By Scott Cooney •
May 4, 2009
Last week, in an experiment some cast aside as a PR stunt, several drivers drove a Ford Focus Hybrid car 1,445 miles, approximately double how far Ford estimated it could go, on a single tank of gas using Eco-Driving techniques. The drivers were well versed in Eco-driving methodology, making the results of the test far less likely to occur in the general public. They averaged just above 20 miles per hour over their 4 day test, which is 3 days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes longer than the average American’s patience driving without speeding.
Eco-driving technology might help keep people from losing patience–and interest.
By Leslie Berliant •
April 27, 2009
An environmentalist praising an American car maker and a NASCAR driver in the same post? Fasten your seatbelts!
On Monday, a team of drivers, including
hypermiler Wayne Gerdes and NASCAR driver
Carl Edwards successfully completed the 1000 mile challenge, taking a
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid 1005 miles on less than a single tank of gas. (Full disclosure time, my company, BLU MOON Group, does some work with Carl Edwards, but we weren’t involved in this event.) The 1000 mile challenge was also a fundraising event for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Here’s the best part, though; they made it over 1000 miles with almost 1/3 tank of gas remaining and achieved more than 80 miles per gallon from the same Fusion Hybrid that you or I can buy. Pretty cool, right?
By Timothy B. Hurst •
November 17, 2008
For the third year in a row, The New Oxford American Dictionary has selected an eco-themed word as its word of the year. “Hypermiling” or “to hypermile” as Oxford defines it, is “an attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques. Rather than aiming for good mileage or even great mileage, hypermilers seek to push their gas tanks to the limit and achieve hypermileage, exceeding EPA ratings for miles per gallon.”
The term, which Oxford says was coined by Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG back in 2004, has received newfound attention in the last year thanks to sharp increases in gasoline prices and a political squabble about national energy policy and the benefits of properly inflated tires.
By Becky Striepe •
October 6, 2008
Our cars are among the biggest contributors to our personal carbon footprints. Alright, so not everyone can afford a hybrid or an electric car. With the economy how it is, you might have a tough time getting a car loan, even if you were ready to ditch your current vehicle for one that gets better gas mileage. So how can you lower the carbon footprint of the car that’s sitting int your driveway? There are still lots of ways that you can reduce the impact of the car you own now.
By Alex Felsinger •
October 5, 2008
Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia have developed an improved fuel-injection system that is simple and affordable enough to use in existing cars. Through a strong electric charge to fuel on its way to the engine’s cylinders, scientists were able to increase the fuel efficiency of a Mercedes-Benz 300D from 32 to 38 mpg. If all the autos the United States installed the apparatus, over 300 million barrels of gasoline and about 150 million barrels of diesel could be saved.
By Anthony Cefali •
August 25, 2008
You look west to see a barren landscape, tumbleweed breezing lazily through the charred remains of a forest. The rust laden skeleton of what used to be a city echoes the promise of a future long gone. You are fighting out your days amidst gunfire and tribal warfare in armor composed of animal fur and long deserted hockey pads. Ironically water isn’t the most important liquid on the planet that spins where the Earth once spun. You begin to wash the grease smears off your face in a shallow pool…
…oh wait, am I jumping the gun here?
While our gas crises hasn’t quite reached ‘Mad Max’ proportions yet, things are close enough that the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers will make this September “Green Check-Up Month.” After countless years of making oversized and inefficient autos, Ford and Chevy are now going to tell us how to save gas.
By Anthony Cefali •
August 5, 2008
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.
By Frances Sechler •
June 11, 2008
I cannot afford a hybrid, smart car or ZENN at this time in my life despite how much I’d like to. I am quite envious of those that can make this significant environmental change in their lives but if you are like me you may have to settle for some other small changes to reduce your impact.
First of all, the only two cars I have ever owned were bought used. I like to think that this is environmentally sound in the fact that I am trying to use the car to its fullest before it is sent to a scrap yard somewhere. Along with this I pride myself in taking very good care of my car including regular tune-ups and check-ups. The EPA suggests maintaining your vehicle according to the instruction manual will increase your fuel efficiency and decrease your carbon emissions.
Like being tuned up regularly, it is a good idea to keep your car tidy. I am a bit of a neat freak anyway but a well-organized car is more important than you think. The fewer things you have in your car, the more fuel efficient it is because your vehicle doesn’t have to carry around as much weight and work as hard to get you where you’re going.
Editor’s note: There’s no doubt about it: high gas prices are changing the ways Americans drive (and even causing them choose alternatives to driving). Our friends at Low Impact Living take a look today at the most extreme practices of driving with fuel economy in mind: hypermiling. As writer Jason Pelletier points out, some of these tactics involve safety risks… so be very careful with some of the more aggressive methods. This post was originally published on Thursday, June 5, 2008.
You may have heard about folks out there who describe themselves as “hypermilers”. What is that, you might ask? Well, it’s basically just someone who gets more out of a gallon of gas than the rest of us. Not a little more, though, but A LOT more - hypermilers can often nearly double the EPA listed mileage for a given car. One of the leaders in the hypermiler movement, Wayne Gerdes, can get nearly 60 mpg out of his 2005 Honda Accord (EPA est 34 mpg), and once got 127 mpg out of a Prius (EPA est 42 mpg)!
We all can learn from what they do, for their tips range from things we all should be doing anyway all the way up to the downright crazy / illegal things that it takes to get up into the mileage stratosphere.
By Benjamin Jones •
May 11, 2008
Source: greefus groinks
There’s been a lot of buzz on the internet and on TV about ecodriving, hypermiling, ecomodding, or other techniques for saving fuel. EcoModder.com, a site dedicated to modifying cars and driving habits for fuel economy, recently released a list of 100+ hypermiling tips.
These tips are definitely worth a look for anyone interested in saving a few dollars at the pump, [...]
With the threat of gasoline prices climbing to $4 per gallon, eco-conscious drivers have yet another reason to boost their mileage and reduce their fuel consumption. So here are 100 tips for “hypermiling,” courtesy of GasolineCreditCards.com’s EcoTrekker.
Photo courtesy of Aaron Lawrence via Wikimedia Commons.
Last week, in an experiment some cast aside as a PR stunt, several drivers drove a Ford Focus Hybrid car 1,445 miles, approximately double how far Ford estimated it could go, on a single tank of gas using Eco-Driving techniques. The drivers were well versed in Eco-driving methodology, making the results of the test far less likely to occur in the general public. They averaged just above 20 miles per hour over their 4 day test, which is 3 days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes longer than the average American’s patience driving without speeding.
