Prius schmius -- try an Austin-Healey Sprite and 36 mpg
Of course your wallet hurts every time you have to fill the car up. Nevertheless, in these trying times we must always remember the words of Fernando Lamas: it is better to look good than to feel good. Cars That Matter has put together a list of classic automobiles that get anywhere from 21 to 48 mpg, which means you can look good while you save money.
The heaviest drinker is the Datsun 240Z, just cracking into the twenties. But plenty of cars hover around the 30 mpg mark, like the Lotus Europa, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, and Fiat X1/9. If you want to crack the big four-oh, you've still got choices: BMW Isetta and Honda S800. And the Crosley Hotshot will get you a miserly 48 mpg.
All right, so there are some niggling issues of practicality -- almost all the cars have only two chairs -- unsuitability for winter, plus many of them are mechanical horrors. As such, we must always remember the words of dear old dad: there are no free lunches. But there are choices, and that has to count for something...
[Source: Cars That Matter, Photo by Liftarn | Creative Commons 2.0]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
JayP 6:18PM (8/10/2008)
My poor '80 MGB was strangled with a single Zenith carb that drank dampener oil.
The good was that it got me over 34mpg on the highway, the bad was fuel was around $1/gal. I replaced it with a Weber carb.
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imoore 6:18PM (8/10/2008)
Out of this list, I'd take my chances with the Cosworth Vega, the Datsun 510 and the Datsun 240Z. But not the Sprite. I don't want to be in this and ave an unfortunate meeting on the highway with an 18-wheeler.
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DKB_SATX 7:11PM (8/10/2008)
if you're planning to go one-on-one with an 18 wheeler, you're likely to become pulpy red goo in any of the 3 you'd choose. Safety considerations would push you toward a modern car over most any classic.
tankd0g 8:33PM (8/10/2008)
That thing would kill you in a collision with a marshmallow.
mr.ed 11:09AM (8/11/2008)
Obviously, you've never been in the salt belt, which ate these in as little as two winters. You can afford plenty of fuel avoiding these old-timers, which rang up huge mechanical and electrical repair bills besides. And safety? Fugeddaboudit.
Garibaldi 9:57AM (8/11/2008)
imoore:
I'll give you a nod for the 510, if you can find one with no rust below the door handles, or hasn't been raced since 1975. The 240Z is a Nissan also, which is a big plus, but it's not going to do you any favors at the pump. The Healey is no more dangerous than a cycle, gets great gas mileage, is one of the few cars that can shut you down when the power wire wiggles off the electric fuel pump. The Sprite has a huge advantage over the other two: it's one of the few cars that is absolutely a hoot to drive at 45 mph. at 50 it scares the living sh*t out of you. A great car and no tickets!
Garibaldi 10:12AM (8/11/2008)
Damn! A Cosworth Vega. In black. With gold stripes down the side! Nice planter for the front yard.
BigTeebo 6:52PM (8/10/2008)
Triumph Spitfire — 30.3 mpg
I wish my Spitifire got that mileage again. Ever switch converting to a Weber DGV carb, I get 140/tank, despite my tuning efforts.
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Fyrewerx 7:16PM (8/10/2008)
My '59 Bugeye Sprite "may have" got 30+ MPG (since gas was between $0.24 and $0.30 per gal., who cared?), but on a hill on I-94 West of Milwaukee, it could only do 48 MPH up and 56 MPH down.
Thankfully, my '62 Sprite went about 4 MPH faster in either direction.
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Vintage 7:18PM (8/10/2008)
1998 Dodge Neon R/T. 150hp. 2600lbs. 15.7-15.9 in the 1/4 mile, and outhandled any FWD car from that era.
Available for under 5 grand, and can get over 40mpg.
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SPG 7:23PM (8/10/2008)
Nice call, when it came time to pick up a used car a few years ago I tried to convince myself I could use the Neon R/T. In the end I came to terms with the fact it was just not big enough for me.
SPG 7:21PM (8/10/2008)
Also cool in their own sporty little way were the CRX and the Suzuki Swift GTI (or Sprint Turbo).
Loved all those little cars.
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Hike15 7:34PM (8/10/2008)
or a new cobalt ss
arguably the best handling fwd
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J.A. 7:34PM (8/10/2008)
I'd say a VW MkI GTI would probably deserve a place on this list. Anyone know what kind of fuel economy for a Porsche 356 or Speedster?
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Garibaldi 10:03AM (8/11/2008)
Not as much as you'd think. Except for the steady 65 mph rides across Indiana, I'd guess 24-26 average. The Solexes dripped gas all the time and most 356s weren't really tuned right.
havoc 8:32PM (8/10/2008)
i have never owned any of the cars on the list, but my 96 LS integra in badly tuned sc-cammed-high comp build with 5spd got 28/36, and that was 5 years ago.
WHY can't we make fast (or at least quick) cars with good mileage for less than 30k?
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Yar 8:37PM (8/10/2008)
What kind of mileage does a Nash Metropolitan get? Now THAT is a stylin' ride.
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Rene Curry 9:09PM (8/10/2008)
Though unkool, my 73 Pinto 1600 4-speed is probably the best disposable car you could have as a beater car with today's high gas prices! 42 miles per gallon at 63mph! Total reliability and easy to work on.
Purchase price $2000 with 22,000 original miles. Total investment of $3000.00 after all maintenance completed and upgrades for better mileage. Electric fans, taller rear tires for 21% overdrive, electronic ignition, synthetic fluids, & undercoating. After it gets too rusty I will sell it cheap.
I have a rear spoiler I will be installing that should add 4-6% gas mileage. Next I will fabricate a front spoiler this fall for another 4-6%. I want to get better mileage in the 75-80 mph range for traveling.
At 110 miles a day work commute on the rough & tumble Detroit freeway system it sure does the job.
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Harrison 9:35PM (8/10/2008)
Not to mention the honor of having everyone in a mile-radius avoid you like the plague.
I jest, I jest.
Kedd Burmeister 7:17AM (8/11/2008)
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This technology is about 100 years old but not popular until recently, with high gas prices. Very simply using electricity to separate the Hydrogen from Oxygen in water then allowing the engine to suck in the resulting vapors through the existing vacuum system. The smaller Hydrogen molecules then hit the clusters of gas molecules breaking them up and attaching to them facilitating a much more efficient burn and increasing mileage.
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