Gee, my old '86 Astro would easily go 600 miles on a forty gallon tankful. It took until 2006 before my Corrolla ever got to the cost per fill up of my '86 Astro.
Of course, in the day, in response to the 1979 gas crisis, manufacturers were touting "cruising range", since you literally could go days without finding an open filling station in the days of the Carter horror.
I remember those years well. I worked for a car dealer in Texas back then, and our gas station would notify us first when he got a shipment of fuel. All the employees would rush down and fill up. We were using unleaded in older cars, and adding top cylinder lubricant to protect the engine. Then we were putting regular in cars that required unleaded. It's a wonder they ran at all. I sure wouldn't want to go back to those days.
Carolyn