Once mandated in the 1970s — but eventually discarded for 65-75 m.p.h. limits handled by individual states — the concept has resurfaced as oil and gas prices have rocketed to record heights.

A news story published this morning in USA Today brought out the naysayers in droves. An overwhelming majority of the story’s commenters online booed and hissed at the notion that they should do any such inconvenient thing.

Some main complaints are being echoed throughout the comments chamber:

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As a basic principle of fuel economy, smaller cars get better gas mileage.  Engineering trends keep pushing the limits of the term ‘compact’ car while somehow keeping the interiors large enough to carry people. Unfortunately, the Prius won’t suffice for all drivers, and rightfully so.  There are people in the United States who require space shuttle sized SUV’s and Titantic trucks, and nothing is going to change that in the immediate future.  America runs on progress, and progress cannot happen without construction and high a high towing capacity.  The next generation of GM trucks is attempting to bridge the gap between brute force, and environmental friendliness.

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Living in St. Louis, where we have four distinct seasons – pretty-damn-cold, balmy-moderate, humid-and-hot-as-hell and fall – I waited out the pretty-damn-cold months to begin my life as a bike commuter during the balmy-moderate ones.

New to the game, I’m taking things a bit slowly.

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Initially only available for the Sky, AMP will add other Saturn models as company growth allows.

The company is currently taking orders for a limited run of 300 “signature series” Sky conversions. The Sky EV will be able to go from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 5.7 seconds, will have a top speed of 90 mph (145 kph), and can go 150 miles (240 kilometers) before needing a recharge.

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Glenn Beck doesn’t get it. And that’s a problem for all of us.

The conservative CNN journalist published a commentary on CNN.com on Aug. 8 titled: Drive Naked, Save America.

In it he knocks the smaller efforts that individuals can make to confront the energy crisis on their own – peak oil, record gas prices, related economic woes, etc. – rather than wait for politicians to sort out the mess with so-called solutions such as offshore drilling.

In his commentary, he bangs up presumptive Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama who recently echoed some well-known advice: Keep your tires properly inflated; it enhances fuel economy by up to 3 percent. Those details are touted at fueleconomy.gov, among countless other places.

Beck complains that solutions that require individuals to act in such small ways are inherently flawed because they require so many people following suit to make a notable impact.

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The 1990’s were the host of many great fads. Furby, Tamagachis, string theory, the examples are as numerous as the many incarnations of Prince. Fast forward to 2008, and it seems that America’s fads are finally becoming practical. Hypermiling is the new hoola-hoop, and it’s even more convenient because there is more than one way to do it. While some prefer drafting and coasting in neutral whenever possible, most drivers just watch their tachometers.

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Turns out, 50% of people in the US are wiser than I thought: there is no quick fix or simple solution.

Another interesting result from the survey: 48% of consumers don’t see McCain or Obama as having a particular advantage when trying to work with the auto industry to bring more fuel efficient or plug-in vehicles to the market in the future.

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Enova Systems and IC Corporation have delivered a plug-in hybrid diesel electric bus to Denali National Park for use in carting visitors around the pristine wilderness.

The bus (similar to the one pictured above) has a GVWR of 27,500 pounds, carries up to 38 passengers and uses up to 70% less fuel than a similarly equipped conventional bus — so if the bus got 10 mpg with a conventional engine, it could get 30 mpg using Enova’s hybrid system.

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The 16 MPG  F-150 is one of the most ubiquitous vehicles on the road today. What if you could convert them all to get 41 MPG?

The Illinois Institute of Technology’s masters program has spun-off a start-up with big plans for our aging fleet of big trucks. The company, called Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology (HEVT), has built a bolt-on module that will convert a standard F-150 into a 41 MPG plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

HEVT demo’d their first prototype at the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose earlier in the month. The suddenly attractive F-150 PHEV (which is not the 1994 model depicted above) gets 15 miles of emissions-free driving on electricity before it switches over to gas/electric hybrid mode, where it will continue to get an impressive 41 MPG for a typical day’s worth of driving.

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Aptera also plans to use the new funds to construct a manufacturing facility in Vista, CA, close to the company’s present headquarters in Carlsbad.

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Gas Prices are Killing Large Cars and Trucks

Ford Motor Company announced today it will be scrambling to realign its North American Manufacturing operation with the realities of consumer needs today.

With gas prices above $4 / gallon, most Americans are shying away from giant gas-guzzling vehicles in favor of smaller fuel efficient models. Starting in December, Ford said it will accelerate production of new fuel efficiency technology, double their hybrid production and lineup, and downsize vehicles across the board. By 2010, Ford says 2/3 of its spending will be on small cars and crossovers, and it will pull six small European models to the US by 2012.

“While we have no intention of giving up our longtime truck leadership, we are creating a new Ford in North America on a foundation of small, fuel-efficient cars and crossovers that will set new standards for quality, fuel economy, product features and refinement,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/24/like-gm-ford-decides-theyd-better-start-producing-smaller-more-fuel-efficient-cars/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/late-to-the-high-gas-price-party-honda-building-prius-clone/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/late-to-the-high-gas-price-party-honda-building-prius-clone/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:36:54 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/late-to-the-high-gas-price-party-honda-building-prius-clone/ Car and Driver has reported on an upcoming as-yet-unnamed Honda hybrid electric vehicle aimed squarely at unseating Toyota as the undisputed king of hybrids.

Although we can’t reproduce the photos here due to copyright issues, suffice it to say that the Honda test model looks almost exactly like a Prius. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery — but in this case Honda appears to have crossed the line to outright copycat.

With the exception of the headlight and taillight shapes, the Honda is a carbon copy.

I mean really, I’d expect the Honda designers to have a bit more creativity.

Check out the original Car and Driver article and pictures.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/late-to-the-high-gas-price-party-honda-building-prius-clone/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/10/whats-your-kiwi-score-device-trains-you-how-to-save-gas/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/10/whats-your-kiwi-score-device-trains-you-how-to-save-gas/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:18:37 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/07/10/whats-your-kiwi-score-device-trains-you-how-to-save-gas/ The PLX Kiwi dashboard computer plugs into your car and provides real-time info on how your driving habits affect gas usage — and how to correct them for maximum fuel efficiency.

There are lots of gas saver devices out there that claim to help you increase your car’s fuel economy. Most of them are of questionable effectiveness — to put it mildly — relying on such things as magnets, mini-tornadoes, and fuel tank pills. I’ve covered some of them in a previous post about potential fuel saving scams.

The sheer number of such questionable gas saving devices makes it difficult for the average person to distinguish the effectiveness of any single one of them. It also instills a general feeling of distrust that any of them could actually work.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/10/whats-your-kiwi-score-device-trains-you-how-to-save-gas/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/07/toyota-prius-to-get-solar-power/ http://gas2.org/2008/07/07/toyota-prius-to-get-solar-power/#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:29:27 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/07/07/toyota-prius-to-get-solar-power/ Toyota’s next generation Prius, due out as early as next spring, will be outfitted with solar panels to help run the on-board electronics, according to a report from the Nikkei newspaper.

Smaller start-up car companies, such as Th!nk, have plans for solar power augmented cars on the books too, but the incorporation of solar panels on the Prius would mark the first time a major car manufacturer has done such a thing with one of its models.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/07/07/toyota-prius-to-get-solar-power/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/27/how-many-hours-do-you-have-to-work-to-fill-your-gas-tank/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/27/how-many-hours-do-you-have-to-work-to-fill-your-gas-tank/#comments Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:02:04 +0000 Max Lindberg http://gas2.org/2008/06/27/how-many-hours-do-you-have-to-work-to-fill-your-gas-tank/

You Might Be Very Surprised

A few days back I posted a You Tube presentation about two professors from Duke University who came up with a different, and in their minds, more accurate way to determine the efficiency of the engine in your vehicle.

It’s nice to know how many miles per gallon (MPG), or as the profs say, gallons per mile (GPM) your vehicle will get, but there’s more, much more to that equation.

First of all, you’re paying a premium for regular gasoline, $4 maybe in excess of $5 a gallon, and you decide to fill it up.  Sticker shock will settle in quickly, but how about this, how many hours will you have to work in order to pay for that fuel?

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/27/how-many-hours-do-you-have-to-work-to-fill-your-gas-tank/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:15:02 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/

Revetec, a little known company from the Gold Coast region of Australia, may be on to something huge: they’ve created an engine that is 50% smaller, 50% lighter, has 50% lower emissions and is cheaper to manufacture than a conventional internal combustion engine of the same horsepower. Oh yeah, did I mention that it doubles the fuel economy too.

What that means is a car like the 2007 Toyota Yaris, which is rated at 40 mpg on the highway, would get 80 mpg with a Revetec engine.

This isn’t some hoax… They have a prototype which has been attached to an actual vehicle and independently tested to substantiate their claims.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/26/low-cost-gas-engine-innovation-doubles-fuel-economy/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:28:46 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/

Editors Note: This guest post was contributed by Charley Territo, spokesperson for the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers, in an effort encourage better dialogue between the auto industry and the environmental movement. Charley also contributed a guest post on Grist on May 20. I asked him to weigh in on a question I’ve had for a long time: How can automakers like GM complain that consumers only want to buy big cars when they spend hundreds of thousands advertising brands like Hummer? Here is his response. Feel free to weigh in with your own comments below.

For years it’s been assumed that, using their superior marketing skills, automakers have the ability to trick consumers into buying SUVs and pickup trucks…when, in reality, the consumers really only
wanted to buy compact cars.  While that’s probably quite flattering to the marketing departments, it doesn’t have the important benefit of actually being correct.

Current events are now allowing people to see more clearly the greater force at work driving consumer demand: Gas prices.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/are-automakers-to-blame-for-consumer-car-buying-trends-auto-alliance-weighs-in/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/high-gas-prices-empty-tanks-are-the-new-black-in-california/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/high-gas-prices-empty-tanks-are-the-new-black-in-california/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:13:00 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/high-gas-prices-empty-tanks-are-the-new-black-in-california/ Those trendy Californians…

Recent jumps in gas prices have seemingly driven them [sic] to adopt a new chic habit: letting their cars run out of fuel on the highway.

Allstate has announced that the number of Californians running out of gas on the highway jumped 17% in the first 5 months of 2008 compared to the same time period in 2007. Additionally, AAA of Northern California saw a 6.5% increase in stranded “empty-tankers” in April.

Phil Telgenhoff, Allstate assistant field vice president for California had this to say about it:

“We can’t directly correlate this rise in the number of people running out of gas to the rise in prices at the pump, but anecdotally we know that consumers are trying hard to stretch their dollar and sometimes that means stretching fuel into fumes.

In California, the highway patrol hands out free gas to stranded motorists and AAA will do the same. There has been speculation that this is one of the reasons people choose to let their tanks go empty.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/25/high-gas-prices-empty-tanks-are-the-new-black-in-california/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/the-illusion-of-mpg-is-it-really-a-true-measure-of-your-cars-mileage/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/the-illusion-of-mpg-is-it-really-a-true-measure-of-your-cars-mileage/#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:09:59 +0000 Max Lindberg http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/the-illusion-of-mpg-is-it-really-a-true-measure-of-your-cars-mileage/ This story contains additional media. Click here to view the media.

All these years, I’ve been doing the simple math of dividing the number of gallons used over a given number of miles driven, to determine how my car is doing on gas mileage.

Now come two professors from Duke University who say that may not be the accurate way to determine how efficient your car really is.

]]> http://gas2.org/2008/06/20/the-illusion-of-mpg-is-it-really-a-true-measure-of-your-cars-mileage/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/19/2009-vw-jetta-mileage-revised-to-3844-mpg-price-21990/ http://gas2.org/2008/06/19/2009-vw-jetta-mileage-revised-to-3844-mpg-price-21990/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:14:52 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/06/19/2009-vw-jetta-mileage-revised-to-3844-mpg-price-21990/

2009 Jetta TDI Clean Diesel Sedan

VW announced the pricing of the 2009 Jetta and SportWagen yesterday, along with a new fuel economy certification from the third-party certifier AMCI. It seems that VW wasn’t particularly impressed with the EPA’s 29 mpg city / 40 mpg hwy estimation, and wanted a second opinion.

There has been some general confusion circulating about fuel economy estimates for the new Jetta (which will be available in August) ever since VW’s Director of Powertrain Development announced the car could get up to 60 mpg.

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