Tank 201 - 22 July 2009

39.91 miles per gallon after going 448.2 miles on 11.230 gallons.

I refueled on July 22, 2009. On July 22, 2008 I also refueled, but that
was my 22nd tank of the year, and yesterday was my 23rd tank of this
year. I have gone about 400 more miles so far this year than last year,
although I have spent about $270 less on the gasoline I have used.

It's been a pretty good stretch of mileages recently, with my last 5
tanks averaging 39.43 miles per gallon. Gas only has cost about 6 cents
per mile, or about 18 miles per dollar of gas. So my 33 mile commute
costs under two dollars each way. I remember days in the past when I
had to work for half an hour just to earn enough money to pay for the
gas I used to get to and from the job. It's nice those days are in the
past.

How to stop cell-phone use behind the wheel. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine

http://www.slate.com/id/2223277?nav=wp

American drivers should learn to love the roundabout. - By Tom Vanderbilt - Slate Magazine

http://www.slate.com/id/2223035/

Tank 200 - 13 July 2009

Thanks to the 4th of July Holiday, I made it two full weeks between
fill-ups this time. Plus, I managed to eke out 452.7 miles before
refueling, which is the third longest distance I have gone on a tank of
gas.

I filled up at the legendary Woodbridge Exxon with 11.516 potent gallons
of gas, making for 39.31 miles per gallon on this tank.

All of this greatness could be too much for me to handle.

Recently, I have been noticing, or wanting to notice, that certain
brands of vehicles tend to be aggressive asses on the highway. In
particular, I notice, or want to notice, that all (not "most," but each
and every one I see) BMWs tend to be aggressive asses who drive fast,
erratic, and unpredictable.

So I think I will shortly start tracking another statistic on my way
home: the AAI, or "aggressive ass index," if you will. Currently I am
contemplating how to categorize aggressive ass behavior, and how
detailed I want to get with the breakdown.

I am aware that sometimes I behave like an aggressive ass as well, so
I'll do my best to document the times I behave in such ways that offend
my fellow commuters.

My goal here is to see if in fact more BMW drivers are aggressive asses
than other brands of car drivers.

Tank 199 - 29 June 2009

This morning I refueled at the powerful Woodbridge Exxon near my office.
The strong pump squoze 11.468 quality gallons of Exxon gasoline into the
capacious tank of the Mighty Corolla, after I manfully drove it 439
miles.

This made for an impressive fuel economy for the tank of 38.28 miles per
gallon. I am pleased with this result because last Friday's commute
home was 97 minutes of slow, stop and go, mileage-sapping traffic.

Over the weekend, we had the grand opportunity to refuel the Cash Cab as
well. That tank received 17.324 gallons of Sheetz Quality gasoline in
Fredericksburg, and went 368.6 mostly around town miles, making for a
calculated fuel economy of 21.28 mpg. The trip calculator claimed 21.5
miles per gallon, which remains pretty close to actuality. Certainly
better than the Green Minivan that it replaced's estimates.

Additionally, the green minivan, granted with minimal data, provided
typical around town mileage of 15 to 17 mpg, and highway mileage that
pushed 23 or 24 mpg. The Cash Cab appears to be better both in town and
on the highway.

I learned over the weekend that the 2008 Sienna LE, with its
266-horsepower engine with variable valve timing-intelligent! Can whip
from zero to sixty miles per hour in 7.1 seconds, a full second faster
than the next fastest minivan, and as fast or faster than many cars on
the road today.

Not that I have ever timed it or tested this myself...

Tank 198 - 17 June 2009- Low Fuel Light Indicator Was Pretty Accurate!

Luckily, I needed gasoline yesterday right after I made up my cool new
chart that showed fuel economy vs. distance travelled when the low fuel
light came on.

For this tank, the low fuel light came on at 413.6 miles. According to
my collected data, this would indicate my fuel economy would be between
37.95 and 39.77 miles per gallon, with an average that should be 38.81
mpg.

So after going 440.2 miles, I put in 11.331 gallons of gas, and my fuel
economy for this tank worked out to be.... 38.85 mpg! That's really
close to the average fuel economy I have achieved when the low fuel
light comes on between 410 and 414 miles!!

Also, it looks like my last amazing mileage tank was not a fluke, but a
happy instance where the whole tank happened to be driven in an
unusually sane manner.

I have spent $426.49 on gas so far this year on 20 tanks of gas. Last
year at this time I had spent $650.77 on just 19 tanks of gas.

Overall, the mighty Corolla has gone more than 75,000 miles.