How Strawberries Lowers Your MPG!
 

Buying fresh strawberries on a sunny day is NOT good for fuel economy. At least not if, like me, you don't have air conditioning and have to drive home with all windows open at highway speeds :)

At least the strawberries didn't get spoiled!!

I can't stand not having A/C. I just spent $200 the other day because the A/C was not working well (It was cool, but not cold)

im on the fence about ac. i did 2 runs in the last 2 weeks to actually see the drop in mpg. exact same distances and routes and almost the same devilish heat. lost nearly 4mpg with ac on vs windows cracked. i sweated more and probably lost a few pounds in the process. im really looking for a good reason to ditch the ac but it just works so well.

In the DC area its just so hot & humid I require A/C to work in all of my vehicles. Even in my 1981 Buick the A/C works.

A/C vs. "windows cracked" is not the usual comparison. Most people compare A/C to all windows completely open.

After 2 years of no A/C on the VX, I have no complaints. If I want A/C, I drive the other car. However, my wife does not always have that option. She's often stuck with the VX on hot days (not that I haven't offered to switch; she just prefers her car).

We're buying a new Fit this week and passing the VX along to my uncle, who will have it as a 4th (5th?) vehicle, but will serve as his primary commuter.

If you do have to use the A/C you can save some gas by turning up the temperature a bit. It doesn't always have to be COLD in the car, NOT HOT is usually good enough and with the A/C working less it uses less fuel.

i hate driving with the windows really open. i can deal with it low speed around town but once im on the highway it drives me nuts. i can deal with cracking the drivers front an inch or 2 and the rear pass the same. i think with windows fully open it would probably be a draw.

It has always seemed to me that turning up the temperature wouldn't make the A/C run less, it would just add some heat to the air by running it past the heater core or mix some heated air with the cold air. This may differ in modern automated digital climate control systems rather than basic knobs.

In that case, for your preferences, you're almost certainly better off without using A/C.