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Is Your Car’s Fuel Gauge Accurate?, So Long NSX and Avalon

Host Tom Appel and co-hosts Jill Ciminillo and Damon Bell start off the show by discussing the recently announced cancellation of the 2021 New York International Auto Show. We also talk about the impending discontinuation of the Acura NSX and Toyota Avalon. Jeanette McGee, Director of External Communications for the American Automobile Association (AAA), joins us to talk about gas prices, fuel-economy tips, and how to prep for a summer road-trip vacation in the age of COVID-19. Tom has quiz on fuel-economy ratings for Damon and Jill, and Damon runs down the latest articles on the Consumer Guide Daily Drive blog, including a test-drive review of the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands.

The Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast is broadcast every Sunday on Chicago’s WCPT AM 820 at 1:00 PM CST.

Discussed this week:

Written by: Tom Appel on August 6, 2021.

1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE

By 1988, light-duty trucks—a category which includes pickups, minivans, and SUVs—accounted for roughly one third of new-vehicle sales. At the time, the popularity of trucks seemed scandalous to many in the automotive media, most whom wagged a stern figure at automakers, warning that a sudden surge in the price of gas would leave dealers with lots full of unsellable product.

And while a brief spike in gas prices around the turn of the 21^st Century did, briefly, suppress the public’s interest in SUVs and crossovers, three decades later “trucks” are selling better than ever. In fact, during the first two months of the COVID-19 shutdown, crossover sales accounted for as much as 80 percent of what sales there were during that time.

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Let’s return to 1988 and spend a little time with the sedans of the day. Collected here for you are 16 vintage print ads and one pretty entertaining TV commercial. If you remember spending time in one of these cars, tell us about it. The place to leave comments is down below.

More classic car ads