Originally posted by Racer X 69 I know there is a tipping point regarding the engineering to carry more fuel vs overall fuel economy, but adding 3 more gallons would net around 500 miles on a fill up, and only add about 20 more pounds to the overall vehicle weight (about 18 pounds for the fuel, and a couple pounds for a larger fuel tank and mounting hardware.
My thoughts exactly. It seems needlessly limiting. I would think maybe market segmentation played a role in their decision - it is a cheap car after all - but the Mirage is the only car they sell anymore. The Lancer, Gallant, Diamante... all discontinued.
I used to have a '12 Chevy Cruze Eco. All other trim levels had a fuel tank capacity of 15.6 gallons, while the Eco could only take 12.6 gallons. In fact, all Cruzes had the exact same fuel tank. The Eco just had a special fuel pump module which made gas station pump shut off three gallons early. You could - and some people did - replace the Eco fuel pump module with a regular one to get the full 15.6 gallon capacity, if you were comfortable dropping and dismantling the gas tank. It was all a numbers game to make the "Eco" version seem that much lighter on the spec sheet.
Originally posted by ivanvernon Thanks for that interesting history. I bought my little 1981 Starlet as a used vehicle around 1983 with about 35,000 miles on it at a price of $3,100, and the little car did not have a scratch or dent on it. I drove it for about 8 years, with the odometer at around 150,000 miles and sold it for about what I paid for it, still in excellent condition. The car was very satisfying to own because of the precision way in which it was built--tight construction, cheap but functional interior, great paint job, a very satisfying piece of equipment. This same car nowadays goes for over $20,000 because its rear wheel drive and light weight make it a great drift racing vehicle. I should never have sold it!
I imagine the costs of maintaining a car in a shape that anyone would want to buy for 40 years would add up.
But yeah, people love those old rear-wheel-drive Toyotas, especially the AE86 Sprinter Trueno from the same era, partly thanks to a certain manga,
Initial D. I saw one at a car show once, even though, back when it was new, it was just a sporty Corolla.