Almost hit a dog!!!!

That's right!! I almost hit a dog at 70mph on the interstate. The car swerved and handled it with ease. I am loving this car more and more each day.

Now for the fill up update..

Last fill up was at 1281 miles
This fill up was at 1504 miles
I  drove 223 miles
I got 6.478 gallons

That averages 34.42 mpg. Not sure why it went down. Could be temps or something. I'll keep monitoring it.

So far so good...

A new week and still going strong.

I filled up today.

Last fill up was at 926 miles
This fill up was at 1281 miles
I  drove 355 miles
I got 9.581 gallons

That averages 37.05 mpg. Looks like it is going up.

So far I have been very impressed with this car. I am going to keep this blog going. I think I am going to change to filling up each morning to get a better idea of MPG for each day.

Fillup Update

Ok.. I have noticed that due to cold temps. I am not getting the 40MPG I was getting before. On my way home, it was 53 degrees F. I was getting 40MPG.

Here are the statistics so far:

I had to get more gas today. Which is going against my initial calculations. Oh well, my tank is only 12.8gals.
Going to work temps: 33 degrees F
Coming home temps: 53 degrees F
Last fill up was at 587 miles
This fill up was at 926 miles
Miles driven:  339
I put in 9.764 gallons

So, my average MPG is 34.72. It's going up some.

Side note: I have been using Gasoline with "Up to 10% Ethanol" Next month I am going to go straight gasoline. See if my MPG goes up more.

The Drive:

So far I have not run into any traffic. The drive is quiet and uneventful. I am really enjoying my SiriusXM Sat Radio. I have found a couple of dead spots for cell coverage. I am loving this car. It is very comfortable. I am not a small person. I am rather large. Everyone at my new job thinks I am crazy for driving these miles. I told them that I am crazy. The Crazy Road Warrior!!!

First Real Day

Well, today was my first real day of working. The drive was really good. I didn't get the MPG as I did my first drive up, but that might have been due to the temps.So, I am going to record my temps to work and temps drive home.

Last fill up was at 277 miles
This fill up was at 587 miles
I put in 9.055 gallons.
So, that makes it an average of 34.24 MPG. Not bad considering some of the miles was city driving.

I hit 40MPG!!!

Today was my first day at my new job. I drove about 229 miles.  I drove 2 different routes going to work. I found the perfect route. It is 4 lanes there and back. Besides going through town hitting red lights. 90% of the drive has 0 stop lights. Part of it is 60 mph and then the interstate is 70 mph. Made great time. But the best part is my MPG.

As I start driving it more and more each day, I will keep track of my fuel usage. I will do it the old fashion way to make sure the computer is accurate.

The car is very comfortable to drive and a lot of fun.

Still waiting on the Road Trip

Well, I didn't get to take that road trip. I got really busy doing things around the house and take care of a PC issue with my uncle. This Friday is when I am going to take it. I don't like Black Friday shopping, so it will be a good time to take to the open road. See what kind of mileage I can get out of this Elantra. My goal is to see if I can get 40MPG. From what I have read on forums and Google searches, it shouldn't be that hard to do. They said the key is to use 100% gas, no ethanol. So, I am going to do an experiment. I am going to burn a month of regular gas with Ethanol. Then I will burn a month of nothing but 100% gas with no ethanol. It should be an interesting experiment. I will keep detailed records.

Test run driving to my new job.

Well.. Today I am going to drive to the area of my new job as I look for the perfect route and get used to the lay of the land. I'll report back after we get back. Should be interesting.

In the beginning.. I went completely insane.. Here is my story..

I think I'll post a little bit of my background so everyone can get an idea of what is going on. Where to start..

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.. WAIT! WAIT!! Too far back...

I am currently working on a project that is about to end. I got a call for a job working in Sumter, SC. It's a 25% increase in pay and a promotion. I talked it over with the wife. She gave me the green light. So I took the job.  I was like, hmm. I just accepted a job that is 100+ miles away. AM I CRAZY?? Why yes. Yes I am.

I looked at apartments and hotel weekly and monthly rates in Sumter. Most of them are expensive. I was thinking. It's about 80% interstate. I am going opposite of traffic. I could drive this. But what to drive? My quest over the weekend was to look for a car. Should I go new? Should I go used? Certified Pre Owned?  What make and model? I wanted to go as cheap, but as comfortable as possible and above all else, get really good gas mileage. And since I am driving 200 miles round trip every day, one word comes to mind, RELIABILITY!!!

After many hours of looking and thinking, I narrowed my choices down to 4 possible contenders, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, and the Hyundai Elantra.  The 3 main options I HAD to have are AC (I live in the south), cruise control, and a manual transmission. Looking at dealer inventory, I couldn't find any manual low end model Honda Civics. So, Honda Civic is out. Up next, Nissan Sentra. Same thing, no manual transmission. Same with the Toyota Corolla. So, I went to the Hyundai dealership. They had ONE Elantra on the lot that met my requirements. It is a really nice car. I test drove it. It is really comfortable inside. The reviews for it were up there. It gets about 38MPG. QAPLA!! (Yes!! I am a Nerd, Geek, Trekkie) SOLD!! I bought it that night.

Here is my 2013 Hyundai Elantra GLS. It had 12 miles on it when I bought it.

So, I am starting this blog not just about my car, but how I am holding up at driving 200 miles round trip every day. I know it's going to be an adventure.  I hope I don't go crazy. I'll post on the weekends. But don't be surprised if I do a quick post here and there during the week. Wish me luck.