[HUMMERcustoms.com/TAZ]

I drove my 2005 SUV right off the dealer lot from Little Rock, AR to
Carrollton, TX but, first driving home to load duffle bag and stuff which allowed for an hour break in period at about 60MPH. My speed from my home to Carrollton was an easy 80 to 90MPH and based on the MPG meter on the rig I would stay around 11 to 12 MPG and when i could draft behind a big rig sometime would get 14mpg along with the tailwind in effect at the time also.

My theory is to drive the ride from the day you buy it like you will drive it everyday and on special times like on weekends when you want to race someone. I have done that with every ride I have ever had including back in the day when I would build a new Street/Race engine and I never have had a failure in 35 years. Some of these early year rides were street and strip rides where I may have built a new engine and the tranny if synchro's were acting up adding more HP etc. & not because the engine failed. I never had any trouble back then smoking the tires right after pulling out of the shop or sometime if no stalls available at friends. Then it would have been from front yard at my house after having building engine & tranny. This may have happened in the rain/sleet or some snow with a tarp draped over the hood in January laying on plywood stabbing the pilot shaft of the T-10 top loader by yourself because all your friends were busy and could not come, LOL.
This really did happen. I never had a failure.

I know there are lemons but, using my theory I have not ever experienced trouble with any ride i have had just driving it from day one how I would drive it normally which was usually fast and chirping the tires when possible and braking at the last possible moment at stop sign or light thinking I'm saving time being late and then smoke the tires on launch. I sat down one day and figured this hard stop and start strategy saved me about 10 seconds at each stop sign or light. The timed saved did not even begin to pay for the brake pads and rotor or drum turning I had to pay for.

Well it is nice that most all become more layed back as we get older and understand that there are better ways to look at our driving expience, NOT.

I think car makers add break in notations in owners manual to cover their own tail. How it would do that I can't understand. Maybe if they can get somebody that had failure during that time and the guy would answer when questioned "Sir did you follow the break in schedule as written in manual as well as not exceeding 50MPH for the first 632 miles exactly?" "UUUHHHHH, the new car owner responds, well no but, I did make a trip to my sisters house about 200 miles away a few days after purchase. I had to take Interstate route and followed the 75 MPH speed limit." "Well sir that voids your warranty now and we can't help you except to offer you a special deal on the engine repair and try and help you by cutting our cost as much as we can" Then the poor new car owner with 300 miles on his car is later handed a bill from dealer for $2500.

Run the DOG out of the rides. They are metal, well mostly anyway, yet they are built with a factory tolerance in anyway to protect themselves against certain potential liabilities early in new car life.

Oh well my soapbox stand once again.

TAZ