In yesterday’s GreenSpace column, I wrote about driving more slowly to get better fuel mileage. I already have a Prius — I’ve had one since 2004 and now have a 2008 model — and simply by paying attention to braking and driving more smoothly and such, I could get pretty good mileage. Consistently in the low 50s.
But I found I can do so much better by driving more slowly. Usually, I cruise along between 60 and 65. What if I kept it to between 55 and 60?
I’d expected to get better mileage, and sure enough I did. But part of the point of the article was to see if driving more slowly also drove me crazy.
In the end, it didn’t. I actually liked it better, not always looking for the opening to scoot through, not always pushing ahead, my stomach clenched because I’m worried about getting somewhere on time.
I took lots of data over two weeks, and the short version is that I found I could consistently keep my miles per gallon up into the 60s on my 40-mile drive from out near Pottstown to Philadelphia.
Going home — more uphill — I could count on making the upper 50s, but occasionally rose into the 60s.
I also made out by telecommuting one day each week.
Next-up: I want to convert to plug-in. 100 mpg here I come!
Here’s a Christian Science Monitor article about “the father of the plug-in car,” with all sorts of information about plug-ins and how feasible they are.
Meanwhile, earlier this month in San Jose, General Motors and 34 utilities agreed to collaborate with the Electric Power Research Institute on plug-in hybrids. Read about it here:
if you lived in the city or near a regional rail, none of what you said would matter. 40, 50, 60 mpg, who cares. stop driving and you will make an actual difference.— extra velvet- Clearly, not everyone is able to live in a city or near a regional rail. As a consequence, utilizing the technology of the hybrid provides a huge benefit viv a vis either the heavy-footed speeders or those who bought SUVs for the status. Detroit suckered the American public again with the push for big cars and we bought it hook, line and sinker— steveh
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science.
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