These days he's driving a 1998 Acura Integra and getting as much as 40 mpg in a car the EPA rates at 24. His quest for better fuel efficiency started with the car, which got a tune-up and an engine-block heater for more efficient starts. He inflated the tires to the maximum listed on the sidewall to reduce rolling resistance. And he installed a fuel-consumption gauge that provides real-time data about how much gas he's burning. He and other hypermilers highly recommend them.
"The instant feedback was great," Harrell says. "Simple things like slowing down on the highway, timing traffic lights (to maintain) momentum and coasting with the engine off started to push that fuel-efficiency number higher and higher."
Hypermilers call the gadgets "game gauges" because they're always trying to see how high they can go. The best of them get absurd figures. Wayne Gerdes, founder of cleanmpg.com and the king of hypermilers, recently drove a Honda Civic hybrid 800 miles from Chicago to New York on a single tank of gas. That works out to 65 mpg.
That's low for Darin Cosgrove of Brockville, Ontario. The co-founder of ecomodder.com averages 69 mpg in his 1998 Geo Metro, a car that got 40 mpg off the showroom floor. He's gotten as many as 133 mpg on a long trip by going slowly and using pulse and glide. He's also modified his car to make it more aerodynamic and tinkered with the drivetrain to improve efficiency.
Fahimuddin hopes to achieve those kind of numbers with his 2000 Honda Insight. It was a heap when he bought it and he's overhauled just about everything, but the clutch is shot so he's only getting 45 mpg or so. He'll replace it eventually, and add a belly pan to improve aerodynamics under the car. He figures that and a few tweaks to his driving style will get him to 60 mpg.
But that's just the beginning.
"I'd like to hit 70 mpg. Seventy would be pretty sick," he says. "It's doable."

posted by 24.139.16...

• So what's the big hype about the Honda cars?, BAAB , Thu, 21 May 2009 16:08:38
  • Not Hype, fred, Sat, 23 May 2009 22:00:16
    • Re: Not Hype, Uffda, Wed, 27 May 2009 10:22:33
    • Ridiculous..especially on a Saab site!!, Slyde, Sun, 24 May 2009 09:00:54
      • I had the misfortune of driving behind a 300C..., James, Sun, 24 May 2009 17:29:28
    • apples + oranges., James, Sun, 24 May 2009 05:42:27
    • Re: Not Hype, BAAB , Sat, 23 May 2009 22:38:38
  • I actually considered a Civic, No Snaab, Fri, 22 May 2009 05:26:25
    • skewed the other way..., James, Fri, 22 May 2009 07:19:57
      • Re: skewed the other way..., No Snaab, Fri, 22 May 2009 09:03:51
  • fuel economy, James, Fri, 22 May 2009 04:05:26
    • 50 mpg?, No Snaab, Fri, 22 May 2009 05:11:58
      • yup, 50mpg!, James, Fri, 22 May 2009 06:14:08
        • Re: yup, 50mpg!...hybrid???, Steven W, Fri, 22 May 2009 11:20:09
        • Not bloody well likely, No Snaab, Fri, 22 May 2009 08:46:52
          • I bet that was stupid Imperial gallons!!, James, Fri, 22 May 2009 10:25:40
            • Re: I bet that was stupid Imperial gallons!!, No Snaab, Fri, 22 May 2009 13:44:23
              • they're easy on the throttle, James, Fri, 22 May 2009 14:27:43
                • 65 MPG in Honda possible -that's US for those south, saab86, Fri, 22 May 2009 15:59:22 <-- Viewing This Message
                • Re: they're easy on the throttle, No Snaab, Fri, 22 May 2009 15:31:09
                  • c900 vs eco bs., James, Sat, 23 May 2009 04:50:01
                    • Fuel Economy Challenge-see General Interest Board, No Snaab, Sat, 23 May 2009 09:46:19
                    • Re: c900 vs eco bs: another reason to keep it, Cary, Sat, 23 May 2009 07:37:30
                    • VW TDI, No Snaab, Sat, 23 May 2009 07:00:43
        • Wouldn't 50 be nice!, BAAB , Fri, 22 May 2009 06:59:02
  • they are white goods on wheels, Steven W, Thu, 21 May 2009 21:18:02
    • Re: they are white goods on wheels, andym, Fri, 22 May 2009 03:28:34

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