Has anyone played with this:

http://www8.garmin.com/buzz/ecoroute/

I was trying to learn more about it. It doesn't seem to be a new device but sounds like it's really a software update for a couple of their existing GPS systems.

What puzzles me is it claims to give a report on your fuel economy -- but I don't see how that's possible unless they plug into the OBD II interface on the car. From what I can tell, it's *just* a software update (no hardware). No hardware = no OBD II interface connection. That would mean their fuel economy is really nothing more than a wild guess.

Still... the idea is really cool. I think if they connected to the OBD II (like a Scanguage) but correlated that to the route on the GPS it would be a _huge_ improvement.

If anyone has the ecoRoute I'd be interested in hearing how it really works. (some of you might already own the GPS and just not be aware that it's a free software download/update).

 

Based on their description, it's likely accell rate/speed/decel rate computation. Last page (vehicle profile screen shot) indicates you enter the vehicle FE, fuel costs, etc. In concept, similar to accelerometer-based FE gauges. Just that it gets accell rate based on position change. Curious to see how curves and like impact and how close to relaity it comes. Better than nothing, but to your point, unlikely to come close to the OBDII based computations in accuracy.