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Civic Hybrid v. Lincoln Navigator on the Today Show
5/18/05

My Mother-In-Law is a Katie Couric groupie, so she’ll be thrilled that I’m plugging the Today Show’s Great American Gas Challenge.  They have 3 families headed across the country in a Lincoln Navigator, Ford 500, and Honda Civic Hybrid.  The idea stems from a stat they cited that 6 of every 10 families are changing their vacation plans due to high gas prices.  They started in LA and are headed to NYC, all getting the same daily budget to spend.  So far, here are the stats:

Days 1 - 5: Los Angeles to Chicago
Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $388.80
Fowlers (Midsize): $211.98
Pletchers (Hybrid): $135.28

Gas Mileage
Riley Family (SUV): 17 mpg  (estimate was 15 mpg)
Fowler Family (Midsize):  26 mpg  (estimate was 25 mpg)
Pletcher Family (Hybrid): 39 mpg  (estimate was 40 mpg)

Pretty staggering difference in 5 days.  Guess the Riley kids aren’t getting those happy meals super-sized...  Indeed, Matt Lauer noted that when they got to the Grand Canyon, the Pletchers got to take the helicopter tour, while the Rileys only got the jeeps because of the gas expense.   Should be interesting to see how this one plays out with Katie and the gang, as this is quite the high-profile challenge for the Civic Hybrid. 

Anyway, should be fun to watch.  Set those TIVOs for you working stiffs out there.  Tomorrow they'll be in Cleveland, and then finishing up at the Today Show studios on Friday.

UPDATE: For those who didn't TIVO, here are the final stats:

Total amount spent on gas
Rileys (SUV): $459.27
Fowlers (Midsize): $277.98
Pletchers (Hybrid): $172.67

Gas Mileage
Riley Family (SUV): 17 mpg  (estimate was 15 mpg)
Fowler Family (Midsize):  26 mpg  (estimate was 25 mpg)
Pletcher Family (Hybrid): 42 mpg  (estimate was 40 mpg)

Don't know about you, but $300.00 is a pretty big deal to me on a vacation, and even that extra hundred goes a long way when you're doing a family trip.  Also interresting to see that the Civic also ended up over the estimated MPG at the end.

Posted by: ScottN 5/18/05

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