I have been riding my bike a lot lately and I came to think - I dont pedal all the time yet I move all the time - I can do the same in my car! On my way to work I have about 6 blocks where there is a stop sign - so what I di was to accellerate to 35 as usual and then put it in neutral and coast the rest of the block until I had to come to a stop. There are also other situations where I knew that I could safely coast (put it in neutral and roll). Using this I got about 4 MPGs more than on my last tank. I frequently find that I can maintain 35 miles per hour for up to 3 minutes in neutral - the coeficient of drag on the echo is really low.
I am wondering if any one has any input on this driving style? It is obviously not an entirely safe thing to do - since when the car is in neutral it is not under my control - if I have to accellerate away from something I have to put it in gear before hitting the gas.
However - I am wondering why car makers have not made a clutch that will allow "freewheeling" - like on a bicycle. I know that by having a direct connection between the engine and the wheels you allow for engine braking - but it also kills gas mileage. It should be possible to make a clutch that allows freewheeling when driving and engine braking when breaking - especially on the hybrid cars.
Let me know what you guys think.
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