Logical Anomaly?

Hi Bob,

I am in the subset of the Prius owner group that drives "normally", gets mid-40s mpg, and is happy with that result.

In the south OC area where I live, full-size GM SUVs are still quite popular, often painted black. I guess these owners want to give the impression that they work for the FBI or Secret Service...

 

Me too! Couldn't be bothered with it! Drivers should focus on the road and not on the screen.
I'd like to think this way, if I were to focus to get more mpg and get into an accident, any expenses incurred as a result would wipe out the gas savings anyway.

 

I'm one of the people that go "extraordinary lengths" but I don't think of it as a sacrifice. Instead, it becomes second-nature to take advantage of all the tricks. I've matured my skills enough that barely even need to glance at the screen to determine how to get the best mileage, instead I now use the "subtle feel of the car's momentum" to determine if I'm in warp stealth or the rare warp-deadband. My throttle foot is also tuned to automatically accelerate at 1300-1600 rpm... occasionally going up to 2400 rpm when needed.

Hypermiling has increased my visual processing enough so I feel "one" with my surroundings enough to realize that theres a car "flying" up my rear bumper and that I should either avoid or increase my own speed. I predict traffic waves and automatically pull back on the throttle in order to reduce losses should I need to brake ahead... I definitely feel like a safer driver, instead of being focused on whats in front, I pay attention to all directions, always planning an "escape" route and adjusting my speed to best match the "gears of traffic".

The owners of hummers, suvs and other inefficient vehicles are plagued with ignorance. They don't have the instrumentation needed to improve... thus they don't try... plus owners of "high powered" vehicles inherit a facet of what they drive and become more aggressive and irritated when stopped/slowed.

 

I don't think it's anomalous at all. We bought Prii because we desire to optimize our fuel economy. It's a logical extension that we'd do everything possible to increase FE even while driving a Prius. I'd argue that it's less logical to buy a Prius and NOT drive it to gain great fuel economy (though I understand why people would do that).

 

I believe that having all that info at your fingertips on the MFD makes it easy to become obsessive about your mileage.

 

I wonder how US fuel economy would be affected if every car came with an MPG meter.

Anyway, cars always draw people to push them to their limits. For sports cars, it's speed, for 4WD it's climbing bigger rocks, and for the Prius it's more MPG.

 

Grille blocking shouldn't be included!

$1 and 20 minutes per season is hardly extraordinary and it certainly doesn't interfere with driving.

.

 

A quick question for John, I don't have a scan guage, but I was wondering with your experience, how safe would it be to leave 1 or 2 strips on the lower (keep the full block on the top) when the temps get to about 70 +. And I mean only for my normal daily commute of about 20 miles each way. Or should I pull it off for the drive home in the afternoon.

 

It's self-selection. Your logic would be true if this were a controlled clinical trial (true experiment) with random assignment of persons to vehicles and limited gas budgets. But what you observe is not the isolated decision on how to drive, it's the combined decision of what and how to drive. Typical Tahoe purchaser clearly doesn't care much about mileage in the first place. Typical Prius purchaser does. Simple as that. The self-selection inherent in the purchase overwhelms any logical behavioral response you'd expect to see from low-vs-high MPG cars.

Same phenomenon as observing that people who take medications tend to be sicker, not healthier, than those who don't. It's not that medicines are ineffective, its that the self-selection aspect (who gets the drug) overwhelms the causal effect (drugs improve health status).

 

What SUV driver would WANT to be reminded of their poor fuel economy except the CEO of EXXON...

 

Now that is really putting it in perspective.

I'm with you entirely, I really enjoy the ocasional 50 MPG tanks in the summer but don't do anything special to attain them.

You have to remember that the MPG Obsessed people you are talking about are really the Vocal Minority, most of us just enjoy driving a comfortable car in a comfortable manner and the fuel savings are a pleasant bonus.

That said, I believe the Prius has made me a better driver. I regularly check tire inflation, am much better in anticipating traffic conditions and timing traffic signals which all lead to better MPG without slowing traffic by trying to maintain pulse and glide in HOV lanes.

 

I'll second that. There have been bills in the Congress that would have required that on all US cars, but I can't seem to find a citation to show that.

These sites say Nissan will install meters in every car, and that they appear to have estimated 10% fuel savings based on tests. No idea how reliable that is.

But I'd say bang-for-buck on that has to be better than anything else available. A full Scanguage is only about $150, a simple fuel economy meter ought to cost the manufacturers twenty bucks. Same improvement as B-A-S with zero investment.

Nissan to Install Fuel Economy Meters on All Cars ~ Hybrid Car Review
Green Car Congress: All New Nissan Models to Feature Fuel Efficiency Gauge

 

Stiffer ride -- a bit. Longer journeys -- somewhat, but more relaxing. You imply that hypermiling and safety/scenery are mutually exclusive. I suggest they are complementary. I probably enjoy the scenery more while hypermiling, and I know I'm safer than when I was driving like a bat out of h***.

Having said that, I agree that gas hog drivers can apply many of the same techniques as we. But like others suggest, I'm pretty confident the typical SUV driver is not as inclined toward fuel conservation in the first place as the typical Prius driver.

 

If all these gas guzzler drivers don't care about gas consumption, why is everyone complaining so much about gas prices? Why is it the lead story on the news every other day? Most people who care about fuel economy don't happen to own a hybrid... yet.

I think the problem is ignorance about the relationship between driving style and fuel consumption. That's why a fuel consumption screen on every car would probably have a dramatic effect on fuel conservation.

I agree that monitoring consumption and practicing efficient driving style makes you a safer driver by doing things like leaving a bigger stopping distance. The MFD doesn't cause accidents any more than tuning the radio.

 

I have raced cars for some years now so a little "discomfort" like a daily driver with a 4,000rpm torque converter and a roll cage is no big deal to me so running 60psi in my Prius' tires car scarcely be described as uncomfortable.

I love posting new numbers whether they are a new best ET/MPH (drag racing) or a new best MPG. So part of it is like a game to me, to see if I can do even better than the last time.

During my slower commutes I actually get to see more of the scenery, not less. Once you get used to the feel of the Prius you do not have to constantly watch the MDF. Quick glances at the screen and a sensitive foot (I take my shoe off) are all that is required to achieve the higher MPG numbers. I also tend to stay off the freeways as much as possible and the backroads are where you get to see wildlife that isn't squished! Slower drives = less stress, more wildlife or natural scene viewing, better MPG, and more time to listen to my books on CD. On my work days I can park the car with 60-62mpg over 79miles. I don't do this all the time because of the added time to reach my destination but I do it often enough now that I figured out how the gurus do it.

Regardless of how all that made me sound, I'm only 32.

 

I'll second/third/whatever the SIGNIFICANT increase in safety
from hypermiling techniques which make the driver way more aware
of surrounding traffic, terrain, and signals way more in advance
than when most other drivers parse such things.
.
Higher pressure in tires is also safer and more controllable.
.
I've been trying to do a little study on the real-life time
differential between aggressive and mellow driving, but it probably
needs some more factors brought in for a solid real-life analysis.
Rip this apart and help me finish it.
.
_H*