5speed4

Believe it or not, I do that. Everyday, I have a huge hill to climb (1.5 miles up, 6-7% grade) on my way to work. Climbing that hill is where I have my fun.
(...and coasting back down after work is where I get my best gas mileage ). The 2.4L takes that hill almost like it's not there (compared to other cars I've owned...e.g. the Vibe I mentioned above, a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am 4-cyl, and a 5-cyl 3.5L Chevy Colorado). I'm extremely pleased with this engine and with the HHR in general. I tend to buy and sell a lot of cars, but it's my intention to own this car for a long time.

5speed4

Third tank: 513.5 miles and 12.973 gallons for 39.58 mpg.
The weather here has been cold and snowy. One of my commutes was stop-n-go traffic jam due to the weather and it killed my mileage. I filled early because one of the local gas stations was having a customer appreciation day and he priced his gas $0.20/gal cheaper for the day.

5speed4

I just noticed this question that I never answered.

No, you pulse back up to 63 and glide back to 50...repeat as traffic allows.
It's not for everyone and I wouldn't do it either if my traffic situation was not
favorable.

Yeah, that's a problem. The only thing I can suggest is if you have the patience, get behind a Prius (or other slow driving car) and pretend like you're just as annoyed as everyone else.

I realize my situation is definitely unique. I mainly posted so others can see what the potential is for these cars in ideal conditions...a 40-mpg SUV.

5speed4

Latest tank: 606.2 miles, 14.645 gallons for 41.39 mpg. To see a graph of my gas mileage go here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-l...vehicleid=5460

843de

So do you think a mileage graph of the fuel use in my big block '67 Chevy would make the people over at Ecomodder faint?

Average mpg is 9, yup just 9. I start it and an Arab prince gets a new Ferrari.

5speed4

Ouch! It's actually surprising the number of people over at ecomodder that are trying to make their trucks/SUVs more efficient (with excellent success in some cases), so they welcome everyone. There are a few of the smug enviro-wacko types, but mostly it's just a bunch of guys trying to save money.
It's more about economy than ecology over there.

843de

I don't know of anything that could be done to an L-36 Mark IV big block to increase its fuel efficiency short of a complete redesign of the intake, heads, carburetor, ignition, and exhaust.

Not that I'd even think of doing anything like that, Chevy built the car with one thing in mind, smooth seemingly endless horsepower and torque, if you drain the 25 gallon gas tank in 180-190 miles...so what.

It just shows the change in thinking over the last 45 years, in '67 efficiency meant gobs of power, in 2012 it means getting the most out of every last drop of gasoline.

db/sb

But, that being said, a ZR1 with it's 638 advertised HP can go about 250 miles city and just a shade under 400 miles highway....

843de

Can you imagine how mind blowing a ZR1 would have been 40-50 years ago, faster than fast, but able to stop and turn too.

My '67 goes like the wind, but you'd better be slowed right down before the road turns, and Heaven help you if you overdrive the brakes.

db/sb

It's amazing to have a 638 hp, or in the case of my GTO a 400 hp vehicle that you can just jump in an drive anywhere under any conditions. Couldn't do that so easily if you had that kind of HP 'back in the day'.