Baby I Can Drive My Car
or
HELP...either one
or
HELP...either one
When I was
younger, so much younger than today, everyone, bragged about, how fast they could make their way. Those days are gone, so I find, I'm driving really slow. Now I find, I'll lose the time, for mileage that will grow.
Typical comment back in the day:
Typical comment back in the day:
“I made it from New Brunswick to
Atlantic City in an hour and forty-five!
Oh yeah, I had the hammer down on the Garden State Parkway from exit 105 to 38, then caught every light from the Parkway to AC. Beat my old record by 12
minutes!”
It did not
matter if you were in a hurry or not, getting from point A to point B in record
time was everyone’s goal. Speeding,
weaving in and out of traffic, running the amber to beat the red light was
standard practice. Getting stuck behind
a slow truck was infuriating. Bad
weather or a traffic jam would kill a record time.
Yes, we were
reckless, crazy. We had all the time in
the world, but were always in a hurry, always wanting to brag, “You wouldn’t believe the time we made!”
Ah, that was
years ago, Mrs. C and I drive a little differently these days.
Our new car
keeps a running total of the MPG on a trip.
The car advertises 30 MPG on average.
We no longer are concerned with the time on a trip, now it is trying to
break the MPG record.
Driving now involves
coasting whenever possible. It is
important to accelerate slowly, stomping on the gas pedal ruins your average
MPG.
This driving
takes a lot of strategy.
When
approaching a traffic light; did it just turn green? Will I make it? Should I slow down and coast because I can’t
make the light, or should I step on it and try to beat the light? Will making the light make up for wasted gas
by excessive acceleration?
It’s not
easy. Driving with one eye on the road
and another on the MPG calculator to maximize efficiency is risky, but the
reward, beating the manufacturer’s suggested mileage, is somehow worth it.
The current
record for highest MPG is 38. Mrs. C
holds that record. My best is 36. A trip must be at least 20 miles to be
official.
The other
day we went to my grandson’s first Holy Communion, a one hour forty-minute
trip. When we arrived, my son asked how
long it took us.
“Two hours and ten minutes.”
“Two hours and ten? I make it to your house in under an hour and a half!”
“Yeah, but we did it at 34.5 MPG!”
"You need HELP!"
"Maybe, but baby I can drive my car."
"You need HELP!"
"Maybe, but baby I can drive my car."
Different
generations, different goals.
I can remember my dad saying, when someone would pass us at a high rate of speed, "just watch, we'll get to the red light the same time as he will." And we'd get there and there would be the speeder, waiting for the light to change. Now it's me saying that to my wife when we're out driving. Ah, age.
ReplyDeleteHow i wish my Sweetie cared about gas mileage. He doesn't speed, but he doesn't drive to maximize fuel efficency, either. Wrong priorities!
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to remember that when we were teens gas was less than 50 cents a gallon. Other than the fact I didn't make much money, filling up for gas wasn't that big a deal. Now, people coast up to the light and make me miss the left turn lane. :-)
ReplyDeleteI did that when we first got T-Hoe. Genius was 13, and threatened to get out of the car when I turned it off at a 2-minute red light. He doesn't show the proper respect for The Beatles, either.
ReplyDeleteMy husband does this as a game with his long commute. He sees how hot he can get the MPG at any given time during each individual commute by coasting, minimally accelerating, everything you said. I rarely drive personally myself so I just go with the flow and get there when I get there regardless of what the MPG is because I only drive probably a 5 mile radius and that really doesn't make (too) much of a difference in MPG I'm hoping.
ReplyDeletebetty
I don't drive so I don't care so much about MPG or speed, but I remember my ex driving from Sydney to Adelaide non-stop apart from refuelling. In later years when going to work, we'd get on the main road and he'd put his foot down and we'd be at work in twenty minutes, from 35km away. Scary.
ReplyDeleteI always drive very slowly and carefully and well within the speed limits. I also always stop at the amber lights before they turn red. I'm such a good driver that other drivers when they overtake me they show me with their finger that I am Number One!
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Sometimes I wish I was back driving then, seeing the mad hats on the road, I pray for their safety and pat myself on the back for giving up when I did.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't always a spoilsport!
That's funny. I have never paid attention to my mpg.
ReplyDeleteSo true.
ReplyDeleteHubby and I are doing the very same thing. It's a good thing and yes we need help.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and weekend. ♪♫♪♫
hear from the most boring person on earth
ReplyDeletewhen i was young (15 to 20) i liked cricket and i was fan of slow and observant who stay calm and focused and make runs through singles rather than get bold after few four or six
i admired spinners instead of fast bowlers (yes i know i was weird)
you enjoyed the speedy enthusiastic days dear Joe
now enjoy the smooth steady travels with wisdom :)
I do the same thing. And no, I don't need help.
ReplyDeleteMy best was 50 mph...and I have no idea how I did that. We moved from South Carolina to Florida, 500 miles. My car held 10 gallons. When we arrived here in Florida, I asked my husband if he had put gas in my car while I was using the bathroom at a gas station along the way - that's how incredible it was to me. I must have had back wind.