In 1985 my car got 54MPG

August 30, 2009 by dave.

As I contemplate the volatility of gas and oil prices over the recent years and also observe the recent ‘Cash for Clunkers‘ program’s attempt to remove some of the very poor-mileage vehicles from our roadways, I am reminded of my first vehicle (and a bit dumbfounded by our ineptness to create good quality, very high mileage mainstream vehicles).

My bright red 1985 Honda CRX-hf (the ‘hf’ stands for ‘high fuel efficiency) listed at about $6,500 new and was rated at 49/54 mpg - and was able to meet those ratings!  It was a peppy little car (yes - lacking many of the safety features of today) but it was my favorite car, best value, and fun to own.  Over the years I’ve laughed at attempts by car companies to improve gas mileage of the vehicles they product and find it humorous when I see a commercial ‘bragging’ that a particular vehicle gets more than 30 mpg!  I give full understanding to the fact the CRX didn’t have all the safety features and probably wouldn’t meet a number of today’s EPA standards but one also needs to consider that technology has evolved over these 24-25 years and should easily be able to make up for these things…..but it hasn’t.  Car companies need to take a very good look at the 1985 CRX-hf and go back to the drawing board with it in mind…to create new, refreshing, safe, and high-mileage vehicles.

I recently stumbled upon an Automobile Magazine ‘review’ comparing my old CRX with a 2010 Honda Insight.

It’s a very interesting article that should really make many of us think.  I only hope some of the car companies read it and contemplate how far they have (or haven’t) come in 25 years.

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