Saving money by hypermiling
A friend drove my spunky little convertible yesterday and couldn’t resist zipping and zooming. I bit my lip and finally couldn’t resist asking, “You haven’t adopted hypermiling yet, have you?”
I’ve been driving more conservatively to increase my MPG thus saving money I can put into my business and my pocket. As I drive, I tell myself to do all I can to avoid braking or accelerating quickly. It may be my imagination, but I’ve noticed others here in sunny San Diego being more comfortable in the slow lanes. As I’m cruising at the speed limit, I don’t see as many people whizzing by as I used to, I think.
The concept of hypermiling seems to be simple: ease up on the gas, plan ahead to use less brakes. If you’re approaching a stop light and you know you have to stop, don’t hurry to the start line. When you start accelerating, do so slowly rather than stomping on the gas. A recent CNN article said you can increase your MPG by 30 percent with these little changes.
It’s a little embarrassing to be a little poky in my cute sports car, but I can make a tank of gas last about three weeks. Granted I work from home and don’t get out much, but I think it’s helping.
Kurt on 30 Jun 2008 at 2:01 pm #
I’ve been hypermiling for years…my last three cars have had fuel consumption gauges that showed real-time fuel consumption and average MPG. Let me tell you, when you can SEE your mileage drop to 6 MPG (or less) while you’re accelerating, you tend to hold back a little unless you really need to rock and roll (like when you’re stuck behind someone talking on their cell phone). My guess is that a gauge like that would change anyone’s driving style.
steph on 30 Jun 2008 at 3:43 pm #
Nice car!
I’m still learning to hypermile, but when we travel on the highway, we do notice how much gas we save going the speed limit. The best part is that we find we’re never fighting traffic anymore, or weaving in and out of it, and we’re rarely in jams. It’s smooth sailing all the way, even through Toronto!