July 10, 2006
Unforunately, the Civic has begun its death spiral -- it can no longer hold its coolant. The leak is small and I can keep on top of it, but it means I won't be able to keep the car until it's old enough to drive itself.
It's a shame, really, because the engine's barely halfway through its useful life -- not quite 128,000 miles in just under 14 years.
This became even more evident when I drove up to Akron for the Fourth of July. Aside from overheating because I'd put in too much coolant (the pump couldn't move it as the pressure built up; I had to bleed off some steam at a rest stop) it handled itself well. Extremely well in fact: Even though I sat in what amounted to rush-hour traffic on I-70 in Maryland, I managed to travel the 362 or so miles on just 7.3 gallons of gas: 49.6 mpg.
Coming home was even better, since there was no traffic. I had the cruise locked in at 67 and just drove. After the return trip I went to work the next day, then to the chiropractor, then home; that added 38.7 miles to the trip. Call it 400 even. I burned 7.7 gallons for all that, netting me 51.95 mpg.
Fifty miles per gallon. In a car that was built my junior year of high school. Sure, it lacks power and displacement -- not quite 1500 cc's; 102 hp and 98 ft-lbs of torque at their maximums -- but it made it up to 100 mph when I needed it to* and could do 80 without feeling like it was going to shake itself apart. I could even pass BMWs going uphill... so long as the BMW in question had an automatic transmission** and the driver didn't know I was racing him.
* Namely, hauling ass to a job interview at a Cleveland radio station. I thought Pittsburgh would have cleared the roads by then, but I was wrong. I hit the state line an hour before the interview was supposed to start. I made it with a minute to spare.
** Actually, I only assume an automatic, since I doubt even BMW can make one smart enough to downshift before you drop off the bottom of teh power curve going up a hill.
