"Hypermiling Is Awful And I Sort Of Hate It" (Jalopnik in Audi MPG competition)

[MetroMPG]

True, they do swoon over the hyper-mobiles (like almost everyone).

But the thing I like about Jalopnik is they also have a healthy respect for cars that are interesting and unusual, while not necessarily powerful speed machines. (Like their perpetual almost-joke that the perfect car is a "brown, diesel, manual, RWD station wagon".)

The same writer who just won this very hypermiling contest also mounted a vigorous defense of the Mitsubishi Mirage against a scathing NY Times review. Actually, it's not so much a defense of the car itself (they only gave it 50/100 in their own review), so much as a critique of the way entry level cars are written about by spoiled car writers who lack perspective.

This Brutal NYT Mirage Review Is What's Wrong With Cheap Car Reviews

They're also not afraid of the future the way so many gearhead writers seem to be. The highest review score they've given to any car so far was to the BMW i8 -- a 3-cylinder, turbocharged, plug-in hybrid.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by niky

Endurance racing of any kind is a pain in the ass.

In a car? Luxury! We had to do our endurance racing in sneakers!

Originally Posted by jcp123

Having been firmly on the hoon side of the fence at one point, though, I know how easy it is to roll one's eyes at fuel economy.

The problem (over which I took many slaps in my last model-specific forum) is that most Murricans see performance as something the car does on its own and the driver then gets manliness credit for. If they want more performance (and more manliness points) they write a check to have something bolted on to get more performance.

I really enjoy driving, but I'm not so much a fan of being a passenger on a roller coaster- driving is something I do, not something that the car does to me. At the end of a drive the "how was it?" needs a more coherent answer than "I had fun." Trip mpg is honest. It doesn't care about your mood, it doesn't care about your feelings. If I get worse than usual and there weren't any weather or traffic problems, then I have a computer that says "Fat Charlie, you did not drive well this morning. Fix it." If you can't take being told when you don't do well, then you aren't a good driver. No store bought 1/4 or 0-60 time can ever change that.

I feel like this bit should actually be in the "retort" thread.

[MetroMPG]

The part of their story where the cops bullied them into speeding up is jaw-droppingly jaw-dropping:

As we tortised our way down the road, a massive Highway Patrol Suburban we passed on the side of the road burst to life, following close behind us. It then bellowed out of its loudspeaker:

COME ON! COME ON! YOU'VE GOT TO GO FASTER THAN THAT! LET'S GO!

... and then he approached behind us, hard and fast like a rhino stripper dressed as a sexy cop for a rhino bachelorette party. He stayed on our ass and made us accelerate to 60 MPH — and then he just stayed there.

[Grant-53]

If I have to take a long trip I would consider taking my bike on the train. There is not enough thought given to wheelbase and suspension travel by some companies. Even after owning a massive Cadillac hearse I was impressed with the ride of my Corollas.

[niky]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

How To Squeeze 830 Miles Out Of One Tank Of Fuel And Remain Sane...ish

Probably about the last team that the Audi PR people wanted to win.

That.Was.Epic.

Major kudos to them for hitting 62.9 even AFTER spending that much time at 60.

Still... that's 20 minutes at 60, that's 20 miles out of 830... so the law of averages means they come out ahead, eventually.

[daves302gt]

So, a question for the pros here: On the flat areas, even with the diesel not having part throttle efficiency loss, do you think they could've done even better with pulse and glide, or pulse and engine-off cruise?

Also, they took their time getting to 45 mph, could that also have been improved by getting up there quickly or is that part of hypermiling related to gas engines only? (because of throttle losses)

[niky]

EOC is best... but if that variant has a push-button starter, it would be a pain.

[Sven7]

I'm still disappointed they didn't do any serious aero-mods. I think the wheel skirts were more to catch people's attention on the blog than they were to win. Still, it's good to get a little press on this, negative or not.

(If I can do a grille block on a weekend rental car, they can do a grille block on a fuel economy challenge car)

[MetroMPG]

I was a little disappointed too.

But Audi forbade mods. First with a friendly reminder of a poorly worded "commandment".

Then by actually removing tape from the grilles of cars that had been taped up!

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I was a little disappointed too.

But Audi forbade mods. First with a friendly reminder of a poorly worded "commandment".

Then by actually removing tape from the grilles of cars that had been taped up!

It was a smart move on Audi's part to remove all mods. It protects the integrity of the test of the vehicles ability to achieve extremely good fuel economy. If Audi had allowed modifications, people unfamiliar with the affect they have on fuel economy might assume mods are required to get high MPGs instead of attributing the achievement to the vehicle.

The test wasn't a challenge to get the best fuel economy possible, it was a marketing campaign to sell cars.