Is driving for maximum mpg worth the trouble?

What you said! An inconvenient truth for sure.

Well then, it would appear that for the most part -- my out-and-back
commuting target figure is 50 MPG winters and 55 MPGs summer --
we are in violent agreement.

 

I agree. Sometimes I just drive in whatever way is most comfortable and least annoying for my passengers.

Like you, I dropped a 13mpg turbocharged truck for the Prius so even at 47mpg I come out WAY ahead.

 

Agreed! I think though that the comparison of "driving normal" in a FFH vrs Prius for the 35 up to 50 mph gain is worth considering. However what it takes to get the FFH from 35 to 45 or the Prius from 48 to 56 may take a dramatic change in a lot of people and the results are just not worth the effort.

Bottom line is anyone who is averaging at least 35 mpg in their daily ride is doing their part towards the solution.

 

Agreed that it is more important to improve the milage or get them off the road (speaking of the 15 mpg vehicles). That's where the large consumption is. And getting them to 20 mpg would be a 33% improvement where as the Prius would need to get to 66 mpg for the same level of improvement.

However I'm not sure where the "not very bright" comment is directed. Not everyone has a professional need for a vehicle, yet their personal choices require either a large vehicle for family or recreation or a 4wd due to where they live. That has nothing to do with their intelligence. Not all people can afford multiple vehicles to suit different needs. I have 2 hybrids and an Expedition. The Expedition is used when the others cannot fill my need. However someone with 4 kids, living on a hill in snow country or a rural gravel road may need a vehicle such as that. When your choice comes down to owning one vehicle you compromise only down to the level of vehicle choice that fulfills all your needs.

I pull a tractor with my Expedition. I also take family vacations with 6 of us and luggage for a week and only use one vehicle. When my wife drives to the kids to babysit, she now has the Prius. However the Prius cannot fulfill all my needs and if I had to choose between just the two I would keep the Expedition even though most of the time it would only be me and the wife in the vehicle. That's not a professional need so I hope that simply by making that choice I would not be classified into the "not too bright" category.

 

Yeh!
And don't forget the all-important al qaeda funding.

Hard to believe, but there IS a subset out there that actually believe this. I call it the, "never ending creamy nougat-oil filled earth center" theory.

.

 

Yes,

15,000 miles per year.
20 mpg Present car = 750 gallons
50 mpg 2010 Prius = 300 gallons

450 gallons X $2.60 = $1170 at least saved per year.:cheer2:
Over the next 10 years averaging $4.00 per gallon = $18,000 saved

If you think your over taxed then look at it this way.
450 gallons saved at .51 cents per gallon in fuel taxes means
a savings of $229 in fuel taxes each year.

 

It is a curious, and rather pathetic, statement to say: I'm proud to be a somewhat leaner pig.

 

I don't think that those who buy large vehicles without any need other than "I just want one" are of questionable intelligence. More like unquestionable arrogance.

There are legit needs for larger vehicles, but there are lot of plenty of people that are just making a statement. That is their right. But there is a theory that says your right to swing your arm ends where my nose begins. And it could be argued that emitting carbon and using more than your share of a limited resource without a real need is punching your neighbors in the nose.

The funny part is that drivers who choose a fuel efficient automobile are looked at as odd but buying a huge truck is a status symbol. It seems like it should be the other way around. Then again, I don't really want to give getting a hummer a bad name.
:jaw:

 

+10. I know many persons who possess both unquestionable intelligence and unquestionable arrogance, and a surprisingly large percentage own gas hogs for no reason other than the "status" of the ownership event. (Before I go too far, I'd have to point out there may be more than one Prius owner who falls into the "unquestionable intelligence and unquestionable arrogance" group!)

It was many years ago that the Supreme Court agreed with Congress and used the "interstate commerce" clause to allow regulation of pollution that crossed state lines or entered waters of the United States. At this point, any movement of the arm that comes close to anything the nose smells can be regulated.

The gas guzzler will not be around forever.

 

The internet can be a place for misunderstood messages, but that is how I read your title.

 

I think it's certain ly worthwile to trade for better FE vehicles. But I believe the idea for the thread was simply is it worth hypermiling or taking other (possibly) extreem measures to gaing max FE with a Prius. It appears to me that I can gain about 10% better FE by practicing a lot of things but now that I've got a car that is getting 48 mpg, striving for 52 mpg just doesn't seem worth it.

It is fun to play with this thing, I enjoyed it in my TCH as I learned to drive a hybrid. I liked tracking my improvements. But now, I simply plan to put a lot of miles on this car (25,000+) and my wife will drive it a lot (meaning my tracking things is useless).

I'm just planning at this point to enjoy it and I'll watch the more fanatic track things and give me the infornation on what this thing is capable of doing.

 

"Little benefit"? Let's see, at 50 MPG I'll use 50% less gas than at 35 MPG: 100 miles at 50 MPG is 2 gallons, while at 35 it's 3.

And the beauty of the Prius is that it gets 50 MPG with only the slightest bit of knowledge and action. Not to mention that once you hit a traffic jam, your 35 MPG car's mileage may get cut in half, while the Prius will still achieve 50 MPG.

I don't personally try to drive back roads and P&G to try to get 70 MPG instead of 50 MPG. My time and effort are worth more than that to me, but the Prius has the tools to allow you to do that if you want to, as well. 50 MPG is easy and even fun, so why not?

 

@ 15,000 miles a year & $2.50 gas the difference in 48 and 52 mpg is only $5/mo. While it might make me smile averaging 52, it is not worth the trouble. Gas gets to $5, I might change my mind (I doubt it though). This does represent a $150 reduction per month in gasoline costs in driving the Prius rather than the Expedition. What other threads are trying tosay is represented in my Expedition. I could drive it to get 17 or I can get 14.5 (which is what I get). That amounts to a $40/mo difference or saving 192 gallons of gas a year.

 

true dat!!!

i'll stop now.

 

I fit the bill!

 

I see alot of similarities from the "uber" prius folks to the "uber" gaming crowd. Read some of the forum posts here then head to a world of warcraft forum add prius l33tness to there's or WoW l33tness to ours and they read the same. And oddly the trolls always get folks to come out and play on both forums.

This of course isn't the majority of people here but its still funny to see the trend.