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When maximizing miles per gallon becomes an extreme sport. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-mxa0801tempofuelishaug01,1,4805141.story)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Wayne_on_MarketPlace2.jpgNara Schoenberg - Chicago Tribune - August 1, 2007

On the hottest days of summer, Wayne Gerdes drives with his windows rolled up and the air conditioning off.

He crawls into stoplights at a few miles an hour, wears an "ice vest" (technical equipment used in nuclear power plants) to stay cool on long rides, parks in the isolated outskirts of mall lots and turns off the engine and coasts on major highways -- all in the name of greater fuel efficiency.

His efforts have paid off. In the small but growing world of American hypermiling, in which top drivers compete for the best miles-per-gallon statistics, the 45-year-old Wadsworth resident with lightning reflexes and a laid-back country drawl is Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods rolled into one.

He so dominates his sport -- achieving 59 miles per gallon in an ordinary Honda Accord and 127 miles per gallon in a Prius hybrid -- that at Hybridfest Inc., the Madison, Wis., non-profit that runs the nation's biggest annual hypermiling contest in July, officials say he's often in a class by himself.
… http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-mxa0801tempofuelishaug01,1,4805141.story

It's funny how they say hypermiling is an extreme sport. I think funding foreign nations to irresponsibly extract oil, ship it to the US, spill a few boats worth every once in a while, give billions of $$$ in profits to already rich companies, sell it to us for cheaper than water, and drive a mile to the store to buy a can of soda is quite a bit more extreme. sigh

Another thing to note is there are actually places plenty of people drive like Wayne - places like Beruit and Iran, where gas at the pump is not plentiful.

It looks cold in Gurnee... ;)

"I brake to avoid hitting a blue mini-van that doesn't stop at its stop sign, and get so flummoxed that I take a wrong turn. I come to my next required stop, in a Blockbuster lot, facing the wrong way, a move that Gerdes takes as his cue to get out of the hot car into the scorching sun and push."


LOL It probably didn't happen this way, but I have a mental picture of the reporter being flustered and thinking momentarily that Wayne is ditching her when he is getting out to push.

BTW: The pic seems to disclose Wayne's secret to minimizing summer AC use; is that his "ice vest" that he is wearing?:)

Go, Wayne!! :thumbs_up: :D

It must be great to see the look on a person's face when they hit numbers like that in one of your clinics. :)

I put a comment in the comments section and so did hafnhaf. Then someone posted a third comment which I thought was abusive towards Wayne, so I tagged it as inappropriate. And guess what? It vanished! There IS justice in this world!

I put a comment in the comments section and so did hafnhaf. Then someone posted a third comment which I thought was abusive towards Wayne, so I tagged it as inappropriate. And guess what? It vanished! There IS justice in this world!

Well...today I've been an apologist on this article at a site you would expect a sympathetic ear, but have a few that choose to attack without really studying it.

Those that have read reader's comments on hypermiling: don't you get the distinct impression some defensive speeders are responding?

You didn't add going to war with countries that have oil. I think that's pretty extreme too.
As is buying very large vehicles for going to the store and a once every few month trip to Home Depot to be able to "haul things".

Yep extreme sport, you got it.

--des

It's funny how they say hypermiling is an extreme sport. I think funding foreign nations to irresponsibly extract oil, ship it to the US, spill a few boats worth every once in a while, give billions of $$$ in profits to already rich companies, sell it to us for cheaper than water, and drive a mile to the store to buy a can of soda is quite a bit more extreme. sigh

I just looked at a cross-post on another forum. Seems this was VERY controversial. Got locked up.

--des

I try to count to 10 before I post there. Usually by then they've locked the thread.

I'll just say that my teakettle was whistling hard by 10.

I try to count to 10 before I post there. Usually by then they've locked the thread.

I'll just say that my teakettle was whistling hard by 10.

TWEET!!! i was lucky enough to get in the last word. unless it was considered the straw that broke the camel's back......:Banane45:

I was pondering a response and am glad laurie responded and am glad then it was locked. Because a response from me would have been a waste of time at that point. Whew!!

Hi All:

___Have to add to the thread a bit …

___First off, Nara was a wonderful student. A bit skittish as anyone would be with me in the passenger seat ;) but she handled the clinic like a trooper. The numbers reported in the article were real but the big number came from the clinic as we traversed some of the more country roads in the area. She nailed a 51.x mpg in her non-hybrid Civic from my drive back to my drive. Trust me, she was excited about that more then her final exam at 42.x something. I was too :)

___About Nara’s final exam. To leave my drive, ICE-Off is highly recommended as it’s a down slope. There are 45 homes on over 150 acres and 2 exits leaving the sub so there may be a car taking the same exit route every 30 minutes or so. Pulling up to a stop sign near the bottom of the second of two down slopes to merge onto a much more heavily traveled and fast State route (45 mph is fast for me ;)) should always be done ICE-Off because driving up to that stop sign in any other way is simply “Throwing it away” :(

___The first situation described is a T entering the Ring road from the Grocery Store parking lot. From both perpendicular directions, there is a stop sign but from the parking lot, there is not. We have the right of way exiting the grocery store lot as we do not have a stop sign but it is hard to see us coming out of the lot vs. those blowing through the stop sign from the left.

___The next situation was when she blew the turn. To get her back on course, I took her through my churches parking lot. She had to roll a stop sign (:angel:) to get back on track but it was from ~ 3 mph then on to the Video store. There is a very tricky turn into that stores parking places across an entry way. You have to park face-in but with the potential along one side, you can perform a slinky maneuver with a 270 degree rotation ICE-Off and down a long slope when leaving if you park along one side vs. the other. She pulled in on the other so I had to get out and push her and her Civic out of the parking spot so as to get her facing down slope with ICE-Off. After that, it was the standard routine. The 75% increase in FE on the final exam vs. her first encounter with the course made me extremely happy! Ecstatic would be an understatement :D

___To all who commented in the other thread, thank you! One of the more outspoken members will eventually get it when he finally throws his charts and graphs in the garbage and learns to drive that Prius-I for what it is truly capable of :( I have a picture in my mind of his Prius’ windscreen pasted with charts, graphs, write-ups and electronic instruments but a small peephole cut into the middle of the carnage in which he sees the real world from. In other words, he does not see what we do by a long shot :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Sounds like I missed a good thread somewhere! Just as well. ;)

One of the more outspoken members will eventually get it when he finally throws his charts and graphs in the garbage and learns to drive that Prius-I for what it is truly capable of :(
I recently made an observation (I think it was in your living room while talking to Chuck) that he condemns hypermiling but praises hypermilers. Read his responses to Prius owners who post high-MPG results.

Sounds like I missed a good thread somewhere! Just as well. ;)

i think it's still on GH, same name as this one, it's just locked to more posts.

This individual at the other site is simply waging his own little War on Hypermiling. Hate to say it, but his decision-making process is not intellectual, but very pride-driven. Had the nerve to start another thread after the first one was closed. :(

One person at another forum has been posting graphs that seem to lack a clear message....unless his ability to do so validates him as a hybrid authority you should accept at face value...it's turned into a senseless discussion of an either or: hypermiler or drive the cutting-edge hybrid. Why not both? Everybody can drive more efficiently, then trade up to a more efficient vehicle when they are ready for a new one.

Anyway, it almost seems like he thinks his graphs are a revelation...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/medium/annointed_graph.jpg

LOL. Mr. Graph can dream up as many 'cutting edge' improvements as he likes. Bring 'em on.

The point is Chuck or anyone else here will always...always be able take his fantasy car out and get 10-25% better FE by driving technique.

My local Sunday paper (Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus) just carried this story. They aren't that creative so it wouldn't surprise me if there is a bunch of others too. It may generate website traffic.

I liked the picture they ran with it-- taken at dusk with his Accord, a pine tree and Wayne looking like he was ready to kick a**.