I have no doubt that some will come away with the conclusion that going to extra trouble for better fuel economy isn't worth it to them, but so far whenever any concerns have been expressed on any of the forums in that vein the overwhelming response has been supportive of what we're doing.

We make no bones about the fact that we're going to extraordinary lengths to coax the absolute best possible distance and mpg out of a single tank of gas. But we follow that, as I did in my NPR interview, with a clear statement that much of what we do is also transferrable to any driver in any car for those who choose to make the effort. It matters less how many do not at this point make that choice than it does that some will take heed, and even for those who don't, when gas prices go up they just might remember that there is a way to cut their costs by modifying their driving habits and come looking for the particulars on how to do that.

Parallels can be found in many aspects of life, from diet to safety to environmental practices. Change happens in increments, but it does happen. Hopefully through this effort we'll be able to bring some attention to the potential of increasing fuel economy and actually having fun doing it.

Dave Bassage

 

Some times that achevement may sound too good to be true. For instance, Senior Contributor of Runner's World (ran 111+ marathons) states that regular, sometimes strenous exercise can improve quality of life AND 6-10 years to your life expectancy. Don't know if it sounds too good to be true, but like what many hypermilers do, most people will not put the effort to achieve this.

Thought it was an interesting tangent....

 

BTW ... nice job Dave. From the non-hybrid driver standpoint, what stood out in the interview were your comments about "all this instrumentation in front of me" ... I think that is a great way to turn someone onto hybrid driving and in particular hypermiling. For the rest of you advocating hybrids to 'car buffs' and in particular those who might have 'geek' tendencies, I think pointing out the challenges of 'hypermiling' over performance might turn a few heads.

On the downside of things, giving up comfort like Air Conditioning for a couple miles per gallon while sweating with the windows up is just 'nuts!'

 

David,
Saw your picture on the Union of Concerned Scientists hybrid webpage. It's nice to see the faces behind the names. Good luck this weekend.

Mike

 

Well, I just finished packing and prepping my Prius for her bridesmaid role in the marathon. Dan Kroushl's prius will be the true athlete of the event, but mine will see a lot of duty for practice runs, film crew duty, and instuctional demo's. So tonight she got her first ever wax job and a thorough cleaning in preparation for all the attention she'll get the next few days.

I'm off to Pittsburgh after work tomorrow, and hopefully get some practice in on the course during the same time frame my first shift runs - 10pm till 2am. Wayne has the real challenge, the next four hour shift after mine. He gets extra points for volunteering for the dead of night shift. We've got a schedule for all the shifts, but I imagine that will flex as the event evolves.

We hope to start sometime around six pm friday evening, and initially have a Dan, Dave, Wayne, Rick rotation set up. We're going to do our utmost to arrange it so Dan gets to finish as well sometime Sunday, since this whole thing was his doing, he found the course, and he's perfected the technique to make a 100 mpg tank seem achievable.

Weather is looking decent, with predicted highs in the eighties, lows in the sixties, and very little chance of rain or significant wind.

We plan to post updates as the marathon unfolds - stay tuned!

Dave Bassage

 

Please do keep us up to date on this. Just a month ago I would have thought 100 mpg impossible but somehow now it seems within the realm of possibiltiy. Good Luck!

 

Well, the pregame warmups are off to a good start. Three of the four drivers are on site. Rick Reece and I met up with Dan Kroushl this evening. Dan took Rick and I on a run of the course, and with all three of us in the car with the front windows rolled down scored a 104.7 mpg lap on the 31 mile route. His new instrumentation, the 'Super MID', allows us to see much more data, including mpg (or Km/L, which we have to convert) above 100 mpg as well as total fuel consumed, which will be very helpful. It also shows the percent of time the ICE is engaged, which on his lap was a mere 25%. As I type this Rick is out doing his own practice lap. Rick has an Insight, Classic Prius, and 2004 prius in his family, and most of his time is spent in the Insight, which he routinely scores mpgs at or above 100 mpg in, so it's just a matter of teaching him the special prius tricks to help Dan's car do its best. He and I just went out do dinner, with him driving, and he seems to have no trouble achieving glide and efficient acceleration. When Rick gets back I'll take a turn. Our fourth driver, Wayne Gerdes, will join us tomorrow so we'll all have ample time on the course in the car we'll be driving before Dan heads out on the first shift tomorrow evening.Stay tuned....

Dave Bassage

 

Wow ... this is just too cool. Your going to make me want a Hybrid! (as soon as there is a diesel!)

 

Good luck to the "Fantastic 4"!

 

It's been really interesting following how the "Prius 100mpg" event has evolved.

As a past, successful participant in a fuel efficiency competition, I found myself approaching the enthusiasm of an athelete in a sporting event. However, in this role we are more like jockeys than quarterbacks, enabling and optimizing the best available efficient transportation technology.

The debate about whether "hypermiling" as a competitive sport (see-how-far-you-can-go-on-a-tank-of-gas....popular in parts of Europe?) is a good thing for the enviromnent or not is likely to remain contentious. While this might be an opportunity to showcase an esoteric talent, it wouldn't necessarily promote the concept of a small ecological footprint.
However, in my opinion, as a demonstration, this type of event might be considered a small investment that can yield enormous returns, even if only a small % of all drivers are inspired to consider a small % of the fuel conserving techniques employed by the participants.

I believe that what now may be viewed by many as obsessive behavior will be considered in posterity as trend setting history when the fossil fuel fairy finally checks out.

Unlike NASCAR, the driving techniques used in this event can be realistically engaged on the daily commute, with the competition being your own previous results, and the benefits being a lower fuel expense and a cleaner environment.

Whatever the results, I think we can be sure that this team will have given their best, and in my view, they deserve a big (cyber) high-five from all of us at the finish line!