Ive done all I can. Wife is just more than I can over come.

Thanks to her skills we turned in a 31.7 mpg tank in the Accord. Ive found the cruise control on 5 times in this tank. Shes done a yard sale rampage and god only knows what else. If she dosent turn her act around I wont by a hybrid. I cant spend that much money on a car thats all about FE and have her drive it like a hummer driver.

My wife, who almost exclusively drives our FEH, has not gotten into the game of besting her mpg, tank over tank. She is now running 33-34 mpg tanks regularly. Last time she drove my HCH, she "only" drove it down to 60.1 from 60.9.

Make it a game, and maybe she'll play along. Better yet, tell her she CAN'T do it, and make it a challenge.

-Charlie...

I guess I'm pretty lucky in that reguard too. My wife was able to actually increase my tank avg from 67 to 69MPG last time she drove the Insight. However I know that if it were a warm day she would be one of the first people to roll up windows & crank the a/c :p

"Speed doesn't have anything to do with mileage. My truck has an overdrive gear for a reason." - Credited to an unnamed Freeper reguarding changing the speed limit back to 55MPH.

Hi Psyshack:

___Hybrid or not, will drown you in ~ the same percentage no matter the type or FE of the car. If you are down to 31 in the Accord, expect 45 from an HCH and maybe 35 from a std. Civic.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Two days ago, my wife's Acura TL's battery went dead, wouldn't start.

I was in Ocean Springs, Miss. in my father-in-laws truck, working on a flood damaged home from Hurricane Katrina (ripping out the sheetrock so the walls could drain, what a mess). The battery swap would have to wait until I got back in town.

So she takes the Insight to work. She calls later at lunch to tell me the MPG had dropped from 81 to 68. Oh well, just drive it, A/C blasting and stop & go traffic jam.

But she was aware of the MPG and did try to improve it on the drive home. With 400 miles on this tank, you guys know how hard it is to raise the average for the remainder of the tank. But she managed to raise it back to 70.3 on the commute home. I am proud of her. This was only the second time she's driven the Insight, she said it was a "fun car".

Regards,

I don't have a hybrid yet,but I'm a long time mpg tracker-fanatic(about 40 years,since I started driving-my dad-who always bought crummy 6 cyls cars when everyone else had V-8'S-infected me with this).
I feel "normal" next to you guys.I have tried to get my wife and son into simple mpg conscious driving,but no luck.They don't drive fast,or hard,but they have the typical -"press on the gas,or press on the brake" style of driving.The right foot never just sits there-it has to press a pedal-doesn't matter that the light 1/4 mile ahead is green,and most certainly will turn red(since it is the same light she never makes every day).Drives me crazy.
We just drove from New Orleans to Flagstaff;we would stop at rest stops to shut our eyes for 30 minutes or so.My wife left the motor running to keep the AC going during these stops.Despite this the Honda Pilot(17-22) gave 24.1 mpg over the last 1000 miles(I was too busy the 1st 600 miles and the traffic was bumper to bumper)).The Titan(14-19) delivered a decent(for it) 21.4 mpg.We traveled heavy-wife,son,me 2 greyhounds,3 cats,lots of "stuff" hence the 2 big vehicles.
If any of you figure out how to involve your wife in the mpg fanaticism,let me know.(short of divorce inducing antics).
I have some grand plans-partially implemented-to improve the Titan's mpg(the motor-trans is pretty efficient-5 speed,lockout trans 1500 rpms-60 miles per hour)).I have dropped wheel weight 11 lbs each.Installed a chin spoiler that "might" drop slightly drop the dirty air underneath the truck.Future palns involve pulling out the backseat(better for the dogs,and 50-70 lbs less,and we never use it).Somewhat more distant is switching to shorter,lighter,thinner tires that imply(Michelin energy 235/65 17 vs 245/75 17 Bridgestone) lower rolling resistance,and installing taller gears to offset the the shorter tires( which will lower ride height-drag) and drop to 60 miles per hour at 1400 rpms.
I've run on.Post any wife solution,if you find one.Charlie

This is a wife replying!!! In our household it's dear hubby who brings down the mileage. Why? because he's "use to driving his pick-up" and has an extreme lead foot on the highway, cruise/control set for 70-75 miles per hour. Doesn't plan his travel route, jack rabbit starts at lights, plays with the a/c, etc. Guess he thinks he can drive the FEH the same way. He's dumped my mid to high 30's to low 30's when he's been behind the wheel.
I'm lucky in a way though; being a merchant mariner (chief engineer) has him out to sea for several months at a time which allows me to fix his rotten mileage on both vehicles. And right now he's home with a broken tibia and is stuck playing passenger in which ever vehicle I drive him to appointments in. Being the good wife I am, I'm using every opportunity I have to "nag" him into being a responsible driver when he finally gets back behind the wheel of either vehicle.

I agree with idea of challenging your wives that they can't improve or keep even with your wonderful driving skills, but it's only with practice that they'll learn. So give them the keys to your toys more often so they get the experience.

J of

C&J the Gas Pirates

I'm the Captain of this ship and I have my wife's permission to say so.

I figured it out. I spent some time going over records on all the cars the wife and I have owned since our union. I started seeing a trend I'd never really looked for or seen.

No matter what the wife drives,, if it has a automatic tranny mpg is nothing short of horrible. She drives a manual tranny and over all her numbers are as good as mine if not better.

She gets in a auto and just hits the gas and is gone. She dosent have to think bout anything but steering. Put her in a manual tranny car she has to think about shifting and dosent have the skills to rip thru a gear box.

At 49 years of age,, she's not going to change habits of a life time. I was working on a 40+ mpg tank in the Accord and she drove it 35 miles lastnight and ruined the mpg. I filled it to see 31 mpg this am. So this isnt going to work. And wont work in a hybrid with automatic tranny. If there is anybody that can get 20 mpg in a hybrid it would be my poor wife. If a 06 hybrid had a 5mt then there would be a good chance of wonderful mpg in her care.

The proof is in the history. Bye Bye hybrid,,, Its such a shame. On the bright side she has always gotten EPA or bested EPA in every 5mt shes ever driven. So its hello Civic Coupe EX or Si. If honda had seen fit to put a 5mt in the hybrid it would have gotten the nod hands down.

Whew glad this is over

Buy a 2005 HCH MT.

Shame on your husband...as a marine engineer he should know tons about efficiency speeds and engine loading...how much more DFM does he burn at 20knots versus 15? Or 12? Across the pond, that adds up to a few days' worth of steaming. Quiz him on full vs crossconnected or trailshaft ops and which is better for cruising. Same rules apply to his truck. He's just being stubborn.

I could chase go-fasts in a losing race all day long at 32kts on counternarc ops...for about 36 hours. Or I could cruise at 12kts and just track same for a week. 200Kgal down the pipe either way.