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...