Buick's Riviera

When I think of the "Mad Men" or Camelot era of the early 1960's several cars come to mind.  First and foremost are the Jaguar E-Type and Corvette Stingray, two cars that need no introduction.  

The other car is a Buick.

The Buick Riviera was originally styled by Bill Mitchell, the designer who also created the Corvette Stingray and oversaw most of GM's design work of that era.

The 1963 to 1965 model is a high watermark of automotive design.  It's clean, well-proportioned, and projects an aura of confidence.

The $15,000 Question: W210 E55 AMG

Twenty years ago there were two phenomenons known as "Hammer Time".  The first was a flamboyant rapper who sounded suspiciously like Rick James.  The second, more entertaining Hammer was created by Mercedes Benz's in house tuner, AMG, which shoehorned a 6.0 liter V8 into mild mannered E Class sedans.

The result was a Honda Accord sized sedan that could glide up to supercars on the autobahn, proclaim "U Can't Touch This" and vanish quicker than Vanilla Ice.

But unlike MC Hammer, the AMG breathed E Class has remained "Too Legit to Quit".  It is more like the Dr. Dre of supercars.  Understated most of the time with the ability to drop bombs on a moments notice and go back to his business.  And like Dr. Dre, it's given rise to other talent like the smaller AMG C-Class and CLK class.  

The E55 pictured in this post is the W210 version built from 1995 to 2003.  While it is possible to pick up the newer W211 series for $15,000, they generally have high mileage, are likely to have led hard lives and be in need of expensive repairs.  Better to find a pampered older model with lower miles and a complete service record.

What you'll get is the typical vault like, Teutonic sedan that dispenses mere Porsches and Corvettes at the drop of your right foot.  It is the ultimate Q-ship, not unlike Usain Bolt wearing a Tom Ford grey flannel suit.  And like any other Mercedes, it will stand the test of time and mileage as long as you maintain it.

34 MPG in a Chevy Traverse

Okay, in all fairness I stacked the deck in my favor.  My commute to work includes a ten mile stretch of flat, slightly downhill highway.  Last week on my way to work, I set the cruise for 55 MPH to see what would happen.  At the halfway point I was up to 34 MPG.  By the time I exited the highway, my average increased to 34.7 MPG.

The Chevy Traverse is a 5,000 pound crossover, just over 17 feet long, that can tow it's own weight while carrying eight people.  The EPA fuel economy numbers are 16/24 for city and highway driving, which falls in the range of what we've been averaging.  It is no Prius.

But I was able to break into the low 30s on a flat road going just under the speed limit.  And it illustrates a point on how to get better fuel economy when gas prices skyrocket in the $4 range.  Drive slower.

For every 5 miles an hour slower you drive, you can increase your fuel economy 10-20%.  If gas is at $4 a gallon, that's like paying $3.60 or even $3.20 a gallon.  Speed junkie that I am, it's hard to do.  But the result is worth it, and unless I'm driving across country, it doesn't take more than a minute longer to get where I'm going.

The other way to save on gas is to drive less.  Combine trips, stick close to home, walk or bike more.  Instead of driving one place, going home, then driving somewhere else, plan errands that are in the same area.  No, you don't get better gas mileage, but you use less gas, which equates to the same thing.  Cutting your trips in half is like doubling your gas mileage.

Bottom line, you don't have to buy a hybrid or be a hyper-miler to save at the pump.