I'm freaking sick of this ish

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by BHarvey

What this is, is, "Americans need to whine, all the time, about everything".
Instead of ACTUALLY doing something to help.....

Good point.
There are plenty of people who thinks it takes "millions of dollars in research and teams of engineers" to produce a mechanical modification that nets a noticeable fuel economy gain.
At least that seems to be the consensus on the gasbuddy.com fuel economy forum.

[MPGranger]

I haven't had any problems with my coworkers yet, I've actually semi-converted 3 in three weeks! All I do is brag about my stats: oh I got 42.5 MPG on my way to work today, oh the money I save in three tanks can pay for the 4th, etc...

Granted I work with a bunch of A type personalities and I haven't been shy about being the lone guy doing things my own way.

[320touring]

This is an interesting thread...

I've never really been bothered about what anyone thinks of what I do-in any walk of life..

However, I do take a certain pride in telling folks that I'm getting near to their diesel mpg!

My carshare colleague is making inquiring noises re how to save fuel- hopefully I can help her see the options available

[gone-ot]

...just remember the inverse of P. T. Barnums famous saying "...a FOOL and his MONEY are soon PARTED...", which would be something like:

"...a WISE man and his MONEY are still UNITED..." (ha,ha)!

[user removed]

My 90 year old father and 86 year old mother compete with each other when driving their Cadillac Eldorados. They are pushing 30 MPG most of the time when they travel a couple hundred miles.

"I'm getting 85 MPG on my bike" usually makes their jaws drop. What other people think really doesn't mean much to me. Heck I buy their neglected motorcycles and spend a few hours cleaning the carbs, slap a new battery in it and sell it for $500 more than it cost me. If they were all smart and motivated then that option would not exist.

regards
Mech

[Frank Lee]

Dealing with it (gross human stupidity on a massive scale) is a struggle; one that I haven't solved to my satisfaction.

Basically I have to keep reminding myself that "you can't fix stupid". But even so, the fundamental problem remains. I fear there will be no progress on this front in my lifetime. I guess the best thing to do is try to do your own thing and let their chips fall where they may.

[BHarvey]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Dealing with it (gross human stupidity on a massive scale) is a struggle; one that I haven't solved to my satisfaction.

Basically I have to keep reminding myself that "you can't fix stupid". But even so, the fundamental problem remains. I fear there will be no progress on this front in my lifetime. I guess the best thing to do is try to do your own thing and let their chips fall where they may.

Got that right.

The disease of the last 20 years- Involuntary Ignorance.

An involuntary action is one that occurs without volition or will...

Ignorance is a state of being uninformed....

The biggest reason(s) people DON'T want to be informed on the subject is that they are either too lazy to apply what they learned, don't want to feel responsible knowing that they can (should) now change their actions, or just plain don't want to think....(The last one is my guess.)

[some_other_dave]

I'm thinking that it's more voluntary ignorance that is the problem. "I don't know, and I don't want to know."

I just grin and bear it. And then mention that I'm getting near 50 MPG out of a car that I used to get 30 MPG out of.

"Dave, you're crazy! Turning the car off while driving? That's crazy!!"

"Yup, I'm crazy. But I'm also getting better use out of my fuel and my money."

-soD

[Kodak]

Why are we [EMers] the special flowers? I bet many of us came from non-automotive backgrounds and once thought the same thing about our inevitably unalterable mileage.

But something changed. Either someone gave us a tip, or we did some browsing around the web...I started by checking my mileage - just to make sure I got the EPA est. of 20 - and then I learned more and still continue to improve.

While many are not concerned with effort on their end to make improvements (their deal, not mine), I still believe that some people just want to see the facts. The savings chart posted on page 1 is a great example of tangible evidence. If some people need that, it's okay.

And if there are others who would rather mock than understand the very basics of hypermiling, it's their own decision.

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by Kodak

Why are we [EMers] the special flowers?

...because of our 'special' UniCorn Dookie fertilizer?