So it begins... 1st "you ecomodders are stoopid!" rant of the latest gas price spike

[todayican]

Brings to mind an analogy...

When I was a pup, I visited a lot of airshows with my toy sales business. In the midst of all the high horsepower, specialized airshow aircraft and the guys who flew them, there was invariably a "comedy cub" act.

Now, I grew up idolizing the best aerobatic pilot in the world at the time, Leo Laudenslager. and the act went something like this:

The announcer would announce that "drunken farmer Joe, the guy mowing the show grounds with his tractor was going to get a free plane ride as pay for his work"

Somehow there would be a staged commotion and the "real pilot" would fall out of the plane, leaving "Farmer Joe", having no flight experience, at the controlls.

The show would consist of the low level antics and near misses one would expect of a drunken novice in a runaway airplane.

But here is the point...

ANYONE can look good in a high horsepower plane, just push the throttle to get out of damn near anything.

To do all that, and that low, with a 70 year old airplane with less horsepower then a prius c, AND make it look good takes a DAMN FINE pilot. The comedy cub routine was ONLY flown by the absolute best pilots :-)

[basjoos]

When someone comments about my car looking ridiculous or nerdy, I tell them that my car isn't a NASCAR wanna-be like most of the modified cars you see out on the road, but rather is patterned after the land speed cars seen on the Bonneville salt flats. Then I mention things like the aeromods creating a performance boost at higher speeds and having to get up to 100mph before feeling any noticable wind load on the car. And how any aeromod that allows me to go faster on the same amount of horsepower translates into better mileage at normal highway speeds. And mentioning getting over 60mpg on 80mph road trips and the airborne consequences of deer encountering the low sloped front of my car also gets their attention.

[MetroMPG]

I'm liking your "shoot the messenger" explanation, euromodder.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by todayican

When I was a pup, I visited a lot of airshows with my toy sales business. In the midst of all the high horsepower, specialized airshow aircraft and the guys who flew them, there was invariably a "comedy cub" act.

Guess I've witnessed a few too many airshow crashes to appreciate this kind of act.

I also recall an instance where it caused a massive surge through the crowd as the "stolen" plane headed their way.

To put it in perspective, that staged act caused far more commotion than the F-16 loaded with 2 fuel tanks at Volkel AFB, NL a few years back, having a bird strike right after take off.
Many spectators obviously didn't realize how serious it was.

[TheMarkofPolo]

We're seeing higher traffic for people looking to find the magic bullet of fuel economy (See the Unicorn Corral). Saving fuel takes a bit of work, and many of my fellow Americans are NOT patient.

I know it's difficult if not impossible to address some of these folks. Direct contact can lead to trolling and flamewars. We could have a forum that discusses insecurities with hypermiling and ecomodding...haters could have their own thread.

However, is there any way we can indirectly address the misgivings of some of these folks?
Perhaps we could write articles/blogs on the financial investments and benefits and prominently post them.
My fuel log already shows how much I pay for and save on fuel. Perhaps a field could be added to account for the cost of ecomods.

[Frank Lee]

That presumes logic has something to do with it.

[FXSTi]

Our very existence challenges their core beliefs in much the same way that certain people are very offended when they encounter homosexuals or atheists. Usually the people who have the strongest reactions are the ones who are least secure in their own belief.

If they come on here, they have just had their own reality challenged, and are possibly questioning their own beliefs.

So what should we do when they confront us? Attack? No! Engage them at their own level. As others have pointed out, talk to them about our common ground. They like cars (trucks, motorcycles), so do we. They like to modify their cars for better performance, so do we. The only difference is that our idea of performance is measured in miles per gallon, rather miles per hour. A Top Fuel dragster would do horrible in a Winston cup race, just as a Hyabusa might not make it all the way through the mud bog. That doesn't mean that they are not all high performance vehicles.

In short, we need to be welcoming if we hope to convert others.

[Diesel_Dave]

While different things motivate different people, may I also suggest that jealousy can be one factor. An actual quote from my sister-in-law this weekend was, "Why can't you just give in and pay for fuel like all the rest of us?!"

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Diesel_Dave

While different things motivate different people, may I also suggest that jealousy can be one factor. An actual quote from my sister-in-law this weekend was, "Why can't you just give in and pay for fuel like all the rest of us?!"

I hate to think about the limits of conversation -- any topic -- with that.

Then again . . the tripping hazard of this thread is that it is them & us

.

[Fat Charlie]

I don't live 1/4 mile from work, and 60 mph doesn't mean all that much to me. I do have to buy gas, though. That's a place where performance can really have an impact on my life, so that's where I focus. Besides, most of what I do is driving technique- the only hardware mod I have so far is taller LRR tires. I can stop hypermiling if I'm in a hurry and the hardware mod only costs me a little bit of acceleration.

On the other hand, hypermiling makes my morning commute take about 5 minutes longer while not really affecting my evening commute. But I'm saving more than a gallon a day. That means with $4 gas, the time I "waste" hypermiling is actually making me over $50 an hour!