One of the first things I experienced learning a 2008 Prius rental car was watching how the Energy/Fuel Consumption Monitor worked. I was fascinated how the Toyota engineers were able to give a current (second to second) Energy/Fuel Consumption guide for the driver. I realized quickly that when I selected the Fuel Consumption Guide on the monitor that I was able to tailor my acceleration and coasting techniques to increase the gas mileage. After renting a Prius out of State I purchased a new Prius with all the bells and whistles when I returned home. My question is: Wouldn't a Fuel Consumption Monitor on a non-hybrid car help drivers conserve gas using hypermiling techniques, as Prius drivers practice? This may not be the magical answer for fuel conservation but could help drivers modify their driving behaviors. Also, I understand car manufacturers are considering the Prius ability to shut down versus idling. I think that may be something we see in new cars soon since there is much more wasted gas usage in idling versus start-ups.
That is my thought as well. If people knew how much fuel they were sucking down while driving 80 on the highway, or just the buckets that pour through the injectors on acceleration, they'd probably ease up on the throttle.
I think most would agree with you. Paying attention to how your driving affects MPG works in any car. Turning the engine off while stopped is another feature that should be in every car. I think that many car manufacturers don't want people to see low MPG numbers all the time and/or they don't want something to distract the driver. I can picture someone blaming the manufacturer because they got into an accident while watching the MPG display.
Buy a ScanGuageII for $160 on eBay (free shipping). It gives you much more than just instant MPG. It works on all newer vehicles. OBDII monitors fuel injections and speed pulses. It can compute MPG easily. It can be off by 5%, though. ScanGuage allows you to calibrate the MPG by a scaling factor.
My 1994 Ford Aerostar van has an electronic dash with average and instantaneous mileage. The idea has been around for a while. Tom
My old Saab 900 had one in the information display and 80's through today's BMW's have a neat analog gauge.
My Dad's 1990 Olds Ninety-Eight has one on it. In fact I think almost every car since then has had that as an option. My 97 Caravan had the option for one. G
my old '85 318i had a gauge. it never worked though.. and gas was really really cheap then. my grandfathers '02 Cadillac Seville DHS had a digital consumption meter in the dash. there were numbers, and a bar... at times it would jump.. but babying it was a real pain and didn't seem to yeild any results... then again... maybe it takes driving a prius to understand true fuel consumption...
I used a Scangauge II in the anti-Prius (2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE 4WD "SUV") for a year before I traded it in for Pearl. What I found was I couldn't really improve the fuel economy. It seems the vehicle was tuned/programmed for minimal emissions and that negated anything I tried to improve consumption. I tried shifting to "N" at lights (less load on engine - fuel reading dropped - l/hr), no difference in the tank l/100 km calculation. I tried coasting more, even tried "limited pulse and glide". No difference in the tank l/100 km calculation. I even tried going slower (gasp)! That vehicle got almost the same fuel economy at 100 as it got at 115 km/hr. It did get noticeably worse above about 125 km/hr. Best tank ever was at 13 l/100 km, average was 14.5-15, and worst tank was at 18 l/100 km (winter). It got better mileage using premium fuel, so much so that it actually cost more per distance to use regular. Still, for a 4400 lb vehicle, it didn't do too bad. Pearl's best tank so far was 4.1 l/100 km, average is about 4.7 l/100 km, and worst in winter was 7 l/100 km. Regular of course. Which is funny, because I get depressed now when I see the reading drop (rise) to the 5 l/100 km range. Still three times better than the anti-Prius! And the fuel is 8% less expensive! BTW, the easiest way to convert from one FE reading to another is to use: Online Conversion - Fuel Consumption Conversion
