"Bob" <boboaks@nospampacbell.net> wrote in message
news:FTLYd.17182$OU1.2228@newssvr21.news.prodigy.c om...
>I bought a Civic EX last summer, but drive only 300 to 400 miles per month.
>I currently have only 3600 miles on it. The vast majority of my driving is
>city driving, and the city is San Francisco, which means lots of hills.
>Even so, my gas mileage (on those rare occasions when I fill the tank) is
>only about 20-22 mpg. That seems low to me, even for San Francisco
>driving.
>
> Also, this is the first car I've had in over 30 years with automatic
> transmission (what does one do with the left foot?). Unlike rental cars
> I've driven with automatic transmissions, the car more or less
> automatically goes into D3 rather than D when I shift from park or
> reverse. Is this normal? The dealer says it is, but maybe this is
> causing the poor gas mileage.
>
I think the economy is the best you can hope for under those conditions.
Lump together the city driving, short trips (sort of comes with city
driving, but is a burden of its own) and the hills, and any non-hybrid
vehicle would be hard pressed to do better.

Mike