Actions speak louder than words. Wayne can say whatever he likes but his actions don't always match his words. He drives one way but then claims not to support the very same things he does while on the road. He would make a good politician. Some of his choices are questionable at best.

Say you have 2 choices available:

1) You purchase a vehicle that with very little effort gets 47.5 mpg (like a Prius, with a 47.5 mpg average in the GH database) and you drive it in a safe, comfortable, traffic friendly manner.

2) You purchase a vehicle that can get 48.4 mpg only when driven with extreme techniques that are annoying to others in traffic and are considered unsafe by some.

Which is your choice?

 

Life's that black and white?

Is it physically impossible to do some of what Wayne does, such as not accelerating to the red light?

It's either drive 10 over the limit or 10 under the limit?

Again, thousands were at CleanMPG yesterday and today.

 

Of course some of what Wayne does is brilliant. Racing to the red light is a pet peeve of many here.....

 

Glad to find some common ground.

News stories tend to be unusual stuff like "12yr old Flies Solo Across the Atlantic" or "Dean Karanes Runs a Marathon in Each State in 50 Days".

Should everybody do it? No

Is doing some of this stuff OK? - Yes

 

everyone always seems to get stuck on the semi drafting idea. since we are still civil, can you please loook at it this way? we advocate doing the speed limit, right? do you see a lot of semis doing the speed limit? probably not.

so, since we also advocate driving in the right lane, most semis, going faster than we are, drive in the left lane. there is some physics going on here, about somehow not be able to draft a semi, since we are going considerably slower than they are.

i have, as a hypermiler and way before that, never drafted a semi. never. that said, there are plenty of trucks and other vehicles who seem to think it's ok to draft (read tailgate) me for driving the limit. these are the same kind of drivers i do see on the tail of semis, in a nose to tail 80MPH run along our 4 lanes. please, give it a rest.

in other words, drafting semis up close and personal is not advocated. and since we drive slower than they do, it's dang near impossible.

one other thing, since some are stuck on the film from the chicago/ny trip in which it appears that a semi is being drafted: for one thing, there was no indication of how fast the traffic was going. in a city situation it 's totally possible to be that close since the traffic is moving so slow that everyone is bunched together.

another point. as a photographer, i know that when i use a telephoto lens, the distance between objects is foreshortened in the photo. it's the nature of a long lens. i would hazard a guess that whoever was following and filming in that situation was using a long lens, which would make things appear closer together than they really are (remember the note on the rear view mirrors).

so...take what you want from it, but don't flush the whole idea. this whole movement of slowing down is finally starting to get national attention, as it should. not everyone is going to use every technique, but let's not kill the messenger.

 

Regardless of whether there was drafting in that video, many of us believe that shutting off the engine while operating a motor vehicle is unsafe, and encouraging others to do so is irresponsible. Same goes with taking turns/offramps at high speeds simply to avoid braking.

 

Do you really think that we as a group here at GH are "flushing the whole idea"? Or is it possible that extreme hypermiling is not for everyone?

Let us assume Wayne is in full control of his vehicle and that given his strength and skill level that his driving style is safe for him. Is it possible that driving exactly the same way would not be safe for everybody or every vehicle?

Having a fringe website filled with mostly like minded enthusiasts is one thing. Getting yourself on TV and into John Q's living room is another. Extra care should be taken. Errors should be on the side of caution, not recklessness. Or put another way, "With great power comes great responsibility".

How are you and/or Wayne going to feel if some CNN viewer's last words are "Well this fellow was on CNN and he said I'd save gas if I'd shut off my car, thought I'd give it a try. Next thing you know I'm having trouble steering cause the power steering went out. I figured I'd slow down but my brakes didn't work either. Mechanic said I have a slow leak in my PB vacuum line, never would have noticed it with the engine on. I hope those kids on the school bus I hit are OK.....ack".

 

NOTE: the 'time out' is over.

We can agree to disagree but we can not tolerate insulting postings.

Bob Wilson

 

I caught a short new story about MSantos - the Canadian HCH guru - on CTV last night. Good job! They also ran a short clip of Wayne, so I finally got to see what people are discussing here. Anything that makes the average driver think about the fuel they could save is a good idea, just try to do it safely.

 

The article featuring Manuel was in no less than six Canadian papers alone