Well, gas prices are stupid right now and I’m stuck daily driving a 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser in Los Angeles, where fuel prices are averaging in the mid $6 per gallon range for regular. The J80 gets about 8.25 mpg, but you already know you’re in trouble if you’re looking at decimal places. It’d be nice to have a less thirsty car. If I spend $2500 to buy a car that gets 35 mpg, I could break even in under 4200 miles. It probably doesn’t make financial sense as it’s completely unpredictable how long oil prices will remain high, but it’s a fun hypothetical.
What fuel saving car should I buy since my Land Cruiser gets 8 mpg?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which JNC looks most proper in green?“.
The wide range of cars from different makes, eras, and styles in last week’s comments was truly impressive. Many of them dug up long forgotten recesses in our brains, leading to several “Oh yeah, I remember that!” moments.
Starting with Toyotas and the oldest car mentioned, the first-generation Toyopet Crown got redma61‘s vote in Lyons Green Metallic. As Nigel pointed out the dark green of the TE27 Corolla Levin/Sprinter Trueno is absolutely iconic. nlpnt‘s choice for the TE38 Corolla Wagon’s 679 Green was more personal, but there’s no doubt it’s a gorgeous color and emblematic of the era.
In any discussion of green paint the British Racing Green of the NA Miata in an inevitability, as BlitzPig and Negishi no Keibajo both chimed in on. Taylor C. countered with an unconventional selection for the NA, Montego Blue, while KMMinLaPlata went with dark green but swapped the MX-5 for a second-gen MX-6 instead. Going old school, Dutch 1960‘s made an inspired choice with the Mazda RX-3 in Earth Green. Alan reached further back into Mazda’s portfolio with the SA22’s Mach Green. @ye‘s pick of the RE Amemiya FC RX-7 isn’t a factory color but nonetheless a definitive hue in the tuning world.
Pivoting to Nissans, Fashion Victim was right on the money with the CSP311 in Silvia Gold because you can’t really imagine it in any other color. Coming several generations later was TheJWT‘s selection of the S13’s Silver Green Pearl, more commonly known as seafoam, over gray. And if you should happen to prefer subtlety in your pinnacle R34 Skyline GT-R, Jacob B suggest you choose Millennium Jade over a lesser spec Bayside Blue.
Oft forgotten Isuzu was named as well, with Daniel picking the Bighorn/Trooper, which came in several iterations of great greens. Even the Bellett had supporters that chose Ilex Green over the standard orange in Kyuusha Corner and streetspirit. Poor Mitsubishi got only one nomination, エーイダン‘s selection of army green for the HJ58 Jeep.
Honda had one of the most boring color palettes of the 90s, mostly repeating the same five colors across their entire lineup. Still, there were moments of great brilliance, like Andre‘s candidate, the EK Civic hatchback’s Midori Green or ra21benj‘s Jasper Green Metallic for the second-gen Acura Integra. It was really hard to pick a winner, and Evan Opgenorth almost took home the prize for the Honda Insight’s Citrus Yellow, but this week’s winner was Walter and his excitement for Samba Green Pearl:
Easy. The Honda Del Sol. No contest.
One appeared in an episode of the Sopranos and my girlfriend didn’t understand why I wanted to pause it and freak out. 🙂
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
I would go all in and find a CRX HF. Coolest high fuel mileage car and that could be turned into a rocket when you are ready for a full on mod build.
Aston Martin Cygnet
As reliable as the Land Cruiser
So fuel efficient it could be argued that the Cygnet allowed Aston Martin to comply with European Union-imposed fleet average emissions regulations
Can pull up to JNC meets AND British car meets and still draw attention at both events
Limited production and brand snobbery will qualify it for Concours d’Elegance in later years
Barrett-Jackson will help you rid it
James Bond’s preferred automotive brand
V8 option available
List goes on…
I drive a Gen 5 Prius. When it hit $6, she went out & got a used Bolt with fresh batteries. We were trying to wait for the Honda O Saloon but it’s not to be. Thank/s Honda…🪫 She considered a Slate, but it too was running late.🪫
Nissan; read my lips. Build the IDx.
Probably worth going hybrid in LA so you don’t burn ga$ in stopped traffic, and I’m ruling out 2-seaters since didn’t you mention having two kids?
You’d be a good set of hands to preserve a still-ubiquitous gen 2 Prius (or a never-that-common gen 1) if you can find one for reasonable money that hasn’t been used up; if not or if a bit of something resembling fun is a must, Honda made Civic Hybrid sedans with manual transmissions in the mid ’00s. Those even had nicer interiors than the Si of the same era, two tone navy blue and pale beige instead of all-black.
M.I.A.T.A!
that is…
Motorcycle Is Another Terrific Answer
It’s not a car but since it’s LA and you’re likely stopped more than moving, just get a Honda Cub. You’ll be printing gas money within, oh, about a week, you’ll be getting wherever you go three times faster since you’ll just be lanespllitting the parked traffic, and if those videos I’ve seen are true it’s no problem to carry the wife, both kids, probably the in-laws, a couple of neighbors, as well as all of the month’s CostCo supplies on it at the same time without any trouble whatsoever.
Oh, and you meet the nicest people on a Honda!
1995 Corolla!
In 2016, we got a used 2015 Nissan Leaf that had 25k miles. We drove it for a maintenance free 20,000 miles over 9 years, and then upgraded (to a used 2023 Mustang MachE 4X GT) once we had a little windfall. We had the Leaf, which I think was also a base model, at our old, smaller house, so at one point we had an extension cord running out the window of our laundry room to charge the car. It did have a limited range, but we just used it to commute and run errands in our city. I’ll never, ever have a car with that low of a total cost of ownership again…
To directly address the calculation you are trying to make, the Leaf got 4.5 miles per kilowatt hour of electricity, and 1 kilowatt hour costs about $0.13 where I am from plugging into the wall. So 30 miles cost $0.87 in the Leaf. I also have a Mini Cooper SE that I bought used, and it also gets 4.5 mi per kWh.
I decided to hop onto the “List” and see what fuel-sipping manual-transmission JNC can be had for $2500.
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/los-angeles-1989-honda-civic-wagon/7930986442.html
Ben, you’re going to have the same cool JNC vibe, the same cavernous interior, the same reliability and dependability, the same wide field of view, same maintenance costs (even being almost 40yrs old now),
Although you can hit a home run and buy a hybrid / EV, in truth anything you buy will be drastically better, and this 30 MPG Civic with row-your-own stick shift!
2017 Mitsubishi Mirage,
stick, NOT CVT.
liking my ford maverick hybrid for daily. regularly getting 45 mpg. the truck bed is useful
If something that new and with a Detroit badge is an option I’d say Chevy Bolt. A Maverick might make a better option as an only car but this won’t be.
2005 Toyota Corolla CE with manual transmission. Gets 32 mpg City, 41 mpg Highway. Coast in neutral to get even better mpg. Basic car with aircon and manual locks/windows. Fold down rear seats down to fit bikes in truck (after removing front wheels). 1ZZ engine have been known to go 200K-250K miles. Economy without the complexity/maintenance of hybrid motor, batteries, transmission, and computer. Just get new Toyota battery every 7 years for around $200.
Honda Insight MK1, every bit as much an engineering flex as the original NSX, genuinely fuel sipping, actually properly fun and banned from its amateur Formula 1000 rally class in the UK for being too fast, way before WRC introduced hybrid drivetrains.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-13978819
Also it’s a shame the US doesn’t seem to be getting the new Nissan Micra/March
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64842640/nissan-micra-ev-revealed/
The $2500 price cap rules out used Leafs and the like, which would be the best choice. I’d say if you can find a first-gen Honda Insight, that’d be the the pick. Or perhaps a Tercel.
1st gen Scion xB
Borderline un-killable and supremely likable: this boxy Boi easily gets 35 mpg thanks to its Vitz underpinnings. Personally, I think the basic design has aged quite well, is a certified classic at 25 years old, and will still be able to cram your kid inside with all of their associated gear. This Scion can easily be had for under $4k even in this economy. If you pull the trigger, the xB has the possibility to be the in-marque yang to the yin of your J80 AND the potential to even outlast your Land Cruiser. Just sayin’…
I am late to the party and most of my ideas are already listed, so I give my +1 to the 1st gen Insight and another +1 to the Civic Wagon!
To bring a bit of fun to this, I would suggest getting a nice old Honda Goldwing 1500 with a sidecar. Enough grunt out of the flat-6 to get out of everyone’s way, as reliable as the sun, most sidecar are cavernous enough for a Costco run and it’s fun for the whole family, kids included! But then the hinted $2500 limit gets in the way because you do not want to skimp on protective gear, especialy for the family, even more so if you are not a seasoned rider (it’s ok to learn but do it as safely as you can) and mostly in trafic-dense area like LA. do it and you will have the summer of your life! Lift that basket!