Dear Tom and Ray:

I have a 1959 Chevrolet Impala with a 348 cubic inch engine and a four barrel carburetor. Can you give me any suggestions on how to increase my gas mileage? It's currently eight miles per gallon in the city and 13 on the highway. Jerry

Tom: I'd say stay out of the city, Jerry. That should help.

Ray: Actually, your mileage sounds about right, Jerry. You've got a 4,000 pound car with an old, inefficient, carbureted V8 engine. They don't get much thirstier than that. And nobody cared about gas mileage back in 1959, because gas cost 15 cents a gallon.

Tom: I suppose it's possible that your carburetor is flooding, in which case a new or rebuilt carburetor may improve your mileage a little. An emissions test will tell you whether that's your problem.

Ray: But my guess is that nothing's wrong with it...other than the fact that it's a beast. So here's my strategy for you. Drive it until it dies (let's say it lasts until 1999). Then buy a Geo Metro and drive IT for the NEXT forty years. That way, over your eighty year life span, your gas mileage will average out to about 27 mpg! 901

Everybody wants a new car. But from a purely financial point of view, there is no question that buying a used car is always cheaper, even in the long run. To learn more, order Tom and Ray's pamphlet How to Buy a Used Car: Things That Detroit and Tokyo Don't Want You to Know. To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1995 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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