Allen K

iTrader: (4)

I voted a 7. Like many others have said, it's important to me in that I don't want it to get 8 to the gallon, but if it's anywhere between 20~25 mixed I'm happy. That being said, I tend to use it more often as a tie breaker if the cars I'm looking at are in a dead heat.

IS-SV

Even those that can afford a big gas bill will still consider gas mileage in buying decisions. Of course exceptions are made when buying a ultra performance car or a truck that will actually need to perform truck duties.

RON430

Great point. In todays market the mfrs are trying to distinguish their models but in all honesty, you wind up with at least two or three on your short list. At least I do. And if one of them had a considerable advantage in fuel mileage (maybe > 10%, anything else is probably noise), that would definitely be a factor for me.

mmarshall

Yep.....I lived through 2 major gas shortages in the 1970's when the gas just wasn't there, no matter how much money you had (that was a mess, believe me). It was the first one, that stemmed from the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, that reversed decades of the "bigger is better" philosophy in American car design, though some 6-cylinder compacts had been built since 1960, and Nash/Rambler had them (and a couple of small 4-cylinder models) back in the 50's. But the general trend in American cars was big, powerful, and thirsty until the mid 70's, when the CAFE laws came in.

IS-SV

Yes.

Just how old are you, just kidding..........

I'm old enough to remember, in fact I was driving then too.

My comment above was that even those in higher income brackets still consider gas mileage in purchase decisions, even though their monthly gas bill is a small part of their total monthly expenses. Call it better awareness maybe.

RON430

Call it bitter awareness. Pumping $60+ in the tank of my GS was not a fun experience regardless of my marginal tax rate.

IS-SV

Exactly. And we were conscience of who that $60+ was going to.

-J-P-L-

Having this poll on a Lexus forum isn't exactly going to provide an accurate gauge of the general public's view on fuel efficiency. Main reasons being that many Lexus owners have money and chose a powerful luxury car. So I'm surprised the poll leans to fuel efficiency being an important factor. The poll would show different results depending what forum you're on. Prius forum? Hummer forum? Slightly different results.

Also, it depends what the volatile price of gas is at the moment. This poll last July ($4) might have yielded all 9's and 10's.

RON430

That's why it isn't the slightest bit scientific. You wouldn't actually want to post it on any particular brands site if you wanted unbiased results. I knew that going in. But I think it is interesting that the majority, roughly 60%, have said that fuel mileage is slightly more important than a neutral rating while the second largest "grouping" has it slightly less important than neutral. Knowing our sample here, that is still a very interesting result IMO.

mmarshall

More is at stake than just or gas prices. Having money means little or nothing if gas is not available. That was the case in the 1970's. Gas stations simply didn't have much gas to sell, regardless of how rich or poor the motorists were who came to them.

The station owner nearest my house (at that time), for example, opened up in the morning, pumped 1000 gallons, and then closed up for the rest of the day. If he didn't, he simply wouldn't have enough for the next day, or the rest of the week.

Fortunately, we haven't seen a repeat of that (in America) in the last 30 years, since 1979, but it certainly can't be ruled out again in the future.

SLegacy99

I'm 22 and fuel economy is incredibly important to me. But we are at an exciting time where performance and fuel economy can go hand in hand. Some of the best performance boosters, like DI, 6MTs, dual variable valve timing, turbos, also produce better gas mileage. You can an AWD Subaru Legacy that averages almost 30 Hwy, yet can hit 60 in 5.5 seconds. I'll take it.

leedogg

gas is one of those things that consumers are more cost sensitive about. People wont quibble over hundreds or thousands in price variances in vehicles, but if gas goes up 10-20 cents, it creates an uproar, people stop driving places, change travel plans, change vehicle purchase plans, etc.

The perfect illustration for this was that there were times were people were willing to pay thousands more for a hybrid vehicle, regardless of the fact that they would have needed to keep the vehicle for 5 years or so to break even.

RON430

The performance of modern cars is unbelievable. I can tell you first hand that the fond memories that many people have of the muscle car era were never, ever matched by the cars themselves. The performance of my eight year old GS is unbelievable compared to anything from the 60s. Yep, they were fun to drive back then but they had so many faults, it would take its own site to list them.

After the 70s oil crunch where mmarshall rightly points out it wasn't just price, it was being able to get gasoline at all, we had performance collapse and it really started the performance with turbo trend (and smaller cars) that we see today. And there are some good performing cars out there. But in all honesty, there is no magic formula here. Making say 300 or 400hp takes a certain amount of energy and whether it is from a turbo four or V8, with atomic valve timing and variable exhaust resonators, it is going to burn a certain amount of gas. And man, we are getting about as efficient as you can get with modern engines.

Gearing is marvelous on the street. Especially if you have enough ratios to give you good acceleration and then low revs for highway cruising. But if I want an LS, 7, S, or A8 sized car that gets maybe mid to high twenties around town and low thirties on the highway, well, it isn't out there yet. And no, I am not into hypermiling.

We like to think that the auto mfrs stop by here to see what is going on and I wonder if they do? Leaving the other mfrs alone for the minute, you can find numerous posts in numerous threads here from people that would be real buyers for an ES hybrid or an LS350 but we don't have that option. The European mfrs have a variety of engines in their larger cars but we don't get them here. Probably the reason is that if you go find those threads where there were posts wanting and ESh or LS350 you will see maybe just as many posts from people who feel that the Lexus brand would be "cheapened" with such cars. As a businessman, my answer would be nonsense. The Lexus 350 is a 300hp engine and for the type of commuting we do here in Cali, there isn't much need for anything more. And I can't see the costs of making that model available as being very much. But somehow, the world's mfrs are convinced that Americans won't buy such models. Off of soap box as it is probably getting off topic.

So far, the poll is still showing the largest group of votes being for the fuel mileage number to be slightly higher than neutral in the purchase decision factors. Seems like a pretty sensible result even with our skewed, small sample.

SLegacy99

I am excited for the Subaru-Toyota sports car. A direct injected Subaru boxer puttin out 200 HP in a 2800 lb. vehicle. It will be efficient and quick. Like my little Prelude was.

The GS350 is definately efficient and potent. Though the weaker powered E350, TL, 528, etc. makes me wonder if a Lexus should have retained the GS300 (with DI V6). Nothing wrong with more choices.

RON430

You hit it with 200hp in 2800lb. That is one way you can have your cake and eat it too, performance wise. Can't think of any model that wouldn't benefit from going on a diet.

As for choice, as consumers we can never lose with more choices.