I've started this poll to satisfy my curiosity about how people perceive the word "hypermiler." I don't want to add any bias of my own right off the bat so I won't really get into a discussion until some results have come in. I'm hoping this won't start any kind of fire storm because that IS NOT my intention.

**EDIT**
While I originally thought this belonged in "Fuel Economy" it occurs to me now that this may belong in OT or General. Guess I'll leave it up to the mods.

 

I don't know where to put this. Non-hybrid drivers can be hypermilers so any of the "hybrid" topics may not be the best. Do you want it moved? Where to?

 

I did not vote in the poll. I was formerly a proud hypermiler and displayed my MPG in my sig. Lately it seems to me like many think of hypermilers as the "nerds" of the car community. Some people also seem put off by the competive aspect.

As a result I'm no longer hypermiling, no longer keeping track of MPG, no longer posting MPG and no longer display my MPG as a signature.

All this may seem a little drastic but not hypermiling has advantages. I needed a change anyways and didn't want to cut my hair...

Not hypermiling will save me time and stress. I will fit into traffic better. I'll save time not keeping track of things. No one will think I'm smug or trying to be better than anyone else. I'll get to work on time and I'll actually save gas!

 

This is like a lot of things - it can be practiced in a manner that promotes it or detracts.

I'm convinced hypermiling can be done in a way that is both safe and courteous.

 

Ehh, let's just leave it here if you don't mind.

 

I voted neither good nor bad because it can be both.

I have no problem with a 'hypermiler' threshold that is some "upper percent" of the drivers because it identifies folks who may have figured out how to achieve better performance. I don't see it as anything but a way to identify folks who have mastered their vehicle, route and driving and are potential knowledge resources.

I have a big problem with 'titles' assigned to 'hypermiler' because that becomes elitist. If someone uses 'hypermiler' to inflate their ego and go into "it is so because I say it is so" without explaining the physics and mechanics behind it, that is wrong, wrong, wrong. It is wrong because without the physics and mechanics behind it, we are unable to optimize the technique or methodology. We are subject to too many random variables and lose the ability to recreated the results and that isn't science and engineering.

I knew within 2,000 miles that I was going to get my hypermiler 'star'. In fact, I knew the only thing keeping me from getting at 3,000 miles was my first tank, when I didn't know how to drive my Prius at high-speed efficiently. But folks insisted that the first tank had to be kept and I did. In fact, it is part of my first MPG vs. MPH graph. Being 'first' with a hypermiler star was not as important as the 'lessons learned' from all of the tanks.

But I've also taken my hypermiler 'star' as a responsibility to share with newbies and anyone else interested, my 'lesson's learned.' Sometimes, when I've made mistakes and folks have offered corrections and I've learned. But I've also felt it was our joint responsibility to share and help other achieve higher performance.

Soon, with the new EPA numbers, the existing hypermiler test will be "dumbed down" to "no driver left behind." The last time I checked only two or three won't make hypermiler status in the Prius I database. Instead of being a threshold of excellence, the new EPA numbers will lose any positive connotation and that will be a shame.

Bob Wilson

 

Milage performance is a very interesting and relevant information for newbies like me. It is a statistical information and there are so many factors (topography, meteo, usual road taken, etc) that make you unable to reach the best of the best. That help to know what you can expect from your acquisition and if you doing "in averge". It can be fun but it is certainly informative. I will track my performances at the beginning for shure but i'am not sure, when my average will be establigh, I will track it tank after tank.

Pierre

 

People can have good or bad motivation for doing something.

Getting 60mpg can either be an exercise in self-improvement, or self-promotion (i.e. "smug"). People give to charity sometimes to draw attention to themselves more than the good it's doing - too.

 

From what I read in these, and other board threads, the term hypermiler evokes images of the extreme fringe of society, whether it be religion, race, culture, food, or dress. I see them as self righteous (sp?), self centered (I do what I want to do regardless of the impact on others around me) unaccepting of anyone who is critical of their cause, and extremely vocal and visible. Of course I acknowledge that there are "moderates" in the hypermiler world, but they are not visible and don't temper the image of the "hard core".

Just my 2 cents......

 

Some good responses, and a good start to answering my questions. This would be a good time for me to be a little clearer about my objective with this poll.

For a while now it has seemed to me that there is a dichotomy: you've got the people who drive for efficiency ("hypermilers") and you've got the people who think they're nuts. As jajohnson pointed out, it could be real or it could be a function of how "loud" the extremes tend to be on a forum such as this. Either way, I don't want to go into the hows and whys of it because that has proven to be a very touchy subject. I still don't want this to blow up and start getting personal because then nothing would be accomplished.

Anyway, what I've started to wonder is whether or not this black-and-white perception of the issue has impacted how people drive their vehicles. I wonder if people who dont want to resort to extremes have dismissed the subject completely for fear that they will either become or be associated with the people (I would assert that there are very few of them) who are close to the fringe. Am I inventing this scenario or do you all think that this could be the case?

My personal take on it is that 'hypermiling' doesn't have to be extreme. To me it's about accepting and using the tactics that you like, ignoring the parts that you deem unacceptable (which might change with conditions), and reaping the rewards of whatever effort you choose to put in. I could probably write pages about my attempts to apply FE techniques without being noticed, but I don't know if anybody wants to hear it. The purpose of this poll is to find out whether or not that discussion would be useful, as I know there must be loads of people who do the same thing but might not want to talk about it.