Agreed F8L...you forgot one though, women on the 405, visor down, rear view mirror cocked to the side putting their makeup on in rush hour traffic, they should be handing out tickets for that one...it's just as bad as texting, maybe worse.
I enjoyed the clip. I liked it with someone drove around them and yelled for them to get off the road. I like the 80+ mpg sure, but we all have to be good to those who do not have a prius and stay out of there way. I alway drive with my rear view mirror so that I do not piss off others. I would hate Prius owners to get a bad reputation. I just ask that we all do the same.
i did hypermiling before i owned a Prius... and yeah... society just seems to associate Prius drivers with this more... and that reputation is already there i've never had to honk at other stupid drivers as much until I started driving one... much less being the one honked at.. actually, most people so far have at least been smart enough to go around me like they should. perhaps not many people realize i'm driving a Prius well.. eventually society is gonna to catch on.. and then I'll be treated like crap like other Prius owners do with other stupid drivers.
Regarding Wayne's >1 hour video, his post on is at CleanMPG Forums - View Single Post - Want 86 mpg From Your Prius Hybrid? We Have an “Answer†For That!. From the below, it sounds like they're working on fixing it and I don't know if a better version will be up at that same Youtube URL or a different one.
Wayne is a pretty cool guys. Hopefully we can take him up on the quick ride next time he is in the SF Bay Area.
Just last Saturday my wife and I took a drive to Portland Oregon and back to Seaside. Mild weather over 60 degrees and dry roads. MPG calculated was over 56 mpg in real world driving. Yes, I know if I drove 55 mph instead of 65 mph I would have achieved at least 60 mpg calculated. But, there are other people on the road beside myself.
That is an excellent video. Thanks, Andrew! Hopefully they will fix it soon so you can see more but the audio is great. Wayne Gerdes Hybrid Event - Toyota of Yakima - April 14th, 2012 - YouTube
About the tips in the first video (then one with the blonde getting 80+ MPG): I thought using the battery to accelerate is bad (as all the energy in the battery comes from the engine, it is better to let the engine power the car whenever possible - less energy conversion). He keeps saying to accelerate full electric to about 18 mph. Won't accelerating in such a way quickly deplete the battery, which would in turn force the engine to run anyway? From what I've read here on the forums, we should use the battery as little as possible (only for regen and slow movements like parking lots). What I think happened there is that he had a full battery before she got in the car (maybe even force charge it to 8 bars) and than made her use mostly electric, which probably brought the battery down to two bars, but at the same time made a (temporary) boost in mpg (he had to reset the trip metter after charging the battery). I'm not trying to make Wayne look bad or anything, I really appreciate his work, but what he teaches that woman about driving the prius seems wrong to me (not all of it, just the battery part. He is right about all the traffic timings, slowing down, anticipation and other stuff and those apply to all cars anyway).
timing engine firing during acceleration is an advanced hypermiling technique and it can be very confusing to newbies so I never mention it. I also never mention it because most people cannot stand to drive that slow and I don't want to contribute to producing more pokey Prius drivers on the roadway. Seriously though, Wayne is right and I think you should try it if conditions allow. See if this works for you. What's great about these tips is that you do not have to do all of them all of the time. Use them when safe and possible to bump up your mpg or bring your mpg back up to normal after you observe a big drop because of a traffic accident, rain or some other disaster that caused your mpg to drop below your average.
The irony is, of course, that she lost ZERO time by driving that slowly. She met all the people who zoomed past her at the next stop light. And people seem to think she was the discourteous one? Wow. It makes me wonder how people can sit in a chair at home or work, without actually moving AT ALL...
Does ANYONE know ANYONE who does not drive a Prius who is the slightest bit concerned about driving so as not to piss off others? Perhaps I am influenced by years of driving in Boston, but seriously. I promise to drive the same speed as everyone else, as soon as everyone is driving at or below the LEGAL limit.
Remarkable! at 4:20 he tells her to get in the left lane and cars are passing her from the right lane like crazy! Listen what the guy in the Van hollers out! This could cause road rage.
So in short, you will only obey the golden rule if others obey it first. Correct? This same logic would say that you believe your needs and desires are more important than theirs. That is a dangerous road, friend.
It sure makes for a less stressful life. Not giving a F' as it were. I agree with you and Corwyn which is probably why I've been in more road rage roadside fights than anyone I know. I just got lucky and have survived them. Corwyn is right in that most people don't care how their driving affects others so why should I? You are correct in that it is a dangerous road to travel, especially if you acknowledge the aggressive drivers. It's better to not make eye contact and just act oblivious. You're less likely to get shot that way. lol
I thought he was setting her up for an appropriate path for the upcoming left turns through the roundabouts. The dude made a right hand exit -- to a gas station! -- from the leftmost lane. His type will be PO'ed by any traffic smaller than himself anyway. This is the logic that the Golden Rule does not trump the law of the State.
Having had a Gen II since 3/08, I wish someone would have taken the time to take me out for a instructional drive like that! My wife will be picking up her Hybrid Camry XLE next week, this is a must watch video for her. It would have been nice to insert another small box with a shot of the meter you are referring to. Without that, there is a piece of the puzzle missing! I wanted to see what you were referring to! Thanks for the tips!
I'm not saying it is ok that people speed everywhere. I'm simply saying how Wayne drives is probably not the coolest thing to do to people. Really respect him and he is obviously a super intelligent guy, but as for me, I'm going to do all of my hypermiling with one eye on the rear view mirror so I'm not making people angry...simple as that.
