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So my new business had it's first paying customer today! Cha-ching...$20 for the hour + a $5 tip and booked her for another lesson next week. Someone referred to me by a friend.
10am drive with a 40-ish year old lady in a 2008 Chevy Equinox (16 city/24 hwy epa)...not a bad car to start with for my first "official" lesson considering it's a smaller SUV and pretty basic commuter vehicle (it wouldn't be my pick for comfort though). 3600 lb. curb weight so not too ridiculous to pull some good mpg's.
10 mile drive in average traffic on a route I drew using mapquest. Mixed in about 5 highway miles with some good up and down hills and a few stoplights I knew would be perfect for my goal of teaching improved mpg's.
She drives the course in a little under 20 minutes and pulls 18 mpg...and I'm thrilled! I think she was even being extra cautious (kind of like taking your drivers exam with the cop). Coming into the lesson she had no idea what mileage she was getting so her first ride with me was a good place to start.
So, I drive the route in a little over 22 minutes (about 3 minutes longer than it took her). Before I took the drive I described the techniques I would be using so she didn't panic when I popped her car into neutral, shut it off at stoplights, drove like a turtle, etc.
I pulled a tick over 25mpg (about 21% over epa) and she almost fell on the floor. We discussed what 21% over epa meant and how that benefits her over the course of a tank, month and year in both gallons saved and money saved. Bam...booked a lesson for next week and told her we would work on p&g with increased psi. I'm sure I can squeeze another 1-2 mpg on that route (27 mpg would be about 26% over epa and not bad for an average commuter getting 18mpg now).
Have 2 more lessons booked this week and my magnetic car signs are in the mail!
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