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Aero drag is 70% of your energy losses at 70 MPH.
At 55 MPH the best way I use to understand it is to just square the speed you are going.
For example
50 MPH=2500 units of drag
70 MPH=4900 units of drag
100 MPH=10000 units of drag
Increasing your speed by 40% (50-70 MPH) almost doubles the energy required to move through the air alone. Most other drag factors are linear in their relation to speed but aero is exponential, meaning if you double the speed you increase the aero drag by 400%.
Now for some people time is an essential component of travel and they might consider the fuel saved not worth the increased time spent on the highway. There is also an increased risk factor when you think about an 8 hour trip versus a 10 hour trip. as far as the possibility of an accident.
If you have choices in your trips where you can choose the "road less travelled" and go 55 MPH instead of 70+MPH, you might give it a try to see what a difference it could make. I would bet at 50-55 MPH that Maxima would be close to 37-40 MPG.
regards
Mech
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