super car 1 gallon test
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmxUsGiGp3w


interesting. I could only assume an error with prius, but at the end a good point is made, regardless.

I don't think it was an error with the Prius.
The Prius was thrashed around the circuit where as the BMW was driven gently.

Driving style makes a lot of difference. My diesel car can return 17mpg(uk) or my best 84mpg(uk) depending on how I drive the same route.

Hig revving the CVT no battery power (or just a drain of battery) vs a midly running V8.

Note as well that the BMW drafted the Prius all the way around the track!

That's not even the lowest MPG a Prius can get.
The Correct Answer
0 MPG - about as low as you can go! But in an emergency, having power can be very important.

Of course, what really bothers me are most bus drivers. They leave their vehicles idling at every stop for no good reason. Especially bad are those at my university since I have to pay for that wasteful idling.

I love the way they are encouraging people to drive smarter in the car they have now:thumbup: Would have been nice if they did another go round at 55mph.

What size injectors does the Prius have?

Driving a Prius at 100 mph is like throwing it in a lake and saying it doesn't make a very good boat.

Wouldn't this help them both, though? It's not like drafting was slowing the Prius down, right?

I actually think it works the other way around, that drafting off the back of a vehicle helps that vehicle moreso than it does the person drafting, because it (should) reduce the size of the wake area substantially (since the drafter's nose cone (thus, stagnation point) will be inside the wake during a proper draft technique).

Isn't it the opposite, that that the vehicle doing the drafting gets the better deal, although both do benefit? Take the slingshot from Nascar for instance. If drafting helped the lead vehicle more, the rear wouldn't be able to pass, but AFAIK the slingshot move works well because the car in the rear has a definite advantage that it uses to pass up the lead.

drafting drag seems to assist both
 

All articles in the cycling forums contend that drafting assists both.
Seems that up to 40% energy saving by the following rider is quoted in many posts.
For the leading rider the only numbers I can find are here http://forum.simwe.com/archiver/tid-818221.html which show a reduction in the drag co-efficient from 0.285 down to 0.277.
These drag co-efficients seem awfully low for bicycles, which are generally quoted up around 0.8. The post doesn't provide any other details of the experiment, such as the speed, frontal area or rolling resistance. By my calculations, at 55 km/hr it reduces the lead riders power by 6 watts, from 361 to 355 watts (< 2%), or increases his/her speed by about 0.4 km/hr.

ROFL - I think you're correct on that, after thinking it through more. Thank you.

I think we'd have to distinguish between close drafting, and "less-close" drafting.

If you're close enough to physically occupy the low pressure zone behind the lead vehicle so flow off its top & sides attaches to the front of the following car, then both may benefit.

But if the following car is simply driving in the detached/turbulent wake of the lead car, as I believe the BMW was doing a couple of car lengths back) then it's still enjoying some benefit (yes, a smaller one than the bumper to bumper scenario), but in that case the lead car would see no gain.