xcel
09-17-2006, 03:47 AM
In mid-August, the hybrid was averaging about 55 miles per gallon, and it gets about 47 or 48 miles per gallon in the winter. (http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060917/NEWS/609170346)
Todd B. Bates - Asbury Park Press - Sept. 17, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Black_Toyota_Prius_II.jpg
Scott Chase says he saved about $2,700 on gasoline in the last year by driving a 2004 Toyota Prius.
More than two years ago, Scott Chase sold his 1998 Chevy Malibu, purchased a 2004 Toyota Prius and began slashing his fuel costs.
"Thank God I did," Chase said in an e-mail.
The hybrid gasoline-electric Prius easily "gets double the mileage" of the Malibu, the Berkeley resident said in an interview at his home.
And he's saved about $2,700 on gas in the last year or so alone, he said.
Chase, 36, said he bought the Prius to save fuel, because of the possibility of a lengthy commute from the Shore area to Hunterdon County and because the Malibu was getting old.
He also takes other steps to save energy, such as setting his home thermostat higher during hot spells, closing the blinds during the daytime and using solar-powered lights outside.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the Prius the second-highest estimated overall fuel economy rating for cars, behind the hybrid Honda Insight, and a growing number of hybrids is available. The Prius also has very low emissions, according to the www.fueleconomy.gov Web site.
In June 2005, the Chase fam-ily moved from Roxbury in Morris County to Berkeley to be closer to his wife's family, said Chase, a computer applications programmer who has two young children.
Considering his commute to Hunterdon County is now 85 miles each way, he drove about 45,000 miles last year, he said.
And all told, he saved about 900 gallons of gasoline in the last year by driving the Prius, he said.
In mid-August, the hybrid was averaging about 55 miles per gallon, and it gets about 47 or 48 miles per gallon in the winter, Chase said.
Aside from owning a car with excellent fuel economy, "I take it easy" and use different driving techniques to maximize the mileage, Chase said.
He slows up to stop lights "sooner than you normally would" to boost regeneration of the car's battery, drives the speed limit, accelerates moderately and glides, including downhill, he said.
"Getting up to speed is important," and he uses cruise control a lot, Chase said.
He also uses synthetic motor oil, which helps with mileage, he said.
He once got about 80 miles per gallon during an approximately 40-mile trip down the Garden State Parkway following his in-laws, whose Chrysler was stuck in second gear, Chase said. He was going about 35 mph to 40 mph at the time.
As of late last month, the Prius had 72,000 miles on it, and he hopes to drive it for at least 250,000 miles and eventually convert it into a plug-in hybrid, he said.
Plug-in hybrids are like regular hybrids, but they have bigger batteries and can be recharged using a standard electrical outlet, according to the California Cars Initiative Web site.
A plug-in hybrid's fuel economy will be about twice that of a regular hybrid, according to the www.hybridcars.com Web site.
"You won't need to get gas or anything else like that for quite a long time," Chase said.
"It will give you a lot of extra range . . . on electric only," and "you want to be in electric only as much as possible, obviously, to not waste fuel," he said.
Todd B. Bates - Asbury Park Press - Sept. 17, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Black_Toyota_Prius_II.jpg
Scott Chase says he saved about $2,700 on gasoline in the last year by driving a 2004 Toyota Prius.
More than two years ago, Scott Chase sold his 1998 Chevy Malibu, purchased a 2004 Toyota Prius and began slashing his fuel costs.
"Thank God I did," Chase said in an e-mail.
The hybrid gasoline-electric Prius easily "gets double the mileage" of the Malibu, the Berkeley resident said in an interview at his home.
And he's saved about $2,700 on gas in the last year or so alone, he said.
Chase, 36, said he bought the Prius to save fuel, because of the possibility of a lengthy commute from the Shore area to Hunterdon County and because the Malibu was getting old.
He also takes other steps to save energy, such as setting his home thermostat higher during hot spells, closing the blinds during the daytime and using solar-powered lights outside.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the Prius the second-highest estimated overall fuel economy rating for cars, behind the hybrid Honda Insight, and a growing number of hybrids is available. The Prius also has very low emissions, according to the www.fueleconomy.gov Web site.
In June 2005, the Chase fam-ily moved from Roxbury in Morris County to Berkeley to be closer to his wife's family, said Chase, a computer applications programmer who has two young children.
Considering his commute to Hunterdon County is now 85 miles each way, he drove about 45,000 miles last year, he said.
And all told, he saved about 900 gallons of gasoline in the last year by driving the Prius, he said.
In mid-August, the hybrid was averaging about 55 miles per gallon, and it gets about 47 or 48 miles per gallon in the winter, Chase said.
Aside from owning a car with excellent fuel economy, "I take it easy" and use different driving techniques to maximize the mileage, Chase said.
He slows up to stop lights "sooner than you normally would" to boost regeneration of the car's battery, drives the speed limit, accelerates moderately and glides, including downhill, he said.
"Getting up to speed is important," and he uses cruise control a lot, Chase said.
He also uses synthetic motor oil, which helps with mileage, he said.
He once got about 80 miles per gallon during an approximately 40-mile trip down the Garden State Parkway following his in-laws, whose Chrysler was stuck in second gear, Chase said. He was going about 35 mph to 40 mph at the time.
As of late last month, the Prius had 72,000 miles on it, and he hopes to drive it for at least 250,000 miles and eventually convert it into a plug-in hybrid, he said.
Plug-in hybrids are like regular hybrids, but they have bigger batteries and can be recharged using a standard electrical outlet, according to the California Cars Initiative Web site.
A plug-in hybrid's fuel economy will be about twice that of a regular hybrid, according to the www.hybridcars.com Web site.
"You won't need to get gas or anything else like that for quite a long time," Chase said.
"It will give you a lot of extra range . . . on electric only," and "you want to be in electric only as much as possible, obviously, to not waste fuel," he said.