You too can wring much more out of every gallon of gas, even if you don't go to the crazy lengths of so-called hypermilers. Here are basic steps anyone can take to get real savings.




http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...aveonacar.aspx

 

"...the U.S. Department of Energy says that by following the speed limit and swearing off aggressive driving (rapid acceleration and deceleration), drivers can improve mpg by anywhere from 12% to 55%."

Well, that's it then. No more speeding and aggressive driving for me. The rest of you can have a happy weekend knowing that your gas prices will PLUMMET by Monday now that I'm driving like my grandma.






Or not.

 

i drive as much as possible out of vtec on my commuter.... one of the
easiest ways to get great milage for me.

 

Yup. Once I'm clear of Oldtown Alexandria going south on the George Washington parkway, I can make it to my driveway with a 41-42 mpg average. The GW parkway is a 4 lane parkway along the Potomac river, gently undulating and the limit is 45mph. If I set cruise control to that I can make it down the parkway and back into my subdivision with mileage in the low 40's. Going through the stop and go in Oldtown Alexandria with lights though tt's tough to beat 29 mpg.

 

Thats a good article and the techniques talked about really do work. We've managed about 64 mpg over 95k miles in our Insight. In that car, you can really feel the difference that A/C or drafting makes. It's much harder in the MINI. The best technique I've found is to get behind a semi, not too close, but if you stay within a reasonable distance, it just pulls you along. It's fun getting 80+ mpg at 75 mph on the highway. As for non-drafting mileage, I can manage well over 100 mpg if I keep the speed in the high 30's/low 40's. In the MINI, I've seen over 40 mpg (OBC) when doing 45-50 in 6th.

 

On the 20 ways page, they have a little folded up MINI in their dollars icon.

I don't think I'll be drafting behind any semis soon...

 

I dunno... somehow it just seems more fun to see what the worst gas mileage I can get out of my MINI is

 

 

You can indeed get 50mpg without drafting anyone, but you sure won't get anywhere in a hurry. Just accelerate as rapidly as possible without getting into boost or fuel enrichment to about 45mph, then shut off the car and coast in neutral until you are nearly stopped. Lather, rinse, repeat.

That's how they drive in various fuel economy contests. No it's not very practical but good to know in case you are nearly out of gas and miles from the nearest station...

 

I'd rather enjoy driving my MINI than becoming psychotic over gas mileage.

 

I go through a tank of gas every three days. For as long as I've had my car I've been thinking "I ought to try babying it for a whole tank. Drive with the proverbial egg on the gas pedal. See what kind of mileage I can get".

75000 miles later I still haven't tried it!

 

1) bamatt's and LynnEl's definitions of fun are closely aligned with mine... I guess some folks get their jolly from maximizing MPG... but not me...

2) I can't believe bamatt and LynnEl agree on something.

 

Hey, I often agree with bamatt. I just like to reply to her posts ever since I learned the origin of her screen name.

 

Wasn't that a state slogan.... "Everything's Bigger in Bama!"?

No - wait - maybe that was Texas....

 

I tend to always tell myself that too, but that only lasts until I can't see the gas station in my rear view mirror, then VROOM VROOM!

 

Maybe I'm still used to my prior vehicles, but after driving in intense traffic most of the time, I look at my 24.7 MPG and think, Wow, no need to baby this thing!

 

If you want fuel economy, get a Prius. You don't buy a car shaped like a brick that requires premium grade fuel and a supercharger to adequately launch it if you want to save money at the pump.

 

Beat you to it sndwave.

 

I'm with LynnEl- I've owned some real gas hogs in the past so the MCS is a God-send to me in mpg(hey that rhymes!) When ever I start to worry about economy I just remember my old Chevy Silverado 2500 HD with the big 6.0 V8 and "pullin gears" Sure it sounded great at idle and could tow a small town but 10 mpg in town and a whopping 15 hwy got old VERY quick-especially when Katrina hit.