How Numerous?
 

How many ecomodders/hypermilers do you suppose are out there on the road?

Not one in several thousand. I can drive 400 miles in a day, and thousands of cars will pass me. I might pass one or two potential hypermilers that day.

Very few. Its really sad...

Big Dave -

It's gotta be miniscule. In terms of forum participation, I don't know what the rule-of-thumb is, but I think the active members represent maybe 10% of the pairs of "eye balls" reading the threads. How many of the lurkers are doing/using the stuff we are documenting is even harder to know.

CarloSW2

I agree, almost none. Even the people I know that I talk to about what I am doing, most think it is pretty cool, and are quite impressed with the benefits, but none of them would never even consider doing any of it themselves, and get ticked if they end up behind me at just 5 mph under the limit. They always complain about the price of gas. But when it comes down to actually doing anything about it, they're like "ohhh, well I won't be seen in a $hitbox, or something that looks like a batmobile, or I won't slow down cause it'll take me too long or it's boring, or god hypermiling is just sooo much work it's not worth it...." We are barely a drop in the bucket, hence why Detroit continues to build what they do.

I have to wonder if it will ever catch on. A wasteful way of life is what fuels the great American economy.

I'm surprised to see people say there probably aren't that many, then again it may be largely because of perspective. I've just recently starting looking at regularly visited boards and articles on-line and I've been surprised to find that there are a lot more than I thought.

An example of what I'm talking about is by going on PriusChat | Toyota Prius Forums, News, and Accessories I've found that there are a LOT, and I do mean LOT of lurkers going there. WAY more in fact lurk there rather than join up and post on the board and that was a real surprise. Granted, I get it! You can't completely tell who is and isn't just by looking because there are a lot of folks who jumped on the hybrid train just to carry the look or stigma of being "that way" or whatever it is people call it. Yet again, there are a lot of folks who drive an unlikely vehicle for economy yet they are doing the best they can to get the most out of that vehicle and may even have a few mods to support the MPG endeavor. I'm one in fact, because I drive my GMC Canyon quite a bit when I have to travel but when I'm not in some random city, most of the time I'm in Augusta, GA in fact - that's when I drive my little respectable Civic.

Another thing to consider, is if you saw me for example again, you might not think for a second that I know how to drive conservatively, but the fact is I simply can't go around hypermiling all the time because things happen, I become late unexpectedly no matter how much I prepare sometimes and that's when I have to haul ass unfortunately.

I'd say more or less 1 out of 5 000 people care about mileage enough to read online forums or fuel economy related blogs. IMHO an higher ratio of people are propense to eco-consious driving.

That's actually more like what I was thinking about and that seems pretty good considering our collective attitude (as a nation) wherein we kind of seem to say "so what" when it comes to fuel economy, at least as long as gas prices are below $3.00 a gallon.

This really drives me crazy.

I'm out trying to let friends know that the fuel cost are going to increase and they just look at me like I'm lost.

The people in the United States live so much in the present and never really consider the future.

I have a lot of friends that are buying new full size trucks now because they can get a great deal on them. I keep asking why is it your getting this great deal? They responded with a I don't know and don't care. :(

A friend of mine bought a H2 for a 6 mile trip to school. Never heating the engine up. I doubt he can do the round trip on 2 gallons of gas.

Hahahaha!!!

I should reiterate on my last post that these trucks are being used for their daily commuter.

They haul nothing with them. For that matter they cringe on the thought of something could scratch the inside of the bed.;)

In a past life, I'd have keyed those trucks.

If I had to chance a guess, I'd say that finding hyper-milers on the road follows the rule of traffic - If they're hypermilers, they're driving the same way you are, which means that on average, for every 4 miles you travel, they have also traveled 4 miles, probably in a direction not close to yours.

I'm sure they're out there, but as long as you're going to keep driving the way you drive, you won't notice them. You only (psychologically) notice things that stand out to you, and since hypermiling is the norm for us, we don't notice other hypermilers as readily as we notice the real-world norm, which is non-hypermilers.

That's just my opinion, I guess. I doubt it's actually true, but it sounded nice.

I have noticed over the years that whenever I see a vehicle I like for sale, I start noticing that EVERYONE (seemingly) drives that same kind of vehicle, where NOBODY (again, seemingly) drove it just a few days prior.

pgfpro -

You can't lecture. All you can do is lead by example and wait for them to come to you (when gas prices increase, that is ... :o ).

CarloSW2

There are three known in my town of 62587. Two that are members of this site and cmpg including myself. So I could safely assume that if there were 300 dedicated hypermilers in my town it would still be less than a half of a percent of our population. - Dale

Ignorance knows no bounds.... some people actually think if you don't like NASCAR you must be un-American and I'm sure a lot of people think if you don't drive a big truck there must be something wrong with you.

Sadly there's this stigma in the military that if you drive an import you just aren't a masculine or manly type of guy and I hate stereotyping! So all this does is reinforce the stereotype which drives me crazy.

I saw a bumper sticker once that said "I only run my engine when necessary". I don't think the driver actually shut it down at a red light though. :rolleyes:

The Few, the Proud, The Ecomodders
 

I don't drive slower than the limit and the only way you'd notice my driving is my propensity to coast up to stop signs and lights. This truck will coast heroic distances - over a mile from 70 MPH freeway speeds and I still have to use the brakes at the light. Most people drive like Tony Stewart up to a light and jam on the brakes. Beyond that, I'm pretty stealthy about it. At the posted limit, I occassionally pass people. I don't know whether they are hypermiling or running dope.

I haven't seen another "fastback" on the road lid in the four years I've had mine. It does draw comments.

I see people driving well below the limit quite often. In fact I do it sometimes but it's generally only when I have a trailer on my truck and ABSOLUTELY NEVER in the fast lane.

I can't stand when people drive the speed limit in the fast lane, because there are thousands of signs saying Slower Traffic Keep Right and Keep Right Except To Pass. That clearly means if someone is coming up behind you in the fast lane you need to get the hell out of the way. Plus it's just highway courtesy. In Europe they have laws that say get out of the way, if only we had those too.

It's not as if I drive way over the speed limit all the time but I do go over it to pass someone, not more than 9 MPH over though. By the way I was just kinda venting a little, not meaning to get on anyone in particular or make any accusations. If the shoe fits though.... Slower Traffic Keep Right.

Technically there is no such thing as a "fast lane", the speed limit is the same in every lane. There are travel lanes and passing lanes. I drive a max of 60 mph, which puts me 5 mph under the limit on most freeways. :turtle: I almost always use the rightmost lane, the only exception would be if there are three lanes and a lot of on ramps, then I will use the middle lane. I make sure to keep an eye out for trucks behind me since they cannot use the far left lane to pass. I also find a lot of people that seem to think the left lane exclusion applies to their Excursion. :rolleyes:

That's true... I see people in all kinds of vehicles just rolling along thinking it's ok to just sit in the left lane and the law says that it's not. That's why there are literally thousands of signs along the highways saying Slower Traffic Keep Right. There's no debate about it. If there's someone going faster than you on the highway regardless of whether you're at the speed limit or not you are required to keep right so that they can pass you. Whether you want to use the term fast lane or not is completely irrelevant though. There is indeed still a requirement that you not be in the left lane unless it's to pass.

If you want to be rude then drive in the left lane/fast lane and force people to pass you on the right. And you can aruge, well I didn't make them pass me on the right, but you still put them in that situation because there are people who are travelling long distances and don't have the time to ride behind you and they are going to pass you regardless. Bottom line, as long as slower traffic keeps right there wont be a problem.

My friend is one who bought a full size truck as a daily commuter, never takes it off road, almost never hauls anything in it. He flat out says he bought it because he likes it and doesn't give a rip about gas mileage.

I wouldn't agree with that, at least for me. People driving like a bat out of hell is the norm. If I saw someone driving the speed limit or a little below (and isn't obviously intoxicated), I would notice that and think "hey cool, maybe they're thinking about saving fuel too", because they would stand out against the norm.

Yea, but you wouldn't be able to see them, unless you happened to jump on the highway at the exact time they did, because you'll both be the same distance away from each other the whole time.

I know there are a few hypermilers around here from this forum, but I doubt there are too many beyond that. Occasionally, I'll see someone driving really slow, but it usually just ends up being an older person, and there's a good chance they're not doing it for the gas mileage.

That is a good point.

I completely agree -- excellent advice.

It's a grassroots campaign to those who are open-minded enough to accept it.

RH77