2009 Prius Base - $19k

[PaleMelanesian]

Nice article, except for the "hypermiling is illegal in some states" line. ???

[Matt Herring]

That line is a result of the MA driving laws that state that "coasting without the gears engaged on the Massachusetts Turnpike" is not permitted and results in a $100 fine and 2 points on your driving record. So, while hypermiling is not illegal in MA, some of the techniques are...at least coasting on the Pike is.

I thought she did a good job of capturing the essence of hypermiling and encouraging others to do it also as she has begun doing it since our driving lesson. She's already squeezing 500 miles out of a tank of gas which is pretty impressive for just starting out (more than 20% over EPA).

[PaleMelanesian]

Overall, it was good and positive. It's just that hypermiling has had a lot of bad press lately and I hate for there to be anything for people to pick on.

... and I guess you'd better turn in you Prius, since it automatically breaks the law...

[Matt Herring]

Good point Pale...I'll be surrendering my Prius to the authorities immediately!

The comments on the article I posted are starting to pile up online...2 positive and 2 negative. Funny to read how uninformed some people are...but that is to be expected. There's a good chance that hypermiling will continue to be discounted as unsafe, irrational, etc. as most of its detractors don't understand it, have never been properly trained and have never tried it for themselves.

For my purposes, I think the article did a great job of putting the techniques into simple terms. The photos in the article (which you can't see online) help to tell the story and show easy ways to increase FE. For a writer to tackle the subject of hypermiling with little prior experience...I think she did a good job of not getting bogged down with tangents and got to the point well.

[SVOboy]

MA actually has a website up on ecodriving where they basically cut and paste the EM driving tips, a pretty high compliment of our little establishment from a government agency, I would say.

I havent really noticed an upswing in negative press on these issues except for certain journalists who have been on rides with certain people...but to be honest, I dont blame them. I have only felt unsafe when another person was at the wheel a handful of times and on all occasions I left the vehicle before the end of the trip, and complained heavily. I cant blame someone for reporting their on their first-hand experiences, and if that reflects badly on "hypermiling" it only because the person doing the driving thinks he is the living definition of the word. *shrug*

Nevertheless, I thought it was a fair article. Nothing is cut and dry, and to present something as entirely good when the audience is clearly suspicious tends to give off the appearance of bias. The best argumentative method is to present your case with acknowledged faults and move past that, which is something I see a lot in these tv/newspaper reports on fuel economy.

[Matt Herring]

FYI - If you want to read more articles from Andrea Fox that wrote the hypermiling article you can go to www.msgreenquickfixes.com

Alot of interesting green-related articles and some great ideas on how to improve your daily lifestyle...I've read them all...recommend highly!

[Matt Herring]

SVO -

Interesting to see Ecomodder's driving tips cut and pasted over at the MA website...and a link to the website. Wonder who decided to put that link up over there...maybe we have a FE mole over there!

[Matt Herring]

Passed the 200 mile mark on my current tank with an all-time high 64.0 mpg (previous best was 63.1 mpg). Unfortunately, I have two events coming up this week that will drive that number down.

1. Taking a road trip on Sunday that includes alot of unavoidable highway miles. The best I have done on the highway is 58 mpg so no doubt it will drive down my overall mpg.

2. I have an oil change on Monday that I'm sure will drop the mpg a little as the donkey techs will be starting my car and letting the engine run at least 3-4 times killing my overall by at least 1 mpg.

I'm nervous about the oil change as there are alot of threads on priuschat detailing horror stories of dropped mpg after an oil change. Most are a result of overfilling with oil as the Prius only takes 3.9 quarts and most techs just dump in the 4 quarts. I know this doesn't sound like much of an overfill but it is a big mistake in a Prius as I have read about numerous times.

I have to have a long talk with the tech before he touches my car on Monday. I have to be very clear with my expectations for this oil and filter change.

[PA Prius]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

The best I have done on the highway is 58 mpg so no doubt it will drive down my overall mpg.

I just had my best tank ever this week, 64.5 mpg, and it was basically all highway. I simply drove 55 mph with a/c off most of the time. Most wouldn't choose to do that, I know. But it's there for you if you want!

Even after 115,000 miles, which I turned over on that day of driving, the guessguage continues to elude me. I filled the tank before starting, the first pip disappeared at 198 miles. The last one started blinking at 457 and I filled up two miles later. So 198 miles on the first pip and 259 for the next nine.

Have you considered changing your own oil?

PA P

[Matt Herring]

PA,

Did you set cruise at 55 mph and let the car do the rest or did you hold it at 55 mph with your foot? Did you MFD read 64 mpg the whole time you held it at 55 mph either with your foot or cruise?

If you have a SGII have you tried using 14 IGN with pulse and glide? Just wondering how you attained that mileage as I can't touch it right now...58 mpg is my highest in all highway driving.

I haven't considered changing my own oil...not sure I could pull it off as I have limited skills. I did change my own oil on my scooter...but different story with a car.