The cost of hypermiling
 

I've spent about 2 1/2 years honing my driving habits to minimize fuel consumption - first in a Grand Cherokee Limited, now in a Land Rover LR3 HSE. Admittedly, not the first vehicles to come to mind when thinking about fuel efficiency (except in a negative way). They're owned by my company. But I've gotten much higher than EPA ratings in both vehicles - I'm currently at 21 m.p.g. in the LR3.

The problem is, as detailed at http://hamiltonianfunction.blogspot....5/so-what.html and at http://hamiltonianfunction.blogspot....i-thought.html, the time expenditure of this type of driving this way is huge. It amounts to a week of vacation each year, and the avoided cost of fuel doesn't come near the amount my company pays me for the time lost. Now I'm on salary and get all my work done, so the company doesn't REALLY pay for it - I do. So I have to look at it as a hobby. But the fact is, when you run the numbers (I did so for the Cherokee at http://hamiltonianfunction.blogspot....est-speed.html), it turns out that for most situations on the highway, if your time is worth much, speeding is better.

For information, my commute is a little over 60 miles per day round trip, about 80% on Southern California freeways.

I've tried using the mobile phone and my assistant, learning Mandarin from podcasts, etc. but the fact is, I'm most productive sitting at my desk or meeting with clients. Dr. Steven Dutch (great bunch of pages by the way) comes to a similar conclusion regarding public transportation at http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/MassTransit.HTM.

In any case, it's a fun hobby, but the economics don't pan out, at least in my vehicle.

My first comment would be to get a shorter commute! :)

I don't have a commute now, but when I lived in japan for a short period I had about ~hour commute by bike and train, and loved it, because I could take some time to think, be without obligation, and even work if I wanted to, which is something I don't get much of. Personally, I'd prolly be unsatisfied trying to be as productive as possible, so I often welcome that kind of stress-free down time...but mehbe that's because I'm often too busy. :p

How's mandarin learning going?

Slowly! Yes, a smaller car, a shorter commute, no question. I agree that the downtime can be therapeutic, but in this production oriented society, many will sacrifice the m.p.g.'s for the $/hr.

Just sayin'

I always enjoyed public transportation because you can relax; be it talking to people, reading, thinking, or meditating. I don't think you could pay me enough to make a one hour commute daily in a car, alone.

Well, apparently you can pay me enough ;)

I really wish I could take public transportation. In Chicago, it was reasonable. Here, I'd have to take the Metrolink from Anaheim to downtown L.A., then the "Green Line" from there to about two miles from my office. From there, I could bus to within a few hundred yards of my office, or have someone pick me up. All told, it would cost as much and take several hours.

PA32R -

If I took public transportation, I think it would take like 2.5 hours one-way with all the links. Not viable unless I could get over half of my work done on the way. I think they have "working commuter" trains in Europe (Sweden?!?!) with full Internet access to the office. Does the Metrolink offer something like that?

In the old days, I would drive 7+ miles to Fox Hills Mall, park, and bus the other 7+ miles into UCLA. I think that was a good compromise because I missed the "hard" Westwood traffic and could relax/study/sleep on the way.

But I wouldn't feel safe computing on a bus.

CarloSW2

The easiest answer is;

Results may vary .. personally, the cost of hypermiling to me has been this;

-10 extra minutes each way on a 120 mile round trip daily drive
-So far saving 1-1/2 tanks of gas a month and climbing
-Funny enough, my blood pressure has stabilized to normal
-My sugar levels have returned to normal

***I have turned others on to saving gas and money on speeding tickets***

I attribute those changes to the reduced stress of having to dodge traffic all the way to work and rubber necking for cops on 1-95.

So while you may known that you have wasted away a vacation by driving slower, I'm sure if I continue this I'll live long enough to take more.

So I feel your pain in having to make the decision you have, but weigh in all your benefits too, not just the $$ savings. No sense in making it if you cant spend it ya know ... GL to ya

Woo GC's! Welcome to EM!

We didn't become a "production" oriented society because of the boss people ;) Those working decide that :)

You mentioned you're on salary, so this applies very much so to you... Time is money as the saying goes... But, what time is money? Obviously, not all of your time can equate to money. If you're getting your work done, then that additional time is essentially unpaid work you're doing - time is money, and it flows in both directions.

So even if it translates to a week of vacation - you can't use it, the timing is all wrong :p

trikkonceptz -

Thank you for putting it that way. I don't have the "speed DNA". It's less stressful for me to drive 55 or below. When you take into account the waste of "speeding into traffic jams", it all evens out for me.

CarloSW2