# 1999 BMW 323/Subie Impreza Questions

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-subie-impreza-questions/147317>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [August 23, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-subie-impreza-questions/147317 "2019-08-23T15:37:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![floneddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@floneddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/floneddy)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-subie-impreza-questions/147317/1 "2019-08-23T15:37:47Z")

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Dear CarTalk,

I have two cars and two questions. My first car is a 1999 BMW 323 with a manual transmission. My question is: if gas consumption is based on RPMs (as you stated in a show many moons ago), when I downshift and the RPMs go up, but my foot is off the gas, is it still using more fuel?  
My second car is a 2019 Subaru Impreza. This car has all the nanny safety features, including adaptive cruise control which I love. When I get within the safety range of the car ahead it will slow down to match its speed. When it does this it feels like its dragging a drogue. My question is: Is it riding the brakes to create this effect and is it hurting my gas mileage?

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**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-bmw-323-subie-impreza-questions/147317/2 "2019-08-23T16:09:40Z")

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> [@floneddy](#):
>
> but my foot is off the gas, is it still using more fuel?

No………………………

> [@floneddy](#):
>
> Is it riding the brakes to create this effect and is it hurting my gas mileage?

No…………………….