That was the most absurd generalization I have heard about the program. First of all I thought the program was dumb to begin with, but if Obama wants to continue to throw our tax money down the toilet I don't blame anyone for taking a handout.

What I find so ironic however about the people taking advantage of the program, is how they somehow got labeled as poor trailer trash who would default on payments. Actually it's the other way around. The people taking advantage of the program are most likely very fiscally conservative. These are people who have held on to the same car for many, many years, thus negating the effects of a new car payment. These same people only decided to purchase a new vehicle when the goverment was willing to throw $4,500 into the deal, meaning they are smart about the way they spend their money. These are not reckless spenders who buy new cars every couple of years, but frugal, smart, responsible people who took advantage of a good thing.

They did not replace their old gas guzzlers with new luxury cars either, but rather smaller economical cars like the Fit. I have the utmost respect for people who used the clunker program to their advantage. I am a fiscal conservative and I have a deep respect for others who are the same. They are the smart ones, not their idiot critics. The idiot critics are the ones who bought more house, more car, and more stuff than they could afford and got us in the financial mess we're in today.

Cash for clunkers buyers I salute you on a job well done!

 

hey not to thread jack, but how badly does not getting an alignment effect mpg's?

 

Bad enough, but from a financial perspective not as bad as it effects your upcoming need for a new set of front tires.

Why would it need an alignment so soon? Did you smoke a curb?

 

Precisely. theres money in this recession, but the smart folks arent spending it, they're staying frugal, and watching every penny - but staying ready to pounce on a deal that cant be passed up. We have enough cash in the bank to have paid in full if we wanted. Instead of buying something extravagent, I'm commuting to work in the least expensive car honda makes. Some folks who just wanted to bash clunkers, came up with every excuse in the book, but they just dont get it.

 

+1 to the original poster. I picked up the car 2 months ago and thought I was driving it like I stole it and so far 2.2k on the clock and hand calculated, I have not gotten below 36mpg

 

I'm new to the forum as we just bought an '07 Fit Sport 5spdm with 56K on it. We bought the car 175mi away from home and got back into town with a little more than half a tank left. The rest of the tank was around town with a final 30mpg, satisfactory.
So we fill it up and run a full tank down just in-city miles. Boy was I shocked to see 202.7 on the trip meter and 8.65 gallon added, for a deplorable 23.4!!
My wife drives the car the most, but we are both fairly "spirited" drivers especially with a new toy in our hands. We typically shift in the 4k range for first and second, but doesn't everybody?
Anyway the car is awesome, but I was expecting to spank-it and still get high 20's.
So what is a couple of heavy foots to do?

 

23.4 is really low. Something's wrong. Try another tank and calculate again. The consensus is that even while driving this car like you stole it, it should rarely return high 20s / low 30s.

 

I bought my FIT through CARS Program. I trade-in my 99 GMC Jimmy 4x4 which I usually get 15-16 MPG. My commute distance is 70 miles roundtrip. So I had to fill-up my tank every 2-3 days. It costed me $11.67 a day. Right now I drive FIT to work. I fill-up my tank weekly instead of every 2-3 days. My FIT gets 35 MPG. So it cost me $5 a day. Assume the unlead gas is $2.5 / gallon. I save $6.67 a day or $146.74 a month (22 work days) or $1760.88 a year (at minimum). I still drive the same distance as I used to. I almost forget about gas stations which I used to stop every 2-3 days.

Addiotnal, my 99 GMC Jimmy was over 100,000 miles. It needed new tires, tune-up and transimmsion repair. Local dealer estimated the repair cost was $3,350. So CARS Program is a very good deal for me. The money I save will pay for my FIT. $4,500 from CARS and $3,350 from repair. I would think another $500 for tires. The saving is almost half of my FIT already. Beside I got a more reliable car to drive to work.

 

I think 23.4 MPG is a little bit low. I would think you should get at least 28-30MPG if you drive it very hard. I got 35MPG city/highway (actual). I am a little bit conservative and my RPM never goes beyond 4000RPM.

 

That's awesome! Another CARS success story!

I'd like to see the CARS program offered up every few years. With a bit of a change, things like "all cars over XX years old" being eligible, with a mandatory 10 mpg increase for the new car (no matter what was traded in) and perhaps a slightly lower incentive, maybe $3,500.

Even after your car is paid for, you'll still keep on saving! Stuff that savings money into an interest-bearing account, and rejoice as your savings multiply!!!

 

Do a fuel consumption test.

Find a gas station near a freeway.
Fill up at a specific pump to the first click.
Write down your odometer mileage.
Get on freeway, drive 50 miles at an even speed.
Turn around. Come back.
Go to exactly the same pump.
Fill up to the first click.
Write down your odometer mileage.
Subtract the first number from the second number (miles driven will be about 100 miles).
Divide by the gallons used as shown on your fill-up.
Post your results.

You'll be surprised.

 

Finally was able to turn off the A/C for this last tank. Air temp finally went below 100.
40.2 mpg, all in town, no soft pedaling. (Pump mpg, not the guage.)

 

how old is the oil? Is it the correct amount (3.8L I believe)? how is the air filter? tires balanced and filled?
if if all of these have negative answers, it may count up to 6mpg

 

labman...Yeah, 23 sounds way too low. I shift at 4,000 on my 09, full synthetic oil, and tires at 35 psi. Never get below 35 even with the a/c running. Something is amiss.

 

just got my fit saturday and just went on my first daily route with it today
it started at 20.6 mpg and by the time I got home it was at 23.7 mpg is this normal for a new fit, do I just have to break it in?

 

Are you talking about the AVE MPG indicator? It's off. In all of our cars. And thus far Honda has no intention of fixing it.

How many miles are you driving? Under what conditions? Again, look at the instructions for the Fuel Consumption Test. Post your results.

You'll then have something to compare with. You'll see your car gets excellent mpg on the highway at a steady speed (between 55-65). Over 40 mpg.

And you can sob as it drops dramatically as you idle, deal with stop and go traffic, etc.

MPG is a combination of factors. You can learn to maximize your fuel, no matter where you live. There's always room for driver improvement. The CAR isn't going to "improve" as much as the driver NEEDS to learn how to use the car.

The car only does what you tell it to do. If you stomp on the gas, the car will go. And it will use the amount of fuel necessary to do what you are asking it to do. Whether it's going on flat roads or on hills, the car can ONLY do what you tell it to do. YOU are in control of your mpg in the sense that you control the car, even though you don't control the landscape.

You might be able to vary your route to one with fewer stops, or fewer hills. Changing routes might mean driving a bit farther overall, but using a roadway that has synchronized traffic signals so you don't have to stop. Driving around hills rather than over.

 

Finally Below 100? We had Frost last night and were in the 30's. 42 when I left for work at 8:30am.

I'm noticing an average MPG difference though of about 2mpg since it's been in the 40's and 50's vs the 70's and 80's

~SB

 

You really should get out more - lmao.

 

Here's a thread for you to read up on:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/eco-...as-milage.html

 

specboy...Yeah, it's been over 100 since about May. Into the low 90's this week. Feels cold! Frost? I think we had some of that in '86. A Wednesday, I believe.