Found out my 20 year old van gets better mileage than our new fleet trucks

2 comments

2 Comments

Honestly I used to be one of those people who thought newer always meant better when it came to vehicles. Then my buddy let me borrow his 95 Ford Econoline while my truck was in the shop and I got like 18 mpg highway with a van that's older than me. That kind of changed my whole view on how much tech actually helps fuel economy versus just adding weight.

the_cora2h ago

Yeah that 95 van got the old pushrod 300 straight six or the 5.8 Windsor, both were built before they started choking engines down with all the emissions garbage. You're right about newer tech sometimes being a wash though. Take cylinder deactivation, that stuff sounds great on paper but I've seen those lifters fail and wipe out camshafts on 2010s GM trucks, costing people thousands to fix. Meanwhile a basic 90s small block might get slightly worse mileage but it'll run on three dead cylinders and 20 year old gas if you needed it to. All those extra sensors and computers add complexity and weight that chews into any MPG gains you'd get.