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In the wife's car I usually turn off the AC when accelerating or hill climbing and leave the car on always. not noticeable to passengers unless it's off for more than 45 seconds, and acceleration is much better with the compressor off, so I'm sure the mpgs are a bit better too.
I think this could be programmed into new cars with the auto AC systems in them; a throttle or load input from the ECU that shuts off the AC compressor for, say, a max of 30 seconds when encountering heavy load. This way it wouldn't shut off completely when towing a trailer or going up a long hill, but for small hills or stop and go traffic, the AC would be running at the most opportune times. Would be unnoticed by most drivers, except for seeming to have more power available from the same engine, and with the EPA's new "Air conditioning" and "highway acceleration" tests, it could net them an MPG or so in their ratings.
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