Why "Gallons Per Mile" (or L/100 km) makes more sense

[Achtung]

Originally Posted by jivany

On the topic of fuel consumption ratings, in addition to "city" and "highway" I'd really like to see ratings like:

• 7.0L/100km @ 100km/h
• 10.0L/100km @ 120km/h

Actually, get rid of "highway" ratings and just list what the consumption is at various "typical" highway speeds.

I strongly agree. That would make it so much easier to adapt the ratings to your driving style.

Example, my friend is a speed demon. Recently she bought an Aveo. Apparently the fuel consumption readout on the dash shows that driving at 125-130km/h is more economical than driving at 110km/h. With her driving style, she lucked out: she got a vehicle that is more aerodynamically efficient at "her" speeds than at the speed of normal Alberta highway traffic.

Unfortunately, that just gives her more incentive to drive at dangerous speeds.

Also, she could have been BS'ing me, since I was trying to convince her to change her driving habits.

[ajax_6531]

The fancy mileage signatures are in MPG. :-)

I vote for gallons per mile, but good luck getting anyone (outside of individuals) to change anything.

[LostCause]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

And dremd got it first try. Thanks for showing your work, tasdrouille.

Great mental exercise! Here is a very similar question that I found really interesting:

You're on a TV show and there are three doors: Door 1, 2, & 3. Behind one is a brand new car. Behind the others, nothing. You make your choice and the host opens an unchosen door that he knows is empty. He gives you the option to either stay with your original pick or change to the other unopen door.

What is the smartest choice? Stay, switch, or does it really matter?

As for the original topic, I personally find gallons (i.e. cost) per unit time the most important. At this point in my life, what really matters is my transportation cost per week.

I like these mind questions. Here's another.

Your are driving to Denver and you want your average speed to be 40mph. You initially take it slow and average 20mph for the first half of the distance. You suddenly realize how slow you are going and decide to speed up. How fast do you have to go for the remainder of the trip to average 40mph?

- LostCause

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Achtung

Apparently the fuel consumption readout on the dash shows that driving at 125-130km/h is more economical than driving at 110km/h.

Also, she could have been BS'ing me, since I was trying to convince her to change her driving habits.

I'd be leaning toward BS'ing. There are a few Aveo owners here - homeworkhome53 is one who is getting excellent mileage, and he's a 55 mph (90 km/h) driver. Check his fuel log.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by Blue07CivicEX

If anybody is bored we could create a dynamic blog for Ecomodder.com that will take the current national average for fuel (I'm guessing US cause I think that's where most people are from?) and make a list of the top 20 most efficient vehicles and the worst 20 vehicles and show the daily miles/$ calculation. So as the price of gas goes up we would see how many miles they're dollar was getting them. (this might also draw in more people googling efficient vehicles)

I second this opinion; not sure how to work it, but would be pimp.


How about a Fuel log feature that allows you to input your fuel price and it tells you how much $ and Fuel you saved in that thank !

[MetroMPG]

Added to the to-do list!

[Volones]

Originally Posted by LostCause

I like these mind questions. Here's another.


Quote:
Your are driving to Denver and you want your average speed to be 40mph. You initially take it slow and average 20mph for the first half of the distance. You suddenly realize how slow you are going and decide to speed up. How fast do you have to go for the remainder of the trip to average 40mph?

- LostCause

Does that take into account the three stoplights between me and Denver?

I dunno the answer, but I did manage to totally confuse myself.
Here's why...
I live 40 miles from Denver, so at 40mph it would take me 1 hour to get there. Since I drove 20mph for the first half of the trip, I went 20 miles and took an hour. So, my alotted time has expired, which means I'd have to teleport the last 20 miles in order to pull it off. Am I just an anomoly, or totally confused?

[LostCause]

Hey! You got it.

...unless you have a DeLorean and a Mr. Fusion handy.

- LostCause

[tasdrouille]

Originally Posted by jivany

[...]Around here we see vehicle advertised with MPG, MPIG, L/100km and km/G[...]

I deeply hate MPIG. The problem being that they drop the I. Dealers are using it a lot around here. I jumped when I saw the Jeep Patriot being advertised at 40 mpg highway. Fortunately, there was the L/100 km number printed in small characters which set the record straight, but you still had that big 40 MPG jumping in your face.

[thentro]

This is a graph showing what GM1kM, or Gallons pr 1000 Miles looks like compared to normal MPG.

MPG gives the illusion of linear fuel savings when in fact it gets exponentially more difficult to achieve.

The good news is that modest fuel savings on larger cars has a big pay-off in terms of efficiency. The bad news is that it will get harder to squeeze out that fuel savings the more efficient you make your car.

I made a Excel spreadsheet showing the savings in gallons and dollars for every 2 MPG increase from your current MPG rating. You can edit your current rating, and the price of gas.