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i was on my way home from a horse show this afternoon.....a great time with friends and was feeling pretty good. however.......i stopped at a gas station (didn't need gas, just a bathroom and a diet pepsi). came out and there is a blg slob of a guy filling up either his: chevy avalanche, or the tank for the boat with the 150HP motor he was towing....then there were the two hot shot kids gunning the engines in their fart pipe trucks, while sitting next to the pumps where i can only assume they had just filled up. those two were bad enough.....

then back on i-94, working hard to keep my FE at 60MPG while battling a stiff headwind and the uphill sections of the road, while going 60. even though the minimum is marked as 40, i still felt like a pariah. then i got passed by a big, dual cab, huge chevy (too quickly to see which model) 4x4, towing a boat with 3......count 'em THREE!!!! 225HP OUTBOARD MOTORS!!!! wtf. why do we bother? they just don't care.........i felt so deflated.

i think one of the last things i said in my interview friday, that really astounded the reporter, was that even with my 80 round trip commute, i use only 10 gallons of gas per week. the jerks i saw today probably use that much to go 100 miles.....or less.....or for 1/2 day of roaring around polluting some lake.

sigh.

Well, we can't control what others do. This is why it is important for us to control what we do.

I know how you feel. It's like plugging a small hole in a levy, but the levy has already totally broke through only a little bit down the line. :(

But yes, I agree, we must plug all of the small holes we can, because taking ownership of a small part of the problem is taking ownership of the whole problem...

We lead by example.

We had this entertaining dichotomy in some of the tech-training
classes. I was the efficiency freak, with my BSFC maps and
pulse-n-glide lecture at the ready, and one of the other guys
is into boats and talked about how he can go out in the summer
and burn 45 gallons of fuel an hour.
.
The techs wanted to hear all about the boat.
.
They're not on the FE wagon yet, and part of the effort is to
at least clue them in that if they start servicing hybrids, the
*customers* will be into FE and the least they can do is have
a little respect for that... i.e. not let someone's prius sit
there idling for half an hour while they test something.
.
_H*

I know if I dwell on expecting others do things as I would, I'm in for a lot of disappointment.

Next door neighbor in my townhouse who receives state and federal aid left her car running for 60+ minutes this afternoon with the a/c obviously blasting. I arrived and mentioned the idling vehicle to my wife and she said it had been running for over a half hour, and then it ran for at least 30 minutes more. When I finally saw "Luccee" (not her real name, but that's what she currently goes by) I said, "hey your car is running". She shrugged, clueless of what I was getting at, then drove off only to be back in under 5 minutes. Wasn't hot enough to need a/c, but my taxes helped pay for that waste of gas.:mad:

Possibly 3 miles per gallon from a civic lx.:eek:

laurie,

If you take I35 1,000 miles south there may be more of em. :eek:

The guy that interviewed you might give me a call Monday (now is your chance to make suggestions). At about 300 miles a week, I consume 4-4.5 gallons.

_________________________

Now for a story of what I did.

Was on the way from home to the gym, via a recycle bin by an elementary school. Afterwards, I did a "California Stop" did not completely stop. An officer 250 yards behind me clearly saw what I did. I pulled over just before he was going to turn on the lights. After sweating a bit, I got a warning. Think I can honestly say it's something I'd done five years ago - I did not even reset my FCD to see what I was doing for that trip.

Think of it this way...at 10 gallons a week that's ~$30. These guys probably blow 5 times that amount. If they want to throw their money down the toilet it's their choice. You'll have a lot more in your pocket at the end of the day.

Hi Laurie:

___Those dinosaurs will eventually come around or be overtaken by evolution. We have evolved into modern man and woman. Those guys/gals have not gotten much further then the Caveman stage. So simple a Caveman could “get” it … Those types must still be below Caveman status or they would get it :(

___Keep the faith and hold out for better days yet to come.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

OH, I forgot to mention. That image in the center of the header for this site? That is only a handful of people that care. There are many more out there, and the amount of people that care is growing.

I know if I dwell on expecting others do things as I would, I'm in for a lot of disappointment.

Next door neighbor in my townhouse who receives state and federal aid left her car running for 60+ minutes this afternoon with the a/c obviously blasting. I arrived and mentioned the idling vehicle to my wife and she said it had been running for over a half hour, and then it ran for at least 30 minutes more. When I finally saw "Luccee" (not her real name, but that's what she currently goes by) I said, "hey your car is running". She shrugged, clueless of what I was getting at, then drove off only to be back in under 5 minutes. Wasn't hot enough to need a/c, but my taxes helped pay for that waste of gas.:mad:

Possibly 3 miles per gallon from a civic lx.:eek:
Not to get off topic, but she obviously doesn't need government help if is going to burn it away like that, and if she does, maybe the money she recieves thanks to her fellow tax payers should be cut off. She would learn real quick of things she could do just to survive. The fight for survival either brings out the best in people or kills them.

I don't mean to sound inhumane, but some things like this are ridiculous. I think people who truly need help should get it. People who take the assistance given to them and flush it down the toilet should not get that assistance. How would you like it when you give a present to someone only to have the person take the wrapping off of it, shrug their shoulders, then toss it in the garbage, right in front of you face? That's what this is.

Keep the Faith. Ive been driving the Ranger this weekend. Talk about a pig. It thinks its a F-150. Had to fill it up and put some fuel stabilizer in it. $52 to fill it and it wasn't even empty. Also cleaned it up. It banishment to the pecan trees has taken a toll on it.

I don't mind the boats and peoples toys. Some of us just have to have certain toys to stay sane. And weekend frolicking doesn't bother me much either.

Im wanting to pull the trigger on a new motorcycle. It wont be a fuel sipper. Ive settled on a Yamaha Strat. It has a larger engine than my Civic. :) And once I rub around on the engine it will have more HP and Torq. :)

I try to focus on the daily grind and the short trips and such in daily life. I even tached the Civic friday. Its 0-60 times are getting much better. It is a Honda after all. If it doesn't see redline every once in a while I fear it will get ill.

Yes I sin.

psy

Actually, Laurie, you would like to say: Hypermiliing is over for me. And after three days, you would return to your "old" habit of fuel saving and emission reduction. We do it by conviction. Many of us have a positive approach and are optimistic, A few of us, like me, are pessimistic. The IPCC is very clear. Majors changes must be done urgently and what we see is stupid animals filling their big boats. Just think about how many such boats and lower than 25mpg vehicles will be sold in 2007-2008-2009 and we will all jump from the bridge. On another hypermilier site, I was rebuked because I said that purchasing a lower than 35mpg car in 2007 was an antisocial act. rebuked because in our so advanced society we have the right to choose, choose to drive a 10mpg car, boats (and why not have a weapon). I was rebuked on a hypermiling site not a BMW adulators site.

So I do it (hypermiling) now only for my pleasure, not even for my daughter I sincerly regret to have putted her on hearth but I could just not comeback to my bad habits. Sorry, You can't count on me to encourage you, I'am member of the pessimistic branch. This said, I work hard to send positive messages to the mainsteam and help the optimistics to reach their goals.

Pierre

Hi all--

Once again, I start a post with the phrase "Two steps forward, one step back."

After being the first (two) hybrid owners in our neighborhood, with both an HCHII and a Prius, I'd have thought my wife and I might inspire others around us to think about their car choices. Especially with gas prices as high as they are, you'd think more folks would do their homework and make an educated choice instead of "oooh, look at the big truck." Alas...

Last week, my next-door neighbors came home with a brand new Toyota Tundra 5.7L, rated at best at 16/20 (2007 EPA). No real reason they need that behemoth. They don't tow a boat or camper, they don't off-road for sport -- in fact, I don't think I've ever seen them haul a load even from Home Depot. I can't understand how they were able to walk into a TOYOTA dealership and walk away with one of the least fuel-efficient models the company sells.

They have two kids under three, so they got the crew cab variant. My guess is the back seat on that truck is smaller than either a Camry or Prius. Their old car was a mid-90s Isuzu Rodeo, so this purchase represents a downgrade in FE.

I like my neighbors, but I really hope $3.50 gas this summer will have them sweating. I won't feel bad about feeling smug when it'll cost me $35 for a tank that'll get me more than 500 miles, while it'll cost them $80 for less than 450 miles. --RN

laurie,

At least we are coping with the pump prices better than the ones guzzeling it.

Some are starting to change their driving, while others need a higher level of pain.

A recent cartoon reflects what some of us see in other forums and occasionally at the gas station: guy in land barge with hostile glare at hybrid drive pumping gas. Would the gas be any cheaper if that hybrid driver was not pumping gas?

Hi Laurie,
I understand how you feel. Quite often I feel Jeff and I, are for sure the only ones down here that even care. And then yesterday, one of the other guys in the office came in and announced he had purchased a HCH-II over the weekend. After the hoopla had died, I pointed him to tarabell's excellent article, top right of homepage.

But still, go out and look in the parking lot........looks like the "Sea of Duramax".:eek:

Keep your head up kid:D

Randall

Boy it sure was hard for me to care driving into a 25 mph headwind for the drive home. Only 44 mpg for the drive home.

Highwater. I got calls from western Arkansas lastnight. OETA had picked up on the news item. Folks in western Arkansas saw it then. My father called then many others called thru out the evening. Maybe its helping? Who knows.

psy

looks like the "Sea of Duramax".:eek:

At least the Sea of Duramax is more fuel efficient than the Sea of Vortec. And the Sea of Duramax can use bio-d if they wish.

I thought of this thread as I was riding with a coworker to pick up lunch yesterday. He has a FCD in his 350Z and showed me how he was doing for that tank. With a 20 gallon tank and 287HP 6-cylinder engine, he was only get 13.2 MPG. :( That's half of the EPA rating of the 350Z. That means he's only getting 260 miles/tank.

Yes, I know he's in a sports car and he "should" drive it as such, but I just found it incredibly sad as he floored it from stoplight to an obviously red light not a hundred yards away. Is this the American way of thinking? There is no reason that car couldn't achieve 35-36 MPG - hell, my Taurus gets over 30 MPG regularly in the city without even trying (too hard ;) ).

I guess I just don't get it. I'm an unAmerican. :D

they don't get it. i saw the effects again today.

on my route to work, there are 2 stoplights in the 40 miles i drive on the 4 lane. when it's red, and then turns, nobody behind me has the patience to gradually get back up to speed. it has to be RIGHT NOW!!! i either get tailgated or i get the impatient one who swings around me to show their disgust at being forced to move slower than they want. why is everyone always in such a hurry??? as i like to say.....it's a speed LIMIT, not a speed REQUIREMENT. at 5 below the limit i am legal, at 10 over they aren't.

I thought of this thread as I was riding with a coworker to pick up lunch yesterday. He has a FCD in his 350Z and showed me how he was doing for that tank. With a 20 gallon tank and 287HP 6-cylinder engine, he was only get 13.2 MPG. :( That's half of the EPA rating of the 350Z. That means he's only getting 260 miles/tank.

Yes, I know he's in a sports car and he "should" drive it as such, but I just found it incredibly sad as he floored it from stoplight to an obviously red light not a hundred yards away. Is this the American way of thinking? There is no reason that car couldn't achieve 35-36 MPG - hell, my Taurus gets over 30 MPG regularly in the city without even trying (too hard ;) ).

I guess I just don't get it. I'm an unAmerican. :D

Just confirmed a thought I had sometime ago - there are a few with the perverse pleasure of seeing how low the FCD can go.

I think we should do a thread on how racing a car that hard will beat it up. For instance, I think aggressive driving gave me O2 sensor problems at 30,000 miles...

they don't get it. ... why is everyone always in such a hurry???

Good question. On the way home today I was thinking the same thing. My mindset used to be "how quickly can I get home". Now it's "how high can I get my mileage going home". Totally different philosophy, one in which speed is irrelevant.