Are we overemphasizing MPG?

I considered driving the car around the block very slowly at 99.9 MPG to get my average from 49.0 to 50.0, but I refrained.

I really just choose the Prius over the other car [duh], and I might be more likely to offer to drive friends places because they like and and because my car uses less gas. I don't think I delibrately drive about because I'm more fuel efficent [we may have the first few days for bragging purposes lol].

I find the Prius to be an amazingly fun car, but it's also been my dreamcar since it came out. To each their own, as has been stated.

 

JUST DRIVE IT!

That's been the motto for some of the Prius owners for quite a number of years now.

It may strip away a level of excitement, but it certainly does fit the mentality of mainstream vehicle owners... which is the ulimate purpose of the technology... to appeal to them. Their purchase of a hybrid is what really makes a difference.

 

I drive my Prius to maximize fuel economy and minimize emissions. I generally do not drive on weekends or holidays, just during the week to and from work (30 miles each way). We take the Prius on extended trips to San Francisco or Lake Tahoe (highway distances). I use my bicycle or otherwise make an effort to not drive the Prius in town.

 

It would definitely be nice to consider the contest to be "how little can I drive?"

But I'd much rather people play "what mileage can I get?" instead of, "How fast can I go?"

 

I know this will bother some people, but we actually drive our prius less than my old car, 89 Honda Civic. I don't like it when my wife takes it into town (3 mile drive) because it kills my mpg. I do my same 13 mile commute every day (same as old days), but I try to avoid any short trips!

 

I'm going to gently challenge the "Just Drive It" motif.

Many of us are in technical professions - jobs that require some finesse. Our bosses probably expect more than "Just Do It" - probably standards, quality control.

Getting a Prius is a wise choice, but respecting physics allows us to exploit it to it's fullest as with any car.

Even if some of you live a geninuinly hurried life, there are still ways to increase fuel economy somewhat.

In a perfect world, power off the grid would be 100% renewable and we would drive EVs....but we are not there yet.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Mar 22 2007, 05:59 PM) [snapback]410587[/snapback]</div>

Some are closer than others.

 

I will stand up for the people that did the various "marathons" because they gave encouragement to other drivers to up the game and get a few more mpg. This will pay back over time. Also note that there are hundreds of thousands of Prii owners out there, and only small fraction frequent the fuel economy page of the great Prius Chat.

If drivers are encouraged to use less fuel through the gentle power of conversation it has to be good. Humans have many weaknesses but curiosity is not one of them, don't just drive it, think about what you are doing.

As for my 3 decimal places, I was kidding too.

 

I said it before, and I'll say it again: quit playing the video game, and drive the car.

 

Montelb, please don't think I am picking on you - I am not.


No offense taken...I should have also mentioned that we regularly take our bikes on that 3 mile trip instead of the Pirus (when weather permits). The same can be said for my 13 mile commute in the spring and fall (I take the bike when I can).

I'll also admit that it is a game for me (getting the best milage that I can), but I am very aware of other drivers on the road and make an effort to be considerate when in traffic. In the end, I believe we save a great deal in gas because I am playing the game. My driving habits have taken a 180 degree turn. I used to regularly drive 75-85 mph on my way to school. I used to hit the brakes hard and take turns very quickly.

Now, I leave myself more time when I leave for work. My wife doesn't worry about me killing myself because of wreckless driving habits. I know I could have changed my driving habits in my old car, but the Prius has given me the motivation to make these changes!

For what it's worth...

 

Anal? Us PriusChatters anal? Oh come on. BTW, your mpg calculation is off a bit. If you get 50 mpg, but drive an extra 10%, the effective mileage is 45.4545... mpg, not 45.

Tom

PS: This is an official sarcasm notice, for those of you not yet aware of my sense of humor. That said, the mileage is really 45.4545..., not 45. You don't subtract 10% of 50 from 50, but instead divide 50 by 110% or 1.10. Take that you punctuation sticklers. Wait a minute, I'm a punctuation stickler too... :huh:

 

Over in GreenHybrid, someone started a thread "Hypermiler - Negative perception?" and we're in a thread titled "Are we overemphasizing MPG?" but over in . . . .. When you think about the respective charters, this makes sense:

• GreenHybrid - hybrid cars and technology
• PriusChat - one model of hybrid
  . . .

For GreenHybrid and PriusChat, mileage is a just one of many aspects of hybrid technology. So we also look at creature comforts, maintenance and a lot of things having nothing to do with mileage. To folks whose one and only goal is mileage, it may look like GreenHybrid and PriusChat are not sufficiently mileage oriented. It comes down to one's goals and objectives.

For me, mileage data is like reading a tire pressure gauge, volt ohm meter or oil test. It is another tool about how things work. . . .

So to answer the question, neither PriusChat nor GreenHybrid overemphasize MPG. There are places that do but that isn't the case in either of these forums.

Bob Wilson

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John in LB @ Mar 23 2007, 01:23 AM) [snapback]410750[/snapback]</div>

Hey I'm not picking on you, but you're pretty snarky ... and wrong as well.

The short commute is an FE killer for the Prius if the cat and fluids have to be warmed up to operational temps. In that case, it's pretty much a conventional car for the first 5 minutes or so (amount of time depends upon temps). The hybrid efficiency gains during warmup are nil if your SOC is "normal" (6 bars or more). If your SOC is low, the FE will be worse due to charging ... unless you regen brake the entire time. How long have you had a Prius?

Please don't think I am picking on you - I am not. Enjoy what you do in life whichever way you want. I am just using your comment as an example of taking your POV to excess - to the detriment of letting people use their car as the choose.

 

Assuming you drive 15,000 miles per year and pay $3.00/gallon for fuel:

Improving your fuel economy from 50 mpg to 55 mpg will save you $66 per year. Avoid the emission of 418 pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere. Or 114 pounds of carbon if you prefer to count that way.

Improving from 55 to 60 mpg leads to a slightly smaller savings, due to the math of mpg. And the diminishing returns keep diminishing, but they are always something.

But very roughly, and for those getting about average Prius fuel economy, one "mile per gallon" is worth about $10 or 80 pounds of CO2 per year.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John in LB @ Mar 23 2007, 02:23 AM) [snapback]410750[/snapback]</div>

Hi John in LB,

If you think the folks that post here regularly on MPG are anal then you would probably classify me as a 'Mega-Sphincter.' I have since 2002 kept track of my mileage to 'TWO' decimal places with some pretty high tech data gathering equipment in my Prius vehicles. I am so obsessed with knowing the minutia of what the Prius is doing that I have even fitted them with anemometers, barometers, surface pressure sensors & a variety of different custom GPS software, customized simulation software I have written & interfaced into the Prius's software. All in the name of getting that second decimal point in precision!

Now, let me tell you about some of the fruits that have come from we anals' & mega-sphincters' MPG obsessions.

1) Most of us that are this way are 'Hybrid Pioneers.' Because we emphasized the mileage we were able to get beginning 6-7 years ago, the media & the public began paying attention to us & against massive odds so did the whole automotive industry. Seven years ago, the big three & the SAE often released reports indicating that we were off our rockers & full of hype. Ironically, the Prius is now the standard that all other automotive hybrid pursuits are benchmarking their efforts on. This transistion in their attitudes will help our whole world immensely.

John1701A was one of the first to really start getting media attention & to this day keeps it up. Why, because he cares about our world & I am certain that he would tell you it has been pretty worth being anal over. He has given much more than he has taken... why?... again, because he loves our world & its inhabitants.

Graham Davies was one of the first to fully comprehend the PSD & shared that knowledge with everyone. Graham & Sam Williams were some of the first to use a GPS to confirm mileage data. Why did they share because they love our world & knew well that Hybrids could help our world-wide predicament.

There are many others that should be mentioned but, I will only mention two more... PriusChats's own Danny & Evan Fusco have contributed to Hybrid technology value, popularity & understanding in ways that Toyota, Honda & any other automotive interest would only pale at in comparison. Why... because they love our world! Ask Evan if he gets anything more for his time here other than the satisfaction of helping more people know the truth about a technology that most now agree is helping our whole world. Evan has endured derision & criticism in allocations beyond what I could personally endure. Again, why? Because he has no small love for our world & all humanity.

2) Most of the PHEV, V2G & G2V groundwork that is yet to come & some of which the values of are still not well understood were predominantly laid out by the 'Prius Pioneers.' We shared our knowledge openly. I cannot tell you how many times my parallel tie-in data has been accessed by those pursuing PHEV, V2G & G2V interests & I am happy they are... why? I would say because most of us anals & mega-sphincters simply, yet deeply care about humanity; even down to your personal heart-beat.

Best Regards,
Wayne -- http://privatenrg.com

 

For those poking fun at the prius marathon or the insight marathon, I disagree. These events were basically publicity for hybrid cars, so that people would say, "Wow you got 110 mpg in a Prius for 1300 miles on a single tank of gas?" My question was, "How the heck did they do that?" I first came across it last May on Green Hybrid. At the time I had averaged about 51 mpg over the previous year, currently I have pushed my 48 tank average (about 1 year for me) up to 57.5 mpg. I am pretty sure that there are at least three significant digits, typically there are 4 digits on the trip odometer(289.6 miles) and 4 on the gas pump (5.037 gal) so even in a chem lab 57.5 mpg would be ok. When I get over 100 mpg for a tank, I'll drop the decimal point, but I don't think that is going to happen, I haven't even gotten to 85 mpg for a tank so far.

Dennis