[rschoolf]

I have a '02 Chevy Cavalier 2.2l rated at EPA 23/33, and have been trying all of the hypermiling techniques, in an attempt to improve my mileage. The sad thing is I use my car for only very short in-town trips, and it never gets any highway miles.

I have always recorded my mileage and gallon usage, so I have that historical data. Typically, my city mileage has been 18-24 mpg average per tank.

My hypermiling techniques include very conservative acceleration, really watching the throttle, coasting or engine-off down hills, engine-off at long stop lights, going slower than the speed limit, 44 psi in my tires, Lucas gas treatment, new plugs and wires, new oil change, new air filter.

So, here's the results of my first hypermiling (town driving) tank: 22 mpg. Sad, isn't it?

Real depressing. I am going to invest in a locking gas cap.

I received my ScanGaugeII yesterday, and have been having fun with it.

I took the car out for a drive on the little highways out east in the prarie last night, to see what my hypermiling techniques would do in that situation. The highways had a 45 mph speed limit.

I was very surprised, I got 38 mpg!

So, I have concluded that there is not much you can do in town stop-and-go driving that will result in a big mpg payback. I wonder if I should consider having a mechanic go over my engine to see what can be done to improve my city mileage.

Really wish I had hybrid technology in my car for town-driving. A bolt-on solution would be cool - the auto industry should look into this, and engineer some technology that they could sell to us.

So, regarding city driving, what do you all think?