The greatest weapon in the fight against high gas prices may be your right foot.
How you drive can dramatically change your car's fuel economy. There are some drivers, who coast wherever possible, draft behind larger vehicles and drive slowly on the freeway with their windows rolled up and their air conditioning off.
Some people call them weird. Some would call them penny pinchers. Others call them geniuses. They would much prefer to be called "Hypermilers". They routinely get about 100 miles a gallon. It's a little extreme, but it is the latest trend in saving money on gas, and we can all learn a few things about saving money on gas by following their example.
Here's some more information on hypermiling: http://www.hypermiling.com/
By the way, the local Bucati motorcycle dealership lists the average gas price every day outside their store on Westlake. At 4.38 a gallon today, that's a pretty compelling selling point for their scooters, which get about 100 miles a gallon. The manager, David Roosevelt, tells me that sales of scooters are up more than 100% this year compared to last.
--Bill Wixey
Comments (1)
It's my understanding that in order to draft behind a big rig, you have to tailgate. Doesn't sound safe at all. Also, you are creating drag on that rig, making their gas mileage take a nosedive. Seems downright parasitic. I guess you have to be more entitled than the rest of us to make it right. What say you?
Tinker
Dear Tinker:
You are absolutely right. It is somewhat of a parasitic practice, and that's why I made sure to mention that you need to maintain a legal distance behind the rig. I also said this is a hypermiler trick, and truckers hate it, so I can't condone it. I will also say for the record that many of the hypermiling practices are dangerous, namely, turning off your ignition while coasting. In an automatic transmission, you lose your power steering and brakes when you do that, and can also damage your transmission. I would not recommend many of the practices. I will say that coasting, and easing up on the gas pedal are lessons that we all can use in fighting the high cost of fuel.
Bill Wixey
Posted by Tinker Iddins | June 25, 2008 10:26 PM
Posted on June 25, 2008 22:26