Hello everyone! A pleasure to be here! I was wondering about driving habits in general; My lovely wife and I just purchased a well-cared for 2007 Touring, and I am beginning to adjust my driving habits accordingly to gain the most milage out of her. And I also find myself changing the way I drive my primary vehicle, a 1999 Tacoma Pickup (the Prius is the wife's car). And I was wondering if anyone else here found themselves trying to adjust their driving habits in any other vehicle besides a Hybrid?
A very good site for tips on improving your FE/MPGs in a non-hybrid vehicle is ecomodder.com A good summary of the various techniques routinely discussed there is this document at the site. There is also excellent information and discussion at cleanmpg.com. Hope this helps.
As an owner of a non-hybrid I know I've changed my driving habits based on just researching hybrids here and throughout the internet. I don't notice it so much with my new car, but with my previous vehicle just employing some very basic hypermiling techniques, suprised me with how much I was able to improve mileage. I do believe I am schizophrenic in this regard though...I'm either driving like Grandpa heading to cash his Social Security Check and trying to not spill his colostomy bag, or I'm driving like Ricky Bobby.
I changed my driving habits first (thank you CleanMPG.com), then got fed up with the unnecessary limits designed into non-hybrids "because that is what American drivers want / expect", then bought a hybrid to get around those limits.
Well with all of my "spirited" driving on the hilly roads around here, 80 mph+ highway, and not worrying about any of that hyper-miling nonsense, I still get 39.0 MPG. Not too bad, eh? :rockon:
Not only have my driving habits changed, I walk more. It is a 20 min walk to get the Sunday paper, and another 20 minutes to Meeting for Worship, both events that I used to drive to. Now that I am retired, I take an hour walk for exercise (when I am not cycling), and often throw in a stop or two that otherwise might take up another car trip. Initially I did it because I could see how the short trips were eating my gas mileage and I was playing the max MPG game. Now its just habit.
+1 Exactly... Although even when my inner Ricky-Bobby takes over, I still manage to get mid fourties it would seem, so not so bad.
