28 November 2005

I drove up to Bakersfield last night, dropping Matt off at UCI on the way up. It was a good opportunity to test my new Civic's fuel economy. After a pleasant stay at the Hampton Inn, I drove to Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley for a day of site audit work. This is Marianna driving me around the facility in her company's van.

The Civic got 52 miles per gallon on the entire 540-mile trip from San Diego and back, and 58 mpg on the return trip from Bakersfield to San Diego. Needless to say, I was quite pleased with the results. The best mileage seems to occur on flat surfaces, which is the case nearly everywhere in the Valley. Back home in San Diego, where the landscape is more rugged, the mileage is a little lower, averaging around 45 mpg, so far. Turns out the car is teaching me how to drive more efficiently with its instantaneous mileage meter.

DWL