The new automatically hypermiling hybrid can get 200 miles out of one gallon of gas, which is good news to drivers who are used to pain at the pump. However, it’s not just owners of hybrid cars that are noticing the benefits of changing their driving habits, with fuel efficiency in mind. “Thoughtful driving techniques can make a difference even in old gas hogs,” says Richard Keeler, who hypermiles his 1979 Nissan 280ZX sports car. One of his favorite tricks is “pulsing and gliding,” where he’ll get going to 70 in a 65, then practice hypermiling coasting until he reaches 65 again. Doing this, he can get up to 18 MPG, which isn’t great, but is much better than his gas guzzling vehicle usually gets.
Serious hybrid owner Jim Kelly of Richmond, Virginia got his Toyota Prius up to 78 miles per gallon, which is considerably higher than the EPA rating of 48 for city and 45 for highway. He says he uses techniques like “pulse and glide” — where he accelerates and coasts for as long as possible before accelerating again. He parks his car facing outward to avoid shifting from reverse to drive, and avoids making left turns whenever possible, so he won’t have to stop and wait for the oncoming traffic to pass. “Stoplights don’t bother me so much, because as I learn my routes and know the lights, if I do it right I may never hit a red light,” Kelly adds. He doesn’t mind being stuck behind slow-moving cargo trucks because it allows him to burn even less fuel by traveling 20 on a 55 mph road.
Fellow Prius owner, Scott Davis of Glen Allen, Virginia, has also reached 78.2 MPG on his recent commute. He says he plots his routes using topographical maps to find the most downhill coasts and least uphill chugs. If no one’s behind him, he’ll cruise along at 20 in a 45 to conserve fuel. He keeps detailed records of his trips on spreadsheets hosted by the Clean MPG website and always strives to beat his previous records. While he loves his hypermiling hybrid, he also tries to carry over his newfound techniques to his 2001 BMW to see what kind of gasoline mileage he can get there.
One of the more helpful features of the hypermiling hybrid is its built-in calculator that tells drivers how many MPG they’re getting in real-time. Many drivers have glanced down when they’re accelerating or braking hard to see just what kind of gas mileage they’re getting. They can also test out their cruise control, plan routes with less hills, drive a little bit slower and try other hypermiling driving tips to see what a difference they can make. Drivers who don’t have an automatic calculator can still get the same benefits from a $170 device called a Scan Gauge (www.scangauge.com), which will let them know their fuel usage in real-time and act as a hypermiling tutorial.
Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed panic attacks help as well as tips on the various medications for panic disorder available at www.anxietydisordercure.com.
