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Old 02-01-2008, 04:19 PM   #59 (permalink)
cfg83
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Formula413 -

Quote:
Originally Posted by Formula413 View Post
I had an idea a while ago that might help convince people to go slower and save fuel. What if every car's speedometer had a highlighted green zone from say 35-55 mph that slowly changed to red as speed increased so people would have a visual cue to how they can save the most gas? I think it would be neat if all cars came with that, that way people tearing along at 75 mph would see the needle well into the red every time they looked at the speedometer. Getting people to think about their wallet is usually easier than getting them to think about the environment.

I also want to echo a sentiment from earlier in this thread about how little time speeding really saves you. Even going 10 mph over the limit on a 1 hour drive only saves about 8 minutes. Is it really worth it?
Here is a vacuum gauge from the 1970's that did a similar thing to your speedometer suggestion :

MILEAGE MONITOR (vacuum gauge)
http://ideamaster.com/mm.htm


In terms of speeding, I agree. The "gain" from speeding is more of a visceral feeling than a real gain. "Time is money" and "Gas is money" are both true in different degrees. How about this as a slogan :

"Time is money but gas costs more"-

CarloSW2
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