Auto Gossip

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33874, 20 June 1975, Page 4

Auto Gossip

by

A.J.P.

Fuel consumption is a matter of deep interest to motorists all over the ■world these days, and a United States oil company has just published the results of a series of driving tests it has done on new cars available in that country. The survey has caused some excitement there, because it has shown that the mileage figures put out by a government agency, the environmental protection agency, have been rather optimistic. American miles-a-gallon figures often look rather frightening to New Zealanders, because they tend to forget that there are 1.2 U.S. gallons to one of our gallons. We also tend to forget that even today, American motorists pay the equivalent of only 51c a gallon for their petrol — or, if the average hourly wages paid in New Zealand and the United States are equated, they pay about 28c to 30c a gallon in our terms.

Expressed in New Zealand gallons, about the most thirsty car on the latest United States list is the big Lincoln Continental, with an “around town” figure of 9.6 miles a gallon (or 29.44 litres a 100 kilometres, if that means anything to you yet), and a “trip” figure of about 16.8 m.p.g. The most economical car listed is a small Datsun, with 32.4 m.p.g. around town (8.7 litres/100 km.) and 37.2 m..p.g. (7.5 litres/100 km.) on the open road — a figure it shared with the Volkswagen Golf. The city driving figures were probably closest to the overall mileage owners could expect, which would give ’ 20.4 m.p.g. for a Chevrolet Vega, 13.2 m.p.g. for a Cadillac Seville, 15.6 for a Dodge Dart, 18 m.p.g. for a Mustang 11, 19.2 for a Pinto, and 12 m.p.g. for a Pontiac Le Mans. The United States tests involved test drivers driving the cars on a track on a set cycle and at set speeds, to give an average town speed of 15 m.p.h. with a set pattern of stops and starts, and a 55 m.p.h. highway speed with set “overtaking” manoeuvres.

It would be interesting to see similar tests done in this country. But who would do them, and who would set a realistic driving cycle, I do not know.