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1) If every hybrid driver hypermiled their hybrid so that all hybrids improved their efficiency an average of 15% across the board. So the Prius for example would go from 47.5 in our database to 54.6 mpg.
2) If pickup trucks and SUVs improved their mileage a very unimpressive 1 mpg each. For example the Silverado SS would go from 14 mpg city to 15 mpg city.
"Improved vehicle engineering" - we still waste too much heat out the exhaust pipe. There are a host of improvements, "low hanging fruit," that would improve performance.
"Smart highways and vehicles" - way too much time and energy is lost that is there for the saving.
The simple answer is to improve the efficiencies of the least efficient vehicles. However, often these vehicles have more than one use. So my third option is:
"Modular vehicles" - hybrids with trailer hitches and improved steering systems to support safe backup. This could take some single occupant pickup trucks off the road. Also, body styles so unloaded pickups would have lower drag when not loaded.
Did anyone catch the story about the former Chiefs of Staff talking about the national security threat potential of global warming? Much higher CAFE standards get more likely with each passing week, imo.
A 15mpg SUV becoming a 16mpg SUV at an average of 15,000mi/yr yields a 62.5 gallon savings.
A 47.5mpg car going up 15% to 54.625mpg at the same 15,000mi/yr yields a 41.2 gallon savings.
Right there you get a bigger number from the SUV option without taking into account the fact that there are way more SUVs on the roads than efficient hybrids. It's not even debatable. But you are still stuck with the fact the 16mpg SUV uses 937.5 gallons of fuel while your original 47.5mpg Prius uses 315.8 gallons...just a hair over 1/3 what the SUV uses. That fuel economy boost is important, but you get into that whole "putting lipstick on a pig" kind of situation. It's still ridiculous to have some guy commuting to the office park in his F150. So in the end I don't really know what the point of this poll is. The problem is how much we use, not how much we "save".
Obsessing with the hypermiling issue in a not so positive a way....what good is that?
I don't read minds, but I wonder if the poll is trying to say: "hypermilers in small hybrids don't save that much nor are thay a large part of the population - therefore it's all in vain". Maybe some of these drivers replaced a gas guzzler with a hybrid.
I've heard from time to time that hypermiling is useless because it does not save much fuel and the driver has an inflated view of their role in saving the planet....of course I'm one of millions of drivers. This is a democracy - movements start one person at a time....civil rights, woman sufferage, etc... It's easy for one to be pessimistic and fatalistic that I don't make a difference - just don't buy it.
As brick pointed out, a 1mpg inprovement on a 15mpg vehicle will save 4 times more than a 1mpg improvement in a 60mpg vehicle....there are not as many people trying to strech their gas tank in a 15mpg vehicle or they would likely trade up to something that dose better.
There are plenty of auto forums out there. Wouln't it seem strange if racing was put on trial on one of the gearhead sites? There are not near as many hybrid and eco-oriented auto sites. I find it a bit perverse that a hybrid site seems to be a bit intolerant of hypermiling....that's not the price of admission, but that a number of members are on a mission against hypermiling on a hybrid site is not exactly a desirable message to send.
DF you should not presume to know what I'm thinking or what I'm getting at. The reason I started this poll has roots in somthing our unofficial GM rep was trying to get at. He was of course 100% correct but people jumped on him and on GM anyways. It has nothing to do with my current feelings about hypermiling. I'm not obessed about anything except perhaps one local girl I know...
I also don't like the way the question is presented.
To me, SUV's and trucks should be banned, with only very limited exceptions, for people who truly need such gas guzzling behemoths.
The question seems to assume that SUV's and trucks are legitimate vehicles, when they are not, and have no place on our roads, again with just a few exceptions.
DF you should not presume to know what I'm thinking or what I'm getting at. The reason I started this poll has roots in somthing our unofficial GM rep was trying to get at. He was of course 100% correct but people jumped on him and on GM anyways. It has nothing to do with my current feelings about hypermiling. I'm not obessed about anything except perhaps one local girl I know...
It's true I can't read minds, but when a person has a persistant POV over the last month, is it unreasonable to think it's more of the same?
The question seems to assume that SUV's and trucks are legitimate vehicles, when they are not, and have no place on our roads, again with just a few exceptions.
Harry
Seems to me the majority of Americans disagree with you. Of course in todays society, the majority doesn't decide anymore. We should always defer the superiority of the moral minority.
What email address should I contact with my next auto purchase requirements. I want to make sure you have had the opportunity to assess my needs. I sure would hate to make a decision without your approval first. You have clearly shown me the light, and I am truly incapable of determining how I should spend my own money. Do you also provide this service for home purchases, or do you have someone you can refer me to?
The big picture
