and I agree he has MANY tanks under his belt and is a hypermiler so I agree his #s aren't inflated or computer #s thus it wasn't directed at people such as him

 

iboomalot,

Re Prius mpg. It is certainly a ymmv. I rarely go below 60 mpg, ever since the weather warmed up to the 50's last month. My wife causes mpg damage wherever she goes :-(
The current tank was at 62 mpg 200 miles into it; two days and 50 lead miles later, it was at 58.5!
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

Now, its true though that the computer will be higher than the calculated and still be correct. Thats not the computers fault, its the pump. Pumps can be up to 10% (i think thats the right number) inacurate...and you know gas stations have them right on that mark to get the most of your money. Just take a 5 gallon gas can and fill it up, chances are you'll fit more than 5 gallons in it.

 

10%? Does that mean if I buy $30.00 worth of gas I'm getting ripped of $3.00?

MAN. I think I have to go with a container and start checking gas stations and marking with a sharpie how much they are off by.

 

I find 10% really hard to believe. Any proof ?

 

I think its more like .10 %

its very small couple pennies per gallon at most I saw an entire investigation by a local new station on the subject.

also how many inspectors across the country inspect pumps so they can make a living keeping the public from getting ripped off

 

I refuse to watch local news and take most of their "stories" with a grain of salt. Granted, all news organizations create stories so they have something to report on. However, I find the local media consistantly hunting for some conspiracy. Their exaggeration tactics (for instance, when they show a quick preview commerical to make you watch at 11) further decrease their credibility. I suppose this is a conversation for another time, though.

 

My thoughts and actions to a tee, Jason.

Ignoring local news can be amusing, though. A hospital that my some of my physician group work at became the subject of a federal investigation after bad publicity in the local press (not directed at us, thankfully). I was ignorant of the entire thing, until word of mouth reached me.

 

Forgive me if I'm redundant.

It took me at least a month to learn most of the nuiances that gives my 2000 Honda Insight it's best fuel economy. Most of the writers reviewing the Insight not only not pick up on these, they tend to drive most vehicles fast anyway. What these writers should not be ignorant of is for any given US vehicle, you can deduct about 20% off the EPA's estimated mpg to get a somewhat realistic figure. I laugh when a review states they got 48 mpg on an Insight with a 5-speed, yet I have 56.4 mpg and know it would probably be close to 65 mpg if I tried. I suspect reviews for Prius and other hybrids get the same bad review....

I have noticed a large part of the population in general tends to detract anything that is different or requires even a little thinking to use properly. For instance, the vBulletin forum software is as good as it gets, yet I have friends that complain endlessly about the primitive forum software at MSN Groups, yet act like a VBulletin group is rocket science. Different - yes. Harder - no! Faster - definitely. More powerful and user-friendly - absolutely.

I wanted to put a power cord on my Insight except it reinforces one of the biggest hybrid myths - it's plugged in overnight. The other big myth is hybrids have poor acceleration. Truth is the electric assist is superior - performance-oriented hybrids are just starting to come out. The general public assumes that Insight and Prius drivers trying to maximize their fuel economy can't drive more agressively. In the Dallas area, a number of huge pickup trucks seem to want to blast by me, but when I take the challenge, 4 out of 5 are still in my rear-view mirror. (why my lifetime mpg is 56 - not 65) Some of these people are also suprized that the Insight can go 113 mph - faster if the speed limiter was disabled. (only done this twice)

 

My apologis and thanks, i guess i missed the period when i read the figure. doh!