Trip Report! 24 June – 30 June 2007
Just got back from a R/T to Florida to see the aged relatives. Dad's turning 88 in a couple of weeks and has developed a medical problem that makes every trip count, if you know what I mean...
As mentioned in a previous post in “Dealer Reviews”, we had the Deville checked out by General Sales in West Chester PA prior to the embarkation, just to make sure nothing was about to fall off, blow up, or break down. They replaced a broken motor mount and the crank pos sensors.
We left on Saturday 24th about 10:30, heading south. Trip was pretty much uneventful, took US 13 to Norfolk, US 58 to Emporia VA, and then hopped on I-95 all the rest of the way.
Arrived Port St Lucie FL approx 8 PM on 25th. Figures for Down-slope trip: 1,114 miles, 63.5 average MPH, and 25.3 mpg. Highest price paid for gas : $3.09 for Shell Regular in Georgia
Back up, we just stayed right on I-95 all the way, drove straight through. Left PSL at about 9:30 yesterday morning, arrived back in Salem about 3:30AM today..long trip, but no problems whatsoever. Figures for Return Trip, 1,089 miles, 62.4 avg mph, and a rather astounding 28.6 MPG. We ran in to some volume slowdown in SC around Charleston, and several rain showers in North Carolina and Virginia up through Baltimore but other than that it was an uneventful trip. Didn't see a lot of Smokies on the road, but I did have a scare in SC when I passed one hiding in the bushes at about 75 (along with the rest of the traffic) and he pulled out, but he nailed a van about three cars behind me... Hundreds of re-cap treads all over the roads, they must not have done a clean up in a while.
We did have to have a low-beam headlamp bulb replaced in Florida, but other than that the Deville never missed a beat. Ran with A/C on most of the time. Looks like it used about a quart and a half of oil. Do have to put in a plug for “Suburban Chevrolet” in Stuart, FL, who replaced my bulb on Thursday, in about 20 minutes, vacuumed the car, and sent me on my way for $44.50. Very nice people, if you need GM service in the surrounding area I recommend them highly.