Thursday, July 3, 2008
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Thursday, July 3, 2008 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
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Close to Nowhere Hyper what? My daughter taught me a new word last week — “hypermiling.” I don’t know why I was surprised that she was practicing “hypermiling,” — especially since she’s also worked hard on not falling victim to road rage (she drives to work in Memphis, hence the need for that practice!). I was really surprised and pleased at the road rage practice. She’s normally quick-tempered and is not well known for patience either. I hate to admit this, but I found that practicing what she was preaching about road rage actually helped (I get really annoyed if I see another car on the road in the mornings.) So, I guess it’s no surprise that I’ve been trying hypermiling also. I have to tell you though — working on hypermiling is a whole lot harder than controlling road rage. I tend to have a lead foot and it’s really, really hard to do this! What exactly is hypermiling? I Googled it, to explain it better to you (and to me). “Hypermiling: rebelling against rising gas prices “What is hypermiling? According to a fantastic August 2006 story in the Washington Post, it is a method of increasing your car’s gas mileage by making skillful changes in the way you drive, allowing you to save gas and thereby have an easier time withstanding the rising oil and gas prices.” There, now you understand, don’t you? OK, I don’t either. CNN Money said: “(CNNMoney.com) - You can get 35 percent better fuel mileage out of your current vehicle by using a device most drivers already have. “That would be your right foot.” The article offers these gas-saving tips. • Keep your tires properly inflated. • Rolling your window down and not using your air conditioner does “not” increase fuel efficiency. It’s perfectly economical to remain cool and comfy (this also helps with that road rage problem). • Cruise control has a noticeable effect — cuts down on unnecessary speed changes, which eat up gas (and stops speeding tickets!). Now for the biggie! “If you want a big gain in fuel mileage, though, you need to seriously lay off the pedals when driving around town. Accelerating more slowly away from green lights and stopping more gradually for red lights cut fuel consumption in Edmunds.com’s tests by 35.4 percent (they used a Land Rover). “Let’s say that your car currently gets 22 miles per gallon overall. If this laid-back driving style gets you just 30 percent more in fuel mileage, which Edmunds.com’s tests indicate it could, you’d see that increase to about 30 miles per gallon.” There’s obviously more to it than this. The article on CNNMoney.com had several paragraphs of tips on “how to slow down.” I’ll let you know how it works. |
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