Auto Q & A
Auto Q & A
By: Dr. Wheels
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Sep 26, 2006 17:16:31 PDT
Viewed 710 times
0 responses 0 comments Dear Q & A: When you list gas stations that sell gas the cheapest, isn’t that bad for certain gas station owners who charge more? I mean, they are free to choose what they want to charge, aren’t they? — Marv
Dear Marv: Depends on whose interest you feel it’s more important to serve: a few gasoline retailers or the vast majority who are trying to manage a household budget while paying today’s exorbitant prices for the motor fuel we need to get around in our cars and trucks. Seems an easy choice.
Dear Q & A: I have a chance to buy a used Pontiac Grand Am to replace my aging and ailing Honda Accord. Should I stay with the Japanese cars because they’re better quality, or go with the American? And is the Grand Am economical on gas? I’d appreciate some input. — T.D.
Dear TD: The Pontiac Grand Am marque covers several rather different models, from a five-speed, manual-shift, six-cylinder, 3.4-liter coupe, to a four-door sedan with a four-cylinder, 2.4-liter, 150-horsepower (changed to a better 2.2-liter, 140-hp four in 2002). So performance and economy could vary depending on which combination you’re looking at.
In general, it’s a respectable, economical car, somewhat more solid than average for its size class. Economy for all should be in the low-to-mid 20s around town and 30 mpg or better on straight highway driving, even with the six. Comparables are the Mercury Mystique and Ford Contour.
As you (and other Japanese and German import drivers) know, if you’ve had your car for some time, foreign cars are not as superior in quality to domestic makes as some media sources keep telling us. Mercedes and Toyota have a cachet, earned mostly during the 1970s and ’80s, when U.S. quality control declined for awhile. The condition and past care of the individual used vehicle are much more important to you than the opinion of any auto critic who may or may not have kept abreast of the improvements in American QC since that period. If the Grand Am checks out, no reason not to go for it.
Dear Q & A: My wife (influenced by her father, no doubt) insists we buy only Shell gasoline, and she’ll go miles out of her way to do it. “It’s “better” gas, she (he) says. Is that true, or are all gasolines sold around here pretty much the same fluid, as I contend? I see some of the oil companies are starting to advertise again, “Buy our X brand, it contains the patented ingredient Y.” Is there a BS factor at work here? — No Name
Dear NN: Despite the popular notion that there are big differences among gasoline brands, it just ain’t so. To quote someone who ought to know, Dr. Ed Murphy of the American Petroleum Institute, US gasoline is a “commodity that must meet certain government specifications. It flows through common pipelines into commingled storage tanks.” Additives by different companies come in as tanker trucks are filled to be delivered to gas stations, at an average rate of one gallon of additive per 3,000 gallons of gas. Independent stations’ gas contains government-approved generic additives. When queried as to which gasoline was “best,” experts at the University of Texas Petroleum Extension Service gave this answer, according to Director Ron Baker: “They all shrugged their shoulders.”
But be aware of octane rating: If your owner’s handbook says use 87 octane regular, don’t waste your money on premium. If it says use 91 octane premium, don’t risk engine damage by using only 87 regular.
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