Hypermiling named "2008 Word of the Year"

Cool. We just made history. We can tell our grandchildren some day.

"I was part of the hypermiling movement."

 

yup, wrong Wayne. but FireEngineer was on, what was it, 60 minutes? I think?

They're both stars!! :third:

eace:

 

4 years ago, eh? That's after the thread which gave birth to the practice was declared dead and buried. Interesting.

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It was a dark time. Long ago, before we knew anything about HSD. Gas was cheap and the SUV was rapidly growing larger. I spent much of my time on hostile automotive forums, where there was a strong anti-hybrid sentiment. My arguments were based on the real-world data I was actively accumulating and about the potential the platform had to offer.

It wasn't pretty.

Hypermiling originated as a method to undermine the success of hybrids. Traditional vehicles were used to squeeze out MPG higher than the Classic Prius and emissions were totally disregarded.

Those online exchanges were frustrating. The host enjoyed all the attention our posts drew, so the combat went on... and on... and on. But after 1.5 years of that, the opening question was finally declared answered. Hybrids were indeed up to the chore.

Want to know more? Read my personal logs. There are hundreds of entries documenting what happened, as it was happening.

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When the very first post was which used the word itself is noteworthy, but I'm still waiting for a precise definition of the word. After all, I was the very first to use the specific phrase "stealth mode" but not the first to use the word stealth in relation to Prius.

As for my writings, they are a scribed history... intended for reading as a whole to get the big picture.

As time proceeds and certain past events gain attention, I'll highlight them. Summaries will emerge as patterns in requests do.

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What he said, though our names do get interchanged a lot, really confusing when we're in the same room. But I can install an engine block heater a lot faster than he can.

Wayne (not Gerdes)

 

Oh! Oh! I guess that means you'll be ending membership here in less than 3 years... since it would also be 8 years of reading lots of experiences... and without the continuous storyline like mine.

As for the definition, it's a fitting refinement. That's a nice ending to such an unexpected beginning.

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How can I forget that? Using the Accord with dangerous and extreme techniques, only the MPG was used to compare with the Prius. He went on and asked why anyone would need a hybrid if Prius-like MPG can be achieved with a non-hybrid. Of course, Wayne became a believer in HSD (and Prius) when someone taught him Pulse & Glide technique in a Prius.

I am glad you blogged that whole discussion because Edmunds took that thread down.

I still believe that hybrid technology is the replacement for "hyper-miling". Just like the automatic transmission is to manual transmission, HSD is to "hyper-miling". You can double your mileage just by driving normally. The technology that makes it safe without compromising performance or safety. You can still change the driver behavior to beat the EPA MPG in a hybrid but there isn't as much room left. It all comes down to speed where the slower you go, the more MPG you will get. This has been shown in MPG-MPH graph with Prius.

 

If it's any help, I recommend a wander through john1701a's extensive
journal, or as much of it as you can make some time for, because
there's a lot of good stuff in there. I tried to do a similar
timeline-flow thing but it stalled after about four entries,
mostly because the other pages about discoveries and hacks filled
the same function albeit in a less temporally consistent way.
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It's definitely like the "lewis and clark" of early Prius
ownership, though.
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_H*