Attention: TDR Forum Junkies DSpivey,
I hear ya, believe me, and I completely support -- and even applaud -- your point of view.
I drive "like grandma," 'cause I'm in business -- and working my truck -- to make a living.
Where I live, the price of fuel is topping $4 per gallon, and a 3-4 mpg difference in fuel economy is nothing to sneeze at.
I "bombed" my '97, and that truck was a hell of a lot of fun to drive; it was also back in the day, when fuel prices were averaging about $1. 50 a gallon.
As our esteemed TDR editor has cleverly summed it up, "You gotta pay to play," and that applies not only to the crap we hang on our trucks (and our willingness to be "our own warranty stations," when we bomb them... ), but it also applies to our "Walter Mitty" tendencies to drive these 8,000 pound rigs like we're Jeff Gordon at the Daytona 500 -- then ***** and moan about sub-par fuel efficiency.
If you push a four-ton-vehicle with the aerodynamic cross-section of a Port-o-let down the highway at 75 mph, it's not going to behave like a Toyota Prius, and win awards for fuel efficiency at the fuel island.
I've added 1400 pounds of dead weight to my rig, and it's still competing with my wife's Toyota Sequoia in the 'round town fuel efficiency department, and that's pretty impressive, if you ask me.
The engineering of this fantastic motor -- along with its torque curve and our new 6-speed transmission gear splits -- means that my new 400 pound Leer 180cc truck cap is pretty much along-for-the-ride, because its increased aerodynamic contribution cancels out its weight penalty at the fuel pump.
People buy these big rigs for a whole lot of different reasons, as I stated above. Some use them for "daily-drivers" and enjoy driving them empty and impressing the old ladies at the Hallmark Card Shop and the grocery store. Others buy them 'cause they want to spend $20,000 converting them into fire-breathing sled-pullers. Both scenarios are "just all right" with me.
Each to his own.
I guess I just find it annoying to hear continual complaints about poor fuel mileage, when the simple solution to the problem -- many times, anyway -- is to lighten up on the pressure you're applying with your right foot.
As far as the "watching for green lights" is concerned, I'm not suggesting that we should drive like the highway is Baghdad, and catching a red light means we've just exploded a roadside bomb. I'm just saying it's pointless (as many people do) to race up to a red light, and speed away from it like you're John Dillinger driving his '33 Ford Deluxe, and Elliot Ness's V-16 Cadillac is in hot pursuit.
Drive these rigs like they're work trucks, and they return great service and good fuel economy. Drive 'em like they're hot rods, they return great service and crappy fuel economy.
It ain't "rocket science".
I hear ya, believe me, and I completely support -- and even applaud -- your point of view.
I drive "like grandma," 'cause I'm in business -- and working my truck -- to make a living.
Where I live, the price of fuel is topping $4 per gallon, and a 3-4 mpg difference in fuel economy is nothing to sneeze at.
I "bombed" my '97, and that truck was a hell of a lot of fun to drive; it was also back in the day, when fuel prices were averaging about $1. 50 a gallon.
As our esteemed TDR editor has cleverly summed it up, "You gotta pay to play," and that applies not only to the crap we hang on our trucks (and our willingness to be "our own warranty stations," when we bomb them... ), but it also applies to our "Walter Mitty" tendencies to drive these 8,000 pound rigs like we're Jeff Gordon at the Daytona 500 -- then ***** and moan about sub-par fuel efficiency.
If you push a four-ton-vehicle with the aerodynamic cross-section of a Port-o-let down the highway at 75 mph, it's not going to behave like a Toyota Prius, and win awards for fuel efficiency at the fuel island.
I've added 1400 pounds of dead weight to my rig, and it's still competing with my wife's Toyota Sequoia in the 'round town fuel efficiency department, and that's pretty impressive, if you ask me.
The engineering of this fantastic motor -- along with its torque curve and our new 6-speed transmission gear splits -- means that my new 400 pound Leer 180cc truck cap is pretty much along-for-the-ride, because its increased aerodynamic contribution cancels out its weight penalty at the fuel pump.
People buy these big rigs for a whole lot of different reasons, as I stated above. Some use them for "daily-drivers" and enjoy driving them empty and impressing the old ladies at the Hallmark Card Shop and the grocery store. Others buy them 'cause they want to spend $20,000 converting them into fire-breathing sled-pullers. Both scenarios are "just all right" with me.
Each to his own.
I guess I just find it annoying to hear continual complaints about poor fuel mileage, when the simple solution to the problem -- many times, anyway -- is to lighten up on the pressure you're applying with your right foot.
As far as the "watching for green lights" is concerned, I'm not suggesting that we should drive like the highway is Baghdad, and catching a red light means we've just exploded a roadside bomb. I'm just saying it's pointless (as many people do) to race up to a red light, and speed away from it like you're John Dillinger driving his '33 Ford Deluxe, and Elliot Ness's V-16 Cadillac is in hot pursuit.
Drive these rigs like they're work trucks, and they return great service and good fuel economy. Drive 'em like they're hot rods, they return great service and crappy fuel economy.
It ain't "rocket science".
