BlackHorse Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 For those of you that haven't heard, the 3.7 liter, 300 hp V6 2011 Mustang got an average of 48.5 mpg and ran for 776 miles, 1457 laps on a single tank of gas at Bristol speedway. I'm getting one. https://www.mustang1000lapchallenge.com/omc/registration.aspx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 For those of you that haven't heard, the 3.7 liter, 300 hp V6 2011 Mustang got an average of 48.5 mpg and ran for 776 miles, 1457 laps on a single tank of gas at Bristol speedway. I'm getting one. https://www.mustang1...gistration.aspx But it was only avg 45 MPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twmalonehunter Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 But it was only avg 45 MPH Good point.... I would be curious to see what mileage a Prius returned on the same exact test...might be surprising :shades: Anyway, it's a good publicity stunt by Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Yes, parlor tricks....but great PR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atvman Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Kind of a pointless test really. It's not a great example of a real world situation. Now if it could get from New York to DC on a single tank, that would be useful real world info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Kind of a pointless test really. It's not a great example of a real world situation. Now if it could get from New York to DC on a single tank, that would be useful real world info. I agree, but I'm sure millions of people will be impressed by it nonetheless. Which is why it's a great PR stunt - nothing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Now if it could get from New York to DC on a single tank That's just over 200 miles. Even my Cobra could do that. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atvman Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 That's just over 200 miles. Even my Cobra could do that. :lol: That's not the point though, the point is that it would be a real world example. Perhaps I should have said Detroit to DC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Smart of them to choose that little donut at Bristol--doing 1000 laps there is only 500 miles, but saying a thousand laps sounds so impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 That's not the point though, the point is that it would be a real world example. Perhaps I should have said Detroit to DC. They did that last year with a Fusion. Kind of: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=30233 Frankly, it must've been quite boring trying to sandwich 1000 miles into the NE Virginia countryside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Smart of them to choose that little donut at Bristol--doing 1000 laps there is only 500 miles, but saying a thousand laps sounds so impressive. Exactly...PR is about twisting it to make it look good for you. I would say this may sell a few Stangs. At any rate, 48.5 MPG is pretty impressive, even at a steady 45 MPH. Not that I would expect a real-life value anywhere near that, but it is still pretty impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 At any rate, 48.5 MPG is pretty impressive, even at a steady 45 MPH. Not that I would expect a real-life value anywhere near that, but it is still pretty impressive. I would have rather seen them do it at 65 MPH, which would have been a far better real-world indicator..I'm sure they still would have been deep into the 30 MPG range with the car..hell I can get 27 MPG out of a 06 GT with the cruise on doing 75...untill i got stuck in beltway traffic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 I would have rather seen them do it at 65 MPH, which would have been a far better real-world indicator..I'm sure they still would have been deep into the 30 MPG range with the car..hell I can get 27 MPG out of a 06 GT with the cruise on doing 75...untill i got stuck in beltway traffic! Yeah, but we are educated car folks. The normal buying public is not, and all they will see is the MPG figure. I prefer a more realistic approach as well, but most on this board aren't your everyday Joe's when it comes to cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Good point.... I would be curious to see what mileage a Prius returned on the same exact test...might be surprising :shades: Anyway, it's a good publicity stunt by Ford. Maybe good PR which I doubt, but meaningless IMO. First off, Ford sucks at NASCAR this year, and it hasn't hurt Fusion sales just as if the NASCAR Fusion was competitive even one week, it wouldn't help sales either. Chevy dominates NASCAR and GM still went bankrupt. Running around a racetrack at 45mpg pulling all kinds of hypermiling tricks would help any vehicle get outstanding fuel mileage. Doesn't mean anything to me. Only the EPA rating on sticker is meaningful to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Maybe good PR which I doubt, but meaningless IMO. First off, Ford sucks at NASCAR this year, and it hasn't hurt Fusion sales just as if the NASCAR Fusion was competitive even one week, it wouldn't help sales either. Chevy dominates NASCAR and GM still went bankrupt. Running around a racetrack at 45mpg pulling all kinds of hypermiling tricks would help any vehicle get outstanding fuel mileage. Doesn't mean anything to me. Only the EPA rating on sticker is meaningful to me. But, inevitably, this PR release will be picked up in blogs, broadcast, and print, and will be used as smalltalk by "normal" folks who hear it. The numbers won't really stick, neither will the tricks that achieved them, but the image of this new Mustang as a fuel sipper will. That's what counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 But, inevitably, this PR release will be picked up in blogs, broadcast, and print, and will be used as smalltalk by "normal" folks who hear it. The numbers won't really stick, neither will the tricks that achieved them, but the image of this new Mustang as a fuel sipper will. That's what counts. I was reading through some of the comments on the Mustang Facebook page for this event. Most of those commenters were very much "every day" people, and the comments were overwhelmingly positive. It was a good PR move, and a very cheap one at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weiweishen Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Good point.... I would be curious to see what mileage a Prius returned on the same exact test...might be surprising :shades: Anyway, it's a good publicity stunt by Ford. Prius can get 70 miles per gallon at 45 miles per hours. See the attached chart from http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-fuel-economy/22999-better-milage-highway.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyk24 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Prius can get 70 miles per gallon at 45 miles per hours. See the attached chart from http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-fuel-economy/22999-better-milage-highway.html If my memory serves me correctly, a Prius was driven from Chicago to New York in May 2008 by a famous "individual" who will remain nameless on less than one tank of gas. This individual averaged 47 mph on I-80 during this trip. A reporter for CBS News also drove a different Prius at an average speed of 57 mph on I-80 to obtain something like 55 mpg. There you go, some real world figures if you don't mind 18 wheelers on your tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I would have rather seen them do it at 65 MPH, which would have been a far better real-world indicator..I'm sure they still would have been deep into the 30 MPG range with the car..hell I can get 27 MPG out of a 06 GT with the cruise on doing 75...untill i got stuck in beltway traffic! It's not SUPPOSED to be a real-world test, it's supposed to be an example of extremes. Nobody expects it to match real-world conditions. That's what EPA tests are for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joihan777 Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Kinda wish all Fords came with a big 7th gear just for cruisin' the long highways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackHorse Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 (edited) Maybe good PR which I doubt, but meaningless IMO. First off, Ford sucks at NASCAR this year, and it hasn't hurt Fusion sales just as if the NASCAR Fusion was competitive even one week, it wouldn't help sales either. Chevy dominates NASCAR and GM still went bankrupt. Running around a racetrack at 45mpg pulling all kinds of hypermiling tricks would help any vehicle get outstanding fuel mileage. Doesn't mean anything to me. Only the EPA rating on sticker is meaningful to me. "All kinds of hypermiling tricks?" LMAO. They drove at a constant speed, kept the rpm's low and didn't use the AC. That was the full bag of "tricks". A team of Ford engineers prepared for the challenge by implementing fuel efficient driving tips including minimizing the use of air conditioning, steady and consistent driving, avoiding sudden stops/starts and keeping the RPMs low http://www.fordracing.com/news/detail/?article=38017 Is it a PR stunt? Yes it is. It is designed to show what the 3.7 Mustang is capable of. Will a Mustang in real world driving conditions ever achieve that? Almost surely not and almost everyone knows that despite opinions to the contrary on this forum where in posters sit around and convince one another that only the on high and knowledgeable car guys know that. Whatever. The fact remains that a 300 hp car that can get to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and also achieve this kind of mileage under controlled conditions is pretty impressive and it's not something that necessarily needs to be snobbishly discounted as a stunt or a trick. If you guys have some big secret than why don't you build a car? Edited June 25, 2010 by BlackHorse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lfeg Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Still, this is another way to get some positive PR. Sure, no one on the highway will be able to duplicate this, but it shows that you can buy a car today that has good power, good handling, a high fun factor, and can surprise people with its fuel economy potential. I am surprised FJM ('Jelly) is not here saying a UK spec diesel Fiesta is better. Now I would like to see the same stunt done with a Mustang GT, that would be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 An acquaintance of mine says: If Americans really cared about gas mileage, they would just slow down... He is correct. This a perfect example of what can be done by just adjusting driving habits. I am not saying we should all drive 45, but if we truly care about gas mileage, we can certainly make small adjustments in every day driving, hard starts, stops etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 An acquaintance of mine says: If Americans really cared about gas mileage, they would just slow down... He is correct. This a perfect example of what can be done by just adjusting driving habits. I am not saying we should all drive 45, but if we truly care about gas mileage, we can certainly make small adjustments in every day driving, hard starts, stops etc... Agreed! I can easily get 25+ MPG out of our Flex traveling around 60. This from a big, heavy, AWD vehicle rated at 22 MPG highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 An acquaintance of mine says: If Americans really cared about gas mileage, they would just slow down... He is correct. This a perfect example of what can be done by just adjusting driving habits. I am not saying we should all drive 45, but if we truly care about gas mileage, we can certainly make small adjustments in every day driving, hard starts, stops etc... But all seriousness, according to the trip computer on my car...my avg speed on my Mustang is only about 35 MPH...and I go anywhere from 20 to 75 MPH during my commute. Its far easier to get good MPG when you can constantly go the same speed...I was getting 26 MPG driving to Washington DC via I95 from NJ doing about 75 MPH locked in my cruse control. When I hit beltway traffic going home, it was total shit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.