Top five MPG champs from before MPG was cool

by Sebastian Blanco (RSS feed) on Oct 23rd 2008 at 1:21PM

Sure, these days everyone wants to win the MPG race. But it wasn't that long ago (yesterday? the day before?) that all that mattered to most automakers was having the most powerful engines under the hood. The prevailing mentality didn't stop some companies from emphasizing their high-miles vehicles, though, and Popular Mechanics thought a little trip down memory lane was in order for our ~~$4/gallon~~ ~~$3/gallon~~ sub-$3/gallon time. The cars that Popular Mechaniccs picked to be on the list of the Top 5 Eco Supercars of All Time include the Honda Insight, Chevy Sprint, VW Rabbit Pickup, Geo Metro XFI, Honda Civic. I can certainly vouch for the non-hybrid Civic earning a place there. It's our daily driver (when we drive) and it'll get 45+ mpg without too much trouble (and without air conditioning or an automatic transmission). As for the others, well, what do you think? Rightfully on the list or do they take the place of a more deserving ride?

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

Filed under: Green Daily

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Killroy 12:03PM (10/24/2008)

I drive a 2000 Honda Insight (70 MPG). I wished they brang back the Insight, not as a 4-Door Prius wanabe, but as a real 70 MPG commuter car.

The Insight looks small, but I can fit 4 tires and a bike in the hatch. That is all I need.

↓↑report

Bolen 4:33PM (10/23/2008)

Are the top MPG cars limited to the North American market? If not, then I submit the following as the all-time MPG world champion: The modest Citroen 2CV.

The Citroen 2CV would seat 4 people, had the ride comfort of a Cadillac, and front wheel drive with a 2-cylinder air-cooled engine, the largest of which was around 602cc (that's 0.6 liters). Manufactured from 1949 -1990, these cars regularly got their owners around 45-50 MPG. And that was with a low-tech carburetor engine. Here's a link to an article about the 2CV: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/06/citroen-2cv.html

↓↑report

Nemoudeis 5:21PM (10/23/2008)

Here's another interesting list of high-mpg contenders from the Devonian Era of gas economy:

http://www.mpgomatic.com/2007/10/08/super-cheap-high-mpg-cars-1978-1981/

I saw they put the late, great Diesel Rabbit in that list. Oh, man ... remember when diesel fuel wasn't just considered economical for its mileage, but because it was cheap to buy as well?

And I just gotta extend my kudos to those old Honda CVCC's (Civics). My family got one of them new, back in '78; and I can remember consistently getting mileage in the 35-40mpg category throughout the entire five year period that we owned it. That was the car I usually got stuck with back in high school; but I really didn't mind, since it was actually kinda cute, never seriously broke down, and was just plain cheap as hell to own. And in a pinch, you could pack a family of six into it, too!

↓↑report

EVan 5:47PM (10/23/2008)

Two additions to the list...

1. Honda CRX-XF.
2. Ford Aspire

Both get ridiculously good gas mileage... both would suck to get in a wreck in.

↓↑report

icanhaspayday 10:40PM (10/23/2008)

Yeah, why isn't CRX (HF) on the list?

↓↑report

Chris 3:09PM (10/24/2008)

Try actually reading the article before you comment...-

↓↑report

Benoit 3:18AM (10/24/2008)

Still another one, on the european market: the Citroën BX of the 80'.
Consuption: 5,5L/100km (sorry for the units...) with a compact body (around 4,30m), excellent comfort, reliable, and quiete cheap!!!

↓↑report

calguy 9:33AM (10/24/2008)

Honda Civic VX. I got 62 on one country-road trip, and always averaged in the upper 40s.. WITH dual airbags, totally great seats, real rear seat leg room and perfectly good cargo space. It was a brilliant car. Could still be sold today exactly as it was.

↓↑report

parking_god 1:42PM (10/24/2008)

I regularly got 40 mpg highway in my '88 Ford Festiva (+/- 4mpg with a tailwind/headwind)

↓↑report

Dennis Bryant 10:53AM (10/25/2008)

Is the whole world stupid can you say (dodge neon) and in 2000 it was american made but with you D.A's if its not from overseas its no good,

↓↑report

Add your comments

Your comments:

Remember me

E-Mail me when someone replies to this comment

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

Featured
Breaking
Popular

View all

Tip of the Day

Guide to Common Green Acronymns

CAFE – Corporate Average Fuel Economy. A system used in the U.S. to define mileage requirements of new vehicles.

Featured Galleries

Team Autoblog Green

Editor-in-Chief

Sebastian Blanco: Email

The Team

Autoblog Green bloggers (30 days)

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Sebastian Blanco	97	13
2	Sam Abuelsamid	83	1
3	Jeremy Korzeniewski	52	0
4	Domenick Yoney	20	0
5	Xavier Navarro	15	1
6	Jonathon Ramsey	3	0
7	Chris Shunk	3	0
8	Damon Lavrinc	3	0
9	Michael Harley	3	0
10	Jonny Lieberman	2	0
11	Drew Phillips	2	0
12	Gary Witzenburg	1	0
13	John Neff	1	0
14	AutoblogGreen Staff	1	0
15	Frank Filipponio	1	0