Peaked in 1987

Well, yes, some of us might have in an Al Bundy sort of way, but this is a reference to a fairly recent article about gas mileage for cars. An excerpt:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the average gas mileage for cars sold in the United States during 1980 was 23.1 mpg, while the average gas mileage for cars sold in the U.S. during 2004 was 24.7 mph - a whopping increase of less than 7%.

In the NHTSA’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) report, it states that the peak gas mileage for cars sold in America was 26.2 mph and was achieved in 1987. After peaking during the end of the Ronald Reagan administration, the average gas mileage fluctuated between 24.5 and 25.6 mpg. Not exactly advancing with technology.

Higher Education Circa 1987

Most of us who had graduated and were heading off to college in 1987 probably didn't know it at the time, but we were about to enter into an educational environment that was less about classical liberal education and more about liberal ideological indoctrination. Such was disclosed in the best selling book, The Closing of the American Mind, which was first published in 1987. The book was, and continues to be, the most significant indictment on so-called higher education in America, and the moral relativist culture which permeates it.

Here's a link to a review of the book by public policy and social commentator Roger Kimball that appeared in the New York Times in April 1987. It's a nice little introduction to the late Allan Bloom's work, which even today, is very much worth reading, if you already haven't done so.

Update: In case you aren't registered with the NY Times, here's a link to the cached version of the Kimball review.

The Lookers

Davina Kent and Marc Alvillar were voted the "Best Looking" students of the Class of '87. So, where are they now? Thanks to a little "googling", we can see that Davina is an exec for TiVo, while Marc is the head baseball coach at L.A. Harbor College.

Senior Class of 1987 (Part IV)

P*rn mustache alert! It shouldn't be hard to see who's got it.

Top Grossing Movies of 1987

According to the Internet Movie Data Base, the top 3 money making movies in 1987 were:

1). 3 Men and a Baby (Steve Guttenberg has rarely been heard from since.)

2). Fatal Attraction (No, no, no. You look at a naked Glenn Close in order to get turned off from sex. )

3). Beverly Hills Cop II (When a guy with a CPA name hit the top of the music world with a catchy theme song.)

Senior Class of 1987 (Part III)

Page tres of the Senior Class section of the yearbook. What evil thoughts were going through the mind of John Bruner? And is this the same dude that is two spaces to the right of John? (Update: P*rn mustache alert!)

Senior Class of 1987 (cont.)

Page deux of the Senior section of the '87 yearbook. Shake it!