Replicator
06-07-2007, 07:15 PM
Hi, this is Gary from Austin, Texas. This is my first post (though I've been lurking for a few days).
I think I first practiced some of the more obvious strategies of hypermiling in 1993. That year I bought a Honda Civic VX hatchback. Anyone remember that car? 48/55 EPA mpg. I would consistently get 55-60 mpg (or about 77 ft/ml, as I calculated then). It was a great car...until a Dodge Behemoth (or some sort of hopelessly overengineered, heaving, gasping model) crashed into me using driving practices that were decidedly against the code of the hypermiler. That was 2004.
I wanted to buy a Prius badly, but at that time the waiting list was 2 years. I need a little legroom for the expanding family--not a lot, mind you--but something beyond an Echo. So I bought a Camry. I felt guilty doing it (23/32 EPA), but the options were just so thin.
This has always made me mad. >10 years ago there was a gas engine vehicle with >20% than the best mpg small model gas car today. How does one reconcile this fact with the trepidations of our growing reliance on oil?
A few weeks ago I saw, "Who killed the electric car."
I got even angrier.
I wanted to do something.
A spark of luck fueled (pun intended) by a reignited personal passion led me to Google a search that would answer: How could I squeeze more efficiency out of my Camry?
I knew the basics (no jackrabbit starts, drive like Grandma, etc.), but when I saw this article (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/Get50MpgInYourOwnCar.aspx?f=25&MSPPError=-2147197912)
I was in awe.
FAS, P&G, WOW.
And then it all hit me. I have to have a FCD. Was there an aftermarket solution? A quick search, and I found Wayne's outstanding review of the ScanGauge II. I bought it 10 min later. It arrived yesterday.
All of this is an epiphany to me, but you folks know it as old hat. I usually get 27 mpg in my Camry with a 60/40 mix of city/hwy, but with the SGII today I hit 38 mpg over about 25 miles. It is a remarkable teacher!
It is fun learning to drive this way (and I love the numerical challenge!). But one thing I need to develop along with my hypermiling skills is grow a thick skin; a couple of drivers responded most unpleasantly to my conservative driving today. It made me think of the cars around me in a color code from cool blue (energy conserving) to bright red (energy wasting), and so there were a hive of angry blurs of red streaking all around me (even though I wasn't that much below the posted speed limit).
At any rate, many thanks for those that contribute to this forum. What a wonderful collection of refreshing, progressive ideas!
Gary
I think I first practiced some of the more obvious strategies of hypermiling in 1993. That year I bought a Honda Civic VX hatchback. Anyone remember that car? 48/55 EPA mpg. I would consistently get 55-60 mpg (or about 77 ft/ml, as I calculated then). It was a great car...until a Dodge Behemoth (or some sort of hopelessly overengineered, heaving, gasping model) crashed into me using driving practices that were decidedly against the code of the hypermiler. That was 2004.
I wanted to buy a Prius badly, but at that time the waiting list was 2 years. I need a little legroom for the expanding family--not a lot, mind you--but something beyond an Echo. So I bought a Camry. I felt guilty doing it (23/32 EPA), but the options were just so thin.
This has always made me mad. >10 years ago there was a gas engine vehicle with >20% than the best mpg small model gas car today. How does one reconcile this fact with the trepidations of our growing reliance on oil?
A few weeks ago I saw, "Who killed the electric car."
I got even angrier.
I wanted to do something.
A spark of luck fueled (pun intended) by a reignited personal passion led me to Google a search that would answer: How could I squeeze more efficiency out of my Camry?
I knew the basics (no jackrabbit starts, drive like Grandma, etc.), but when I saw this article (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/Get50MpgInYourOwnCar.aspx?f=25&MSPPError=-2147197912)
I was in awe.
FAS, P&G, WOW.
And then it all hit me. I have to have a FCD. Was there an aftermarket solution? A quick search, and I found Wayne's outstanding review of the ScanGauge II. I bought it 10 min later. It arrived yesterday.
All of this is an epiphany to me, but you folks know it as old hat. I usually get 27 mpg in my Camry with a 60/40 mix of city/hwy, but with the SGII today I hit 38 mpg over about 25 miles. It is a remarkable teacher!
It is fun learning to drive this way (and I love the numerical challenge!). But one thing I need to develop along with my hypermiling skills is grow a thick skin; a couple of drivers responded most unpleasantly to my conservative driving today. It made me think of the cars around me in a color code from cool blue (energy conserving) to bright red (energy wasting), and so there were a hive of angry blurs of red streaking all around me (even though I wasn't that much below the posted speed limit).
At any rate, many thanks for those that contribute to this forum. What a wonderful collection of refreshing, progressive ideas!
Gary