Odometer, mid-August Gas

The caravan is finally over 177,000 miles.



August 13:
214.7 miles / 10.185 gallons = 21.08 mpg

I'm surprised I was able to achieve 21 mpg considering I had the air conditioner turned on a few times. It was very humid outside for about 3 weeks. This was with 89 octane (10% ethanol). The next gas update will be with 87 octane (no ethanol). Check back for the results.

Caravan odometer = 177,293 miles

July Gas

I completely forgot about updating the blog, so I apologize for being so late with the newest MPG information. This fill-up was exactly $50.00.

July 9:
301.9 miles / 14.049 gallons = 21.489 mpg

Caravan odometer = 176,949 miles. The next update should have Beulah with over 177,000 miles! I think I might have a pizza party in celebration.

Future Plans

Once my mechanic is able to fit my minivan into his schedule, I will be getting the tires rotated and a front end alignment.

I'm currently deciding what and how much I should fix on the caravan. There are a few small dents/scratches and rust spots (I'm also undecided on whether or not I should post pictures of the deteriorating body), the front windshield has an ever-increasing crack in it, the back windshield has a few defrost lines not working, and the sun damage, oy vey, the sun damage is ruining the beautiful fire red paint.

I don't think I'll be re-painting her any time soon, since I still have to park outside. Most likely, it will be a new front windshield.

Caravan odometer = 176,833 miles

May Gas, Traffic Lights

May 23:
243.6 miles / 11.515 gallons = 21.155 mpg

It's a solid improvement, but not as high as I would like. If you look at my previous spring/summer MPG posts, I was getting 21.9 to 22.75 mpg.

Most of my driving occurs at night, after I finish work. There are very few people in the grocery store when I shop, and a limited number of cars on the road. I take a route that is considerably flat, with only 2 minor hills.

Unfortunately, the town and city I travel between have switched some of the flashing yellow traffic lights to flashing red traffic lights (midnight-6 am). Instead of possibly being able to make it to the store with only 1 stop sign, I now could end up having to stop at 7 traffic lights (8 stops total, if you include the stop sign) in a one-way trip. I thought the point of traffic lights was to keep traffic moving along. Apparently, it's to increase stop-and-go driving to ruin my gas mileage.

In conclusion, towns and small cities need to switch back to the flashing yellow lights to move traffic along quicker, and so I can get the best gas mileage out of my caravan possible.

I feel like Pierre Bernard after this rant.

Caravan odometer = 176,662 miles

April Update

Here's my update for April 2011: I filled up the caravan one time. That's it.

I rarely drive long distances now because the US Dollar is getting weaker every week. It cost me $51.35 to buy 13.771 gallons of gasoline (89 octane, 10% ethanol). Too bad we don't have silver in our currency anymore; 1 quarter from 1964 (90% silver, 10% copper) can buy 2 gallons of gasoline! 25 cents for 2 gallons of gas, can you imagine that? Damn you, paper currency, that has no intrinsic value and can easily be debased!

April 18:
264.2 miles / 13.771 gallons = 19.2 mpg

Caravan odometer = 176,408 miles

Signs of Spring

It looks like spring is making it's way through the state. The temperature has been in the high 40s, snow has been melting, rivers are flowing high, and you can hear birds chirping in the morning. Another way to tell if spring has arrived is to see if a bird has crapped on your car yet. If you are like me, then spring has sprung.

Caravan odometer = 176,126 miles

Tire, Gas

One of the tires (rear-passenger side) had a psi in the low 20's, so with that fixed (37-40 psi range), I noticed a slight improvement in gas mileage. In addition to the increased air pressure, I don't recall the weather being as harsh since the last time I filled up the van with gasoline.

March 4:
209.5 miles / 12.688 gallons = 16.5 mpg

Caravan odometer = 176,084 miles