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After a lame disclaimer, the rest of the article dwells on the AAA "experts" and the "epidemic" of hypermilers drafting semis, rolling stops and other grotesque distortions. (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/orl-a2gaswatch0508jul05,0,3244693.story)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/danger_will.jpgStephen Cole Smith - Orlando Sentinel - July 5, 2008

They had already done an article on run500mph (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=112937) and threw him under the bus - commentable artilce - Ed

In a previous story, we told you about "hypermilers" -- motorists so dedicated to saving gas that they almost make the effort into a game. Some hypermilers do everything possible to maximize mileage, from "drafting" behind tractor-trailers to cut down on wind resistance, to coasting up to stop signs with the transmission in neutral, the engine idling.

This caught the attention of Heathrow-based AAA (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/travel/commuting/aaa-AUTOORNPR000013.topic), which issued an advisory suggesting that some hypermiler practices could be dangerous, both physically and mechanically…http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/orl-a2gaswatch0508jul05,0,3244693.story

Hi Chuck:

___Comments added...

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Let's leave some postive comments. Kill em with kindness.

ah yes the Orlando SLANT-inel...

I lived in Orlando the first 20 years of my life.

This paper is not worth the paper it is printed on....

It is a small market in comparison to most. and they NEVER do real journalistic background research. Actually the media in Orlando as a whole is pretty crappy.

I'll have to agree with him the orlando sentinel isnt worth anything and i live in orlando.

Wellcome to the ones coming on cleanmpg because of the Orlando Sentiel article. Take the time to read the articles on this site. You will learn so much as I did before and you are at the good site to save plenty of $$ and co2.

Do like us, drive efficiently and safely,


Pierre M.

Smith ?!? Isn't the name of that doctor in the tv show where we could see that Robot "danger!, danger !" The doctor always trying to get personals interest in any situations ?

Just a question

PM

Smith ?!? Isn't the name of that doctor in the tv show where we could see that Robot "danger!, danger !" The doctor always trying to get personals interest in any situations ?

Just a question

PMYes, the dastardly Dr Smith

So far none of the stupid "I can speed if I want, just stay out of he left lane (my personal lane) you idiot" statememts. Are they getting tired of losing their arguments with sensible people? For too long they've been permitted to define "good" driving, and have wasted millions, perhaps billions of barrels of oil. Now they are sticking out like a sore thumb. It's about time.

I stuck a comment in there. I called them the "Orlando Sentimental."

Harry

Comment added. Journalism is falling to some of its lowest lvls of late.

My comments

Someone at the Orlando Sentinel needs to do their homework before they write the next hypermiller story.

1. The hypermiler sites I know of recognize that drafting my possible to save gas but first they strongly discourage such actions and secondly since most hypemiller strongly advocate doing the speed limit there is very little opportunity to draft since most cars are going faster than the speed limit and thus faster then the hypemiler. Most drafting, which is really just another term for tailgating is done becasue of congestion of the highways or by drivers who don't like anyone doing less than 10 mph over the speed limit.

2. The hypermiler website discourage all illegal activites such as running stop signs or rolling stops. Most drivers I see doing this are the aggressive type who have no apparent interest in fuel efficiency.

3. "Driving at erratic and unsafe speeds." Please define both of these terms. Anyone driving between the minimum speed and the speed limit is likely the safer driver. The AAA has long said that speed variation is a major safety issue. This is mainly caused by those exceeding the speed limit not those going under the speed limit. Recently I traveled 20 mile of a major urban beltway with my cruise control set at the speed limit - it was 55 mph. In the trip I did not have to hit my breaks or slow down once, but I was passed by 200 cars and trucks exceeding the speed limit while I passed not a single car or truck. I do not like to feel that in order to be safe on the roads of this nation I have to go above the legal speeds just because other happen to have complete disregard for the safety of themselves and of others.

4. What is overinflating tires? The National Traffic Safety Administration requires two numbers be put on every tire. These are the recommended pressure and the higher maximum safe pressure. I am very sure that in todays legal climate no tire manufacturer is going to put any number on a tire that they consider unsafe. This means that to me overinflation is going beyond the maximum safe pressure marked on the tire. The hypermiler websites do not recommend going beyond that number.

5. The hypermilers say use the thinest oil possible and the AAA says using to light an oil can cause problems. I fail to see the problem here. The hypermilers say to use the thinest oil recommended by the manufacturers. If the AAA thinks this is a problem they need to be complaining not about hypermilers but about the car makers recommending oils that are too thin for the engines they make.

And finally let me conclude by saying that the Orlando Sentinel has done a great disservice to a group of people who's main concerns are saving gas, increasing fuel efficiency and as a result conserving the the scarce resources of our planet and doing their small part in in preventing global warming. By characterizing an entire group based on the actions of a very few hypermiles and by including what only can be reguared as gross inaccuracies the Orlando Sentinel has done a great disservice to their readers.

What is this, everything anyone sees that's done wrong out on the road has a hypermiler at the wheel?

All this smacks of witch-hunt to me.

Harry

Hey, I heard the AAA has it's main office in Salem, MA. Any truth to that? Must be true, I read it.

Pardon the pun, but apparently the Sentinel is getting a lot of mileage out of this topic.

Maybe we could coin a term for them, something like "Untrue At Any Keyboard".

Hopefully, they'll get tired of this hypermiling subject and find some alcoholic, drug addicted debutante to write about. You know, something REALLY important and newsworthy. Next time I vacation in FL I'll be sure to buy the Sentinel.

Faithful and True

Here's an interesting article, one that contrasts sharply with the Orlando Sentimental's piece:

IDF proves link between crazy driving, gas guzzling

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998443.html

Electronic monitoring boxes have been installed in 500 cars used by the Israel Air Force and ground force corps over the past 18 months, in the largest experiment ever conducted here or anywhere else in the world on the correlation between driver behavior and fuel consumption.

The results are reflected in an average saving of 14% in fuel consumption. And that is a potentially enormous cost saver. The 500 cars use about 2 million liters of fuel annually, and lowering consumption by 14% means a saving of 280,000 liters of fuel. The monitor is to be installed in another few thousand vehicles in the Israel Defense Forces over the coming months

Seems to me that if crazy driving equals gas guzzling, then hypermiling equals sane driving.Harry

You can get www.carchip.com (http://www.carchip.com) and plug it into your OBDII socket to to the same thing....only down side is unless you have a splitter, you unplug ScanGage. :(

This nice little tool will keep your kids or workers honest.