1959 Fiat Millecento: A Classic Car that Gets 40 MPG

1. silverbullitt
   September 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

   what id like to know is ,how is 40Mpg a whopping figure , i had a volvo S40 1800 cc petrol engine that returned over 45mpg on my daily commute to work.i currently have a sports car that gets 38mpg .
   the prius is not the savior of the planet , its the means of conveyance of pompous A**holes

2. Reed Hedges
   September 7th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

   Has anyone else noticed the advertising promoting cars that get 30 MPG? I've seen ads on Hulu and at dealerships. Sorry, but 30 is just not that impressive.

   (I can get 40 in my Civic if I drive right, and I know that the Honda CRX and Geo Metro and other tiny lightweights could get in the 50s...)

3. Some guy
   September 7th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

   Given that it IS a Fiat(aka Fix It Again, Tony), there was probably a problem not related to fuel economy.

4. Polx
   September 7th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

   I was so prepared for a sneeringing look at litle European cars and was delighted by Leno's enthusiam and understanding of the subject.

   I think it gets the 40 mpg by being a fraction of the weight of modern cars, US or European.

   Anyway, hots off to Leno for the pieece.

   Am now off to see what else he's got.

5. Ryan Parrish
   September 7th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

   You will find a lot of small cars from the past that can do this, stepping back to the mid 80's you have the Geo Metro / Suzuki Swift that could pull 45mpg, Honda CRX's in the high 50's, and countless other small hatchbacks.

   But you know what the difference is between a car then and now is? Back then you basically had a body, motor, and seat belts. None of this front/rear/side airbags, ABS, Traction Control, independent suspension, crumple zones, plush interiors, etc...
   All those things add up to lots of weight, and with more weight you need an larger engine, and with a larger engine, you need more gas.

   One of the heads at Honda said basically the same thing when asked why they can't build cars with the kinds of MPG they had back in the days.

6. ted
   September 7th, 2008 at 9:55 pm

   How does it get ANY mpg sitting in the living room?

7. flareak
   September 7th, 2008 at 11:13 pm

   #1, the prius gets more than 40
   #2, small cars can get good gas mileage. its nothing special. you wanna sacrifice space so you can get good gas mileage? thats ok, but don't compare it to a prius that is bigger.
   why don't you compare it to an insight that can get over 70mpg. yeah what now?
   #3 silverbullsht: you sir, are a pompous ahole for thinking you are better than prius drivers

8. K!P
   September 8th, 2008 at 2:31 am

   wel; a VW Polo i drove made 63 miles on a gallon. NOT a fancy hybride, just plain old diesel. (27 Km/liter). Small car tho. (believe it was a 1998 model.)

9. Lasse
   September 8th, 2008 at 5:09 am

   Older engines tend to have less HP's. That has probably something to say, too.

10. Lars
    September 8th, 2008 at 8:54 am

    40 mpg is what you could expect for a car thet weighs less than half than a Prius and is as safe as a bicycle.

    And again with the Prius!

    I don't like the Prius. Perhaps it doesn't use a lot of fuel, but it isn't better for the enviroment than other cars. The batteries just add up weight and require more power. The car is very slow and very complicated to repair and if they had just put an underpowered engine to a ligther car the result would have been pretty much the same. Except it would have been a lot cheaper!

    A car i think would be good for the enviroment is the Loremo, when it gets availible. But that is also a tiny car!

    And Diesel gets better mpg! A Skoda Octavia 2.0 Diesel has 140 hp and still gets 50+ mpg in daily commute.

11. David Traver Adolphus
    September 8th, 2008 at 9:44 am

    What they all said. My old Japan-built Mazda 626 got 40-plus. Hell, My mother's got a 5-speed 2007 Elantra and sees 38 if she takes it easy. With airbags, ABS and a CD player.

12. Polx
    September 8th, 2008 at 10:48 am

    there seems to be a point being missed here.

    If lenos 50 year old Italian car gets 40mpg, it should still be a matter of some sahme and incredulity that the various listed modern cars get about the same, give or taek.

    They should be gettig 3 figures per gallon surel?

13. flareak
    September 8th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    @Lars:
    Quote: "I don’t like the Prius. Perhaps it doesn’t use a lot of fuel, but it isn’t better for the enviroment than other cars. The batteries just add up weight and require more power. The car is very slow and very complicated to repair and if they had just put an underpowered engine to a ligther car the result would have been pretty much the same. Except it would have been a lot cheaper!"

    Tons of misconceptions in your comment. It actually is better for the environment than other cars. If you really want, I can dig up a whole bunch of articles for you.

    The batteries are only about 100 lbs, and the car as a whole is only 2900 lbs so it really doesn't make a difference. The car is very slow? Compared to what.. a Nissan GTR?

    People don't need to race on 40 mph roads. The Prius 0-60 is comparable to a Camry 4 cylinder but I bet you didn't know that nor would you have second guessed the Camry's acceleration. Seeing as how so many people buy the Camry, I don't think the Prius acceleration is an issue.

    Or do you mean the Prius' top speed is slow? because I know individuals who have topped out at 108 MPH. Do you go over 108MPH on the highway? Maybe then the Prius is "too slow" for you.

    Diesel inherently has more energy inside the fuel. It's no wonder they get high mpg. Does it mean its more efficient? Not necessarily, when you consider how much energy is inside diesel fuel. Plus, diesel is expensive nowadays.. more expensive than premium gasoline.

    @Polx: There is no shame. You don't see how new technology, safety measures, etc require a car to use more gasoline than before? Bigger cars, airbags, impact bars, air conditioning, radio, etc etc etc just add more weight than old cars without that tech. Plus, I wonder how fast that millecento is going to go.

14. K!P
    September 9th, 2008 at 9:12 am

    @flareak
    qoute "Diesel inherently has more energy inside the fuel. It’s no wonder they get high mpg. Does it mean its more efficient? Not necessarily, when you consider how much energy is inside diesel fuel. Plus, diesel is expensive nowadays.. more expensive than premium gasoline."

    true about more energy in diesel. However, in a lot of places diesel is cheaper than premium gasoline. (Think Europe.)

    For me the prius is more hype than annything else. The bateries weigh 100 lbs? seems a bit on the light side if you ask me. A normal car battery already does 30 lbs or so. But than again i dont have anny numbers. (and ofcourse the electro drive also uses weight. Talking about batteries: what is the enveroimental impact of those things? they do not grow on trees, also recycling is an isue. How long does a battery pack last? i would not be suprised if the batteries cost more energy to make than they save on the road. just picture a 15 year old prius, i do not see that happen often. I all for greener transportation, but imho the prius is not the way to go. think smaller, maybe afordable dealer renting of bigger cars if you need to move more.

15. Lars
    September 9th, 2008 at 3:26 pm

    @flareak

    100 lbs?! Whoa... Thanks for coorecting me, I didn't know that.. That is a lot less than I thought!

    But I won't take back that i simpler car is better for the enviroment than i Prius. Sure it uses lees fuel, but is more complicated to produce, so from birth to grave it's more polluting. I't just a matter of moving the pollution from the road to the industrialized areas. Besides: how long will the batteries last? They are Li-ion like cell phone batteries and they don't last forever. Certainly not if you always charge them frewuently before they're used up!

    @K!P

    I assumed the same thing, but when I serched for information I found out they actually weighed less than 100 lb! (http://www.toyotapriusbattery.com/)

16. Ben Navaratne
    December 9th, 2008 at 2:37 am

    Hello,
    I was happy to see this old Fiat 1100 we call it in Sri Lanka, I have an old Fiat 1100 which is a Station Wagon,
    Anybody spotted one anywhere else in the world.?

    It is true I have got upto 50MPG on flat running with and extra large dia tyre and with air slightly higher, Still compfortable to run.

    Ben

17. Bobbert
    May 8th, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    So if there was a vehicle to get 100 MPG the gas price would be $ 22.39 gallon.
    Batteries won't last forever and at this time are very expensive.

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