrees outside today, so I sneaked
out of the office at 7:00 a.m. to refuel at the mighty Exxon of
Woodbridge. The car had gone 447.7 miles and I put in 11.345 gallons,
which made for a fuel economy of 39.46 miles per gallon, the highest so
far this year, and the first tank over 39 mpg since Labor Day weekend.

I believe this was due to several factors, someo fo which were byond my
control.

First, I checked the tire pressure and made sure they were all at 40
psi. They all were close to 40 but not quite. So harder tires = better
mileage. Second, I actively sought drafting and coasting opportunities,
and drove less than 70 mph on the highway. Third, traffic has been
surprisingly light over the past week, particularly on my way home.

There were two times (one on the way to and one on the way from fork)
that heave traffic caused me to drive slowly in stop-and-go conditions,
so I imagine that if those days had lighter traffic, my mileage would
have been even better.

This was my 34th tank this year. Last year, my 34th tank came on 2
November. But miles traveled over those 34 tanks is similar: 14,209 in
2009 and 14,394 this year. Cost is about 20% more.

Tank 251 - 14 September 2K10

Refilled yesterday afternoon at the Wawa in "Central Park" with 11.910
gallons of gas, after going 446.2 miles on this tank. This made for
fuel economy of 37.46 mpg. And at 14 days between tanks, this was the
longest I went between fillups since 13 July, although this was most
likely due to the timing of the Labor Day weekend.

I have spent $993.36 on gas so far this year. Last year I spent $979.15
over the entire year.

Last year gas averaged $2.189/gallon, and this year it's averaging
$2.630/gallon, about a 20% increase in price. But I guess since it's
still less than $3.00 people haven't really noticed or something.

Tanks 248 and 249 - August 2K10

Last week I managed a pitiful 36.66 mpg, so I made an effort to drive
closer to 65 than to 70 on my highway trips, and today I ended up
reaching 38.17 mpg, after going 447 miles on 11.711 gallons of gas.

It is a remarkable difference, driving just about 5 mph slower. I still
was with the flow of traffic, indeed I was passing a few cars throughout
the tank.

Also, it probably didn't hurt that for about 50 miles I was able to
draft behind tractor trailers.

This is the best mileage I have gotten since I took that class in
Maryland back in May.

For the year, my average fuel economy has been 36.97 miles per gallon on
422.2 miles per tank.

Tank 246 - 3 August 2K10

Yesterday I refueled at an Amoco station near Aquia Harbor, and put in
12.149 gallons of gasoline (10% ethanol, as always) after going 424.3
miles. This made for a fuel economy of 34.92 miles per gallon. Had I
not done the squeeze after the first shutoff click, I'd have been over
35 mpg. Still, it's lower than average.

However, due to a weeklong vacation, it made it 13 days between fillups.

Tank 245 - 21 July 2K10

I refueled today just before lunch at the 7-11 near where I work.
Sometimes I use the parking lot at this store as a cut-through bypass
around an exceptionally long red light on my way home. Instead of
waiting for the light in a long line of cars, I turn right, go about 30
feet, then turn left into this 7-11 and can cut through the parking lot
to exit and turn right to get back on the same road I was on, thus
bypassing all those suckers who wait.

So getting gas there, while perhaps a few pennies more per gallon, is a
fair price to pay for the convenience I sometimes wrench from its
parking lot.

Anyway, I went 415.3 miles and put in 11.309 gallons, making for fuel
economy of 36.72, which is okay, but I took this red car around town a
lot over this past weekend, with a lot of start/stop traffic.

Tank 244 - 13 July 2K10

Since the last tank, about 100 miles into this one, I replaced the spark
plugs and cleaned the air filter in the mighty Corolla. Since then, I
ended up going 456.2 miles (4th most for a tank ever!) and refueled this
morning at the Fredericksburg Wawa with 12.164 gallons of gas, making
for fuel economy of 37.50 mpg.

This is almost 9% better than my last tank's mileage, but probably the
improvement is not that dramatic, as I also was spending more time
trying to drive conservatively and coast more when I could.

So far this year, I have spent $781.39 on gasoline, and driven almost
11,000 miles. And July isn't even over yet.

I think traffic would flow more smoothly if, instead of posting signs
that said "left lane ends 1 mile merge right," the signs read "these two
lanes merge in 1 mile." Since nobody would know which lane would end,
each lane would be used until the merge point, and a "zipper merge"
could be more easily achieved.

Tank 243 - 29 June 2K10 and Going Downhill

Refueled this morning at the Fredericksburg Wawa aith 12.451 gallons of
unleaded, officially the most gasoline I have ever squose into that car.
According to the owner's manual, I only had about 0.8 gallons left in
that tank.

Still, I went only 429.2 miles on the tank, so my fuel economy was a
trifling 34.47 mpg. Probably this is because my right foot has become
heavier and I have been driving faster when there is open space on the
highways.

Average fuel economy for the year to date is 37.07 mpg and falling
unless I shape up.

Perhaps I will blame my lack of preventive maintenance. The car just
turned 94,000 miles and I ought to look into cleaning the air filter and
maybe replacing the spark plugs.

Awesome picture!

Tank 241 - 14 June 2K10

This morning I refueled at the Wawa in Fredericksburg. After 419.9
miles, Wawa squoze in 11.403 gallons of gas, making for a fuel economy
of 36.82 miles per gallon for the tank.

I think the last two results in the 36.xx range are because my trips
home are taking forever. And also when I check the traffic reports
before I go home and see my main route is a red stripe, I take the long
way home that goes waaaay around the base and spits me out near my exit.
I am moving most of the time, but there are curvy roads and hills and
more accelerating and things to suck my mileage number lower.

Still, I have realized that I would rather be moving in the car instead
of crawling along the interstate surrounded by so many others, which is
a trapped, futile feeling.

So although it takes longer and it takes more gas, I much rather drive
the route where I am going along faster than 5 or 15 miles an hour.

Tank 240- 6 June 2K10

Sorry for the absence. I went to a class and was gone for four and a
half weeks. Got great mileage- averaged 38.5 MPG during the 3300 miles
I drove during that period!

Then I refueled on Sunday with 11.739 gallons after going 426.9 miles,
making for fuel economy of 36.37 MPG. A little bit of a downer.

Tank 230 - 19 April 2K10

37.70 miles per gallon, after driving 421.2 miles and refueling with
11.172 gallons of gas at the Woodbridge BJ's Wholesale Club!

Starting next week, I will be attending a class at a location that is
not my office. It is in Maryland and about 60 miles away. So I'll be
piling the miles on the mighty Corolla and refueling about every four
days between next Tuesday and 26 May.

Tanks 228 and 229 - 1 and 12 April 2K10

Deepest apologies for neglecting my effort to update last tank, in which
I went 418.6 miles on 11.242 gallons and achieved 37.24 miles per
gallon.

Yesterday I refueled at a new gas station, the Sunoco of Triangle! I
squoze in 11.729 gallons and had gone 450.6 miles on the tank. I ended
up getting 38.42 miles per gallon, but for some reason was thinking it
would be over 40 miles per gallon. I am getting old and math in my head
is becoming difficult.

Sunoco, as you may know, is the official fuel of NASCAR. As far as I
know, this is the first time I have put Sunoco gas in my car. I wonder
if this knowledge will entice me to drive like a race car driver.

I am becoming more convinced that all BMW drivers (not just 3-series,
all of them) are asses. They speed up, weave in and out of traffic,
which is fine, but they also make horrible predictions about traffic and
frequently get hung up in a slower lane and I sneak back up on them down
the road or at the next traffic light.

I don't understand how it can be that virtually every BMW driver has
such a dumb mindset and drives like such an ass.

Meanwhile, I refueled the minivan and the computer was off in its fuel
economy guess by almost one half of a mile per gallon-- computer said
18.3, actual was 17.824.

And it continues...

Tank 227 - 23 March 2K10

The last three tanks I have refilled at the 7-11 near my office. I have
been at two different pumps, and neither has provided me with a receipt.
It's not that big of a deal, but I suspect this 7-11 is just lazy and
saves money by not replacing the receipt paper.

So I put in 12.013 gallons after going 461.8 miles, which, on paper,
makes for mileage of 38.44 mpg. Normally I find this reason to cheer,
as I paid particular attention to coasting down hills, accelerating
within reason, and overall trying hard to drive in a consistent manner
with little braking. However, on this new tank, I have gone 136 miles
and the fuel gauge is already a little down past the 3/4 full mark.
Normally when I am getting good mileage, I have gone about 150 miles
when the needle hits the 3/4 mark.

So I believe that the 7-11 pump just shut off earlier than the other
one.

But I had to try a new pump at the 7-11 because the one I had used twice
before had not issued a receipt. Thus, my fuel economy this tank may be
misrepresented because I went to a different pump.

Still, with all this variation due to different pumps, my average fuel
economy so far for 2K10 is 36.34 miles per gallon, which is 1.11 mpg
lower than 2009. But the year is still young.

Tank 226 - 15 March 2K10 - No Good News.

So I refueled yesterday in the chilly drizzle at the local 7-11 that's
right on my way home. I put in 12.252 gallons of gas @$2.759/gallon
(!), which ended up being $33.80, the most money I ever spent on a tank
of gas since October 2008 (yes, 2008!). Fuel economy was a miserable
35.15 mpg.

Plus, the pump wouldn't print out a receipt for me!

I posit that part of the reason for this pitiful performance in fuel
economy was that I had the little red (and not recalled!) Corolla and
used it all weekend to troll two kids around town as the remaining two
in my family were in North Carolina visiting family. So lots of short
trips on a cold engine. Yeah, that's what it was.

Tank 225 - 5 March 2K10

I drove 58.4 miles after the low fuel light came on this tank, for a
total of 428.5 miles. I ended up refilling at a 7-11 near my office on
my way home Friday, and that 7-11 pumped 11.837 gallons of gas into the
tank of the mighty and still unrecalled Corolla, making for a fuel
economy of 36.20 miles per gallon.

This was my seventh tank of gas for the year, and I have spent a total
of $203.24 on gasoline so far. Last year after seven tanks I had spent
just $125.48 on gasoline.

This makes me happy.

I hope gas gets even more expensive so people start complaining about it
again. When that happens, traffic in general flows more smoothly
because more people drive slower (like closer to the speed limit) and
they choose to drive their smaller cars instead of their big-assed SUVs.

I could probably make a chart to compare the time it took me to drive
home vs. the cost of gasoline. I have years worth of data. But I don't
want to do that right now. But I know I'd be proven right, so why
bother?

Tank 224 on 2/24!

Went to the Wawa in Central Park on my way home last night and the pump
stopped after 11.414 gallons. I had gone 432.2 miles, so my alleged
fuel economy was 37.87 miles per gallon, the highest since November 12
of last year.

In my experience the gas pumps are likely set differently, so this great
mileage number may be negated to a fair degree if I refuel at another
"more genrous" pump next time-- as that would make the mileage
calculations indicate a lower fuel economy because it'd push in more gas
than the Wawa one.

Since my lasr refueling, I replaced one brake light and both headlight
bulbs. The one brake light because just the one had burned out
(although the other one had also burned out a few months ago), and both
headlight bulbs because they say that headlights fade over time and I
didn't want one headlight to look a lot brighter than the other to
oncoming traffic.

But I may have messed up the light bulb alignment as I put in the two
new headlight bulbs, because from the driver's seat it looks like the
driver's side lamp is aiming a bit higher than I remember it.

Also I replaced the windshield wipers on the corolla and minivan as
well.

MY 2005 COROLLA CE AND 2008 SIENNA SE HAVE NEVER BEEN RECALLED DUE TO
BRAKE, GAS PEDAL, FLOOR MAT, OR ANY OTHER ISSUE. JUST FOR THE RECORD,
ALTHOUGH I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO HAVE BOUGHT AMERICAN-BRANDED CARS,
THESE TOYOTAS HAVE NOT CAUSED TOO MUCH PROBLEMS FOR US.

EXCEPT FOR THE DEALERSHIPS WHEN WE GO THERE FOR WARRANTY WORK. THE
DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN MUCH LESS THAN DECENT.

Tank 223 - 17 February 2K10

Fifteen days later, I added more gas to the mighty (and not recalled for
steering, brakes, or gas pedal issues) Corolla. The great snowstorms
canceled work for several days, so my days between tanks average has
increased to 11.2 days for the year.

The Corolla was called into around-town duty for three days as I took
two of the kids on a road trip to New York last weekend, so my fuel
economy was not that great - 34.77 mpg after putting in 11.198 gallons
for 389.3 miles traveled.

I am pretty close to hitting 86,000 miles with this car. It has taken
over five years. Only another 100,000 miles and I will have gone as far
as light can go in just one second!

Tank 222 - 2 February 2K10

This morning I refueled at one of the two Wawas near my house. The
mighty (and not recalled due to gas pedals or floormats) corolla had
gone 415.9 miles and I put in 11.398 gallons of gas, making for an
average fuel economy of 36.49 mpg.

Part of me wants to put more gas in this afternoon at the other Wawa
near my house just to see if anything different happens. Like in the
Groundhog Day movie. But I probably won't do that because it'll mess up
my "days between tanks" statistic.

One other thing I have been thinking about recently is the other cars
around me in traffic. I see a lot of expensive luxury and/or "sports"
cars around me on the highway and in town. Certainly these cars are
sold at a premium price because of the "extra comfort" and/or "extra
performance" attributes.

I can't say much about "extra comfort," because so far the mighty
corolla has been adequate for my needs. Perhaps as I get even older
I'll feel that my seats need heat and air conditioning, or that I'll
need a voice-activated phone or navigation system (doubtful). So
premium pricing for additional comforts perhaps can be argued as
worthwhile.

But paying extra for a car that can speed up faster or go around corners
faster is looking more and more like a waste of good money. Why?
Because most of the time when you are driving around, you are not on an
empty road and you can't drive with a lead foot or zip around turns with
careless abandon. Most of the time, your acceleration and top speed is
determined by the cars in front of you and around you.

What good is it to have a car that can get to 60 miles per hour faster
than most other cars, if most of the time you are stuck behind those
very same cars that can't speed up as fast? I think that would be
really annoying. Even in my car I could speed up fast enough to hit the
cars in front of me at a stoplight, and the mighty corolla isn't truly
known for its acceleration prowess.

Seeing those Mustangs and Camaros and Acuras on the highway, locked
between all sorts of average cars with people who don't really care to
accelerate with impunity, it's just sad. These "performance cars" are
corralled and hampered by all these inadequate impedances all around
them, preventing them from achieving the dream of amazing, blazing speed
that is promised in the TV advertisements.

It would make me weep if it didn't make me laugh so much.

Tank 221 - 22 January 2K10

The fuel gauge dipped well below the bottom line and blocked the top
corner of the "E" before I refueled with 11.871 gallons of gas at the
fantastic Exxon of Woodbridge. I went 435.9 miles on the tank, 63.8
miles beyond the time that the low fuel light came on. So my fuel
economy for the tank was 36.72 miles per gallon.

My recent string of mileages in the 36-range has been discouraging, but
if the weather warms up a little it'll probably improve. And also, my
overall average fuel economy is 36.92 mpg (and was 37.45 last year), so
obviously some tanks must be lower than average. I hope that soon I
will go through a stretch of several higher than average tanks to help
improve the numbers.

It's probably time to check the inflation of my tires again. I have
noticed that road noise becomes much more noticeable when my tires are
"underinflated" at the recommended tire pressure. But when I pump them
up to 40 psi, the noise is not nearly as pronounced.

Sadly, I saw an headline over the weekend that said that gas prices went
down again. I hope this trend can correct itself and go in the upwards
direction again right soon!

Speedy trips home so far in 2K10

I'm going to refuel today, as I am over 420 miles on this tank, but
since that won't happen until I go home, I noticed something notable as
I looked over my trip time records.

In 2009, my average trip home was 58.6 minutes. So far in 2K10, with
only 12 data points, which is a small, small sample set, I have gotten
home in an average of 47.8 minutes, nearly eleven minutes faster.

Interestingly, my first 12 trips home in 2009 averaged 58 minutes, right
about the average for the entire year.

What does this mean? It means I have too much time on my hands!

Tank 220 - 13 January 2010

This morning I had the fine opportunity to refuel my car in 24 glorious
degrees of breezy darkness. At the Wawa on Route 3 East, I attended the
pumping of 10.892 gallons of 10% ethanol gasoline after going 402.3
miles. This made for a fuel economy of 36.94 miles per gallon, which is
not the greatest, but since it's been so cold I suppose it's okay.

Looks like the trend in gas prices is increasing again. This may bode
well for me, as last time gas spiked over $3.00 and higher, there were a
lot fewer SUVs and large pickup trucks and more small cars, which let me
see things ahead with more clarity and I believe traffic ran more
smoothly with more uniformity among the vehicle sizes on the road.

I don't mind it when gas prices increase. Like Calvin's dad said, I
hope it goes up to five bucks a gallon.

Even though gas expenses are a small percentage of peoples' incomes,
people freak out and drastically change their driving habits when it
goes higher. I hope news stations report on "increased pain at the
pump" and this time the prices stay high.

Who really needs to be driving the large F-350 trucks alone, to and from
an office job? Who needs to drive the bug Hummer or Expedition or
Suburban alone, to go work in a cube farm? Really, I don't see the
point of it. And when gas gets more expensive, these small-weinered
egomaniacs realize that they are barely able to afford their fake
ostentatious lifestyle so they start driving the spare econobox, and
that makes my life easier.

Here's to a great 2010. May gas prices rise and never fall again!

2010 Off to Crappy Start With Worst Mileage in 8 Months

381.8 miles, 11.059 gallons. 34.52 miles per gallon. The last time my
mileage was this bad, it was last April.

On the plus side, it had been 12 days since the last refill, so my "days
between tanks" stat is a new record!

Last January, gasoline was $1.619 per gallon. Yesterday, it was $2.499.

I am hoping to get an appointment somewhere to get my serpentine belt
replaced, as well as the brakes looked at and possibly replaced. After
84,000 miles, neither has been checked, so it's likely way past due.
And since it's so cold outside, I may actually pay for an oil change!

new post coming soon...