I think most Prius owners would agree that having current mpg dispayed as realtime feedback on the MFD causes them to change their driving habits. Personally, I find the feedback fun and useful, and I don't think its just the Prius. I'm certain that if I had this instant mpg feedback in other vehicles I would drive them more fuel efficiently as well, especially given recent high gas prices. I can't help but wonder, how much we, as a nation, would save if all cars were equipped with a mpg display. On a technical note, how easy would it be to retrofit a modern car with such a device? With many cars sold stock with electronic fuel injection, wheel rotation sensors, etc, and the availability of cheap electronics, I bet it could be easy done on many makes and models as an after market add on. No new vehicle, no new infrastructure, no new fuel, just a small shift in driver awareness/paradigm to get us moving in the right direction. The biggest change in global energy policy will start between our ears.
Yup, I've had one for a dozen years in my Jeep Grand Cherokee and it always got sh*tty mileage and I still drove it 15k+ miles a year. What gets me out of my Acura SUV and into my Prius is looking at the gas gauge in my Acura and thinking, "Damn, my Prius would have gone 150 miles on the same amount of gas that it took for my Acura to go 45." Ok that, and the fact that I've got Sirius in the Prius.
A vacuum gauge can tell you roughly the same thing as the MPG on the MFD. I suspect that the Prii uses something similar only calibrated much better. http://www.earlycuda.org/tech/vacuum1.htm http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.eff6a7d Wildkow
The prius takes Fuel flow in GPH and velocity in MPH from the various ECU's and does the math. No Vacuum required. This data is available to any car owner with OBD II and a scanguage. http://www.scangauge.com/
I think the problem with those other vehicle's "mileage displays" is that they lack the nice graphical appearance of the Prius MFD. Most of the ones I've seen are a simple 4-7 digit display, tucked out of the way so you don't *have* to look at it. But, the Prius MFD is almost like playing a video game. Its pretty, animated, showing you the direction of energy flow, has colorful bars that move the instant you move your foot on the gas pedal, and it *rewards* you with those nice 5 minute interval bars! I'm sure I wouldn't be near as addicted if all I had was 3 digits to look at.
I've always prefered a digital read-out of mileage over a graphical read-out. And the 5-minute bars are misleading because they are not weighted (as they should be) for distance: Drive for 5 minutes at 5 mph in electric mode around a parking lot looking for a space, and you get a beautiful 100 mpg 5-minute bar, which is absolutely meaningless because you've only travelled less than half a mile. And I agree with the earlier poster who said that people who drive gas-guzzlers don't care about their mpg. They'll complain about the price of gas, but not about the mileage of the monstrousity they decided to buy so they could haul a boat twice a year, and now use for their daily commute. As for the MFD in the Prius, it's really pretty pathetic. Now that I have the CAN-View I can get some real information.
We hybrid drivers know what kind of mileage we get. If you really want to “Reduce National Oil Consumption†we need to do a better job at spreading the truth about the excellent mileage hybrids obtain. I know of no better way than to show other drivers around you, instantaneously, your mileage. I say all hybrids should be factory equipped with MPG Hater Vision on the rear headrests! http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hater+vision Yo, yo, yo . . . check it out . . . you may be riding my ass and flyin' high in your fancy mo'shien . . . but I be gitin' 99.9 . . . and you be turnin' green!
