Of Roads and Fuel - I'm nerding out here.

TLDR: I get good gas mileage in my Tiguan. Gas varies from state to state. Traffic circles are good things.

Short post here - just some observations about roads, car, and driving differences from state to state. Don't read this if cars and roads and such don't interest you. I'm a bit of a odd duck when it comes to this stuff.

Here goes. We were out on a 20 mile drive today and I decided to test out my car in terms of gas mileage. Remember, I'm a child of the 70's and I survived "the energy crisis." Gas stations ran out of gas and fuel prices skyrocketed. People panicked and dumped their huge American gas guzzlers for less thirsty imports.

I even remember that our local electric utility company, as part of a public service campaign, urged residents to save energy. Get this-- they sponsored a kids' poetry contest about saving energy and yours truly entered and won. Now, I suspect I won because I was the only kid dorky enough to write and submit a poem about saving energy. I think i received a $25 savings bond for my efforts. Don't ask me to recite what I wrote. The years have mercifully erased that from my memory.

So you might now get why I obsess a bit about gas mileage and why I wanted to do this test. I drove as conservatively as possible, coasted when I could, and kept the vehicle in Eco mode. Just for the record, it's a 2022 VW Tiguan with a four cylinder turbo engine. For most of this road trip I've been averaging about 33 MPG each day, which usually includes a lot of highway miles. Today, I was able to nurse 42 MPG out the car for that first 20 miles. Maybe could gotten a little more if I hadn't run the a/c. Not too shabby for a midsize non-hybrid vehicle.

I noticed also while I was in one of the Dakotas that different gasoline types were available. The lowest octane you can get is usually 87, but there they were offering 85. You also could choose whether you wanted gasoline supplemented with ethanol or gas without ethanol. Don't know the reasoning for any of this, but I suspect some car engines are more sensitive to fuel types. Or maybe some people have something against corn.

Another thing I've observed elsewhere, but especially here in Arizona, is the extensive use of traffic circles. Some people hate them, but I like them. They keep traffic moving and reduce the number of times you have to stop, thus saving both time and gas. Why don't we have more of them in PA? Do you think maybe the stop sign manufacturer's association of PA is a heavy contributor to our political leaders' campaign coffers? ?

End of Geekfest