my driving teetering on obscene, my wife driving like a nun. I made it home about one minute faster than she did. Wasn't worth it.

What kind of man have you become! You won didn't you?

 

I'm not a hybrid owner just yet (will be next time around) but I have been working to improve FE in the car I have. So I drive ~60mph on the 65mph roads and get passed just the same. It annoys me that these 75, 80mph+ drivers insist on wasting by the bucket over two or three minutes of reduced travel time, as their waste affects us all. But I just keep right and let them go in hopes that some day it will dawn on them how pointless it is. The only thing you can do with them is lead by example and wait for them to come around.

On a side note, there was an article stating that a 1mpg increase in fuel efficiency across the US fleet would completely offset the 400,000 barrel-per-day Alaskan fiasco with BP's pipeline. At ~22mpg that's a 4.5% increase. Does anybody realize how ridiculously easy and painless it would be for the average driver to improve by 4.5%?

 

Does anybody realize how ridiculously easy and painless it would be for the average driver to improve by 4.5%?


I have lately discovered I can get my V8 4Runner to achieve 20+ mpg by keeping the RPM's under 2000. I average 15.6 in this vehicle.

 

there was an article stating that a 1mpg increase in fuel efficiency across the US fleet

Unfortunately the thought process of the average Hummer owner is that since I went from 16.3 to 38.7 for an increase of 22.4 mpg, then the few TCH's sold have completed covered the sins of the entire fleet of Hummers on the road.

 

IF you can get the 'racers' to objectively view that fact, it would change the roads for the better. However, you must somehow first convince them to watch the vehicles around them and notice that no matter how fast they rip from light to light, weaving in and out, they keep seeing those SAME vehicles. In a sense, it is almost like compulsive gambling. They keep trying to 'get back' what they 'lost' every time they have to stop for a red light or slow down a lot for someone in front of them turning and they can't get into another lane to go around.

 

Me too. Nothing like a little snow and ice to get EVERYONE driving like they owned a Prius.

• Leaving more distance<
• Slower starts<
• Travelling at a reasonable speed<
• Stopping when they see a yellow light rather than racing to beat the red.<

 

Testimony time....

We shouldn't become too smug. We all act like those rolling gas guzzlers with some issue in each of our lives. This is just one area where we have been able to change a bad habit for a good habit. And it's affecting us for the better.
I, too, was one of those selfless "racers" until the day I got my TCH. I test drove it one more time before I signed the papers and almost changed my mind. I didn't know if I was going to be able to give up the power and handling that I had become accustomed to my whole life. But I knew that we were putting so many miles on our car due to various activities and enterprises that, logically, I just really didn't have a choice.

What I've found, since Aug. 1 (day 1 of a hybrid lifestyle) is that Toyota has a way through the gauges and read outs on the NAV consumption screen, etc. of getting me to replace my "power" goal with an economic "FE" goal. I'm amazed at myself wanting and trying to do better at my FE with every trip I make. My wife is amazed at my changed driving habits. I'm a new person. But, alas, there are still some of those other areas of my life.....

 

One thing to keep in mind with the TCH is that its speedo seems to read too high. When mine reads 70mph I am actually going about 67-68 according to my handheld GPS. This could cause more than the "usual" number of vehicles to be passing you.

 

Yeah, I noticed this on the TCH too. I've seen this on the last generation Accords too, but never on Toyotas before.

 

Exactly...Initially it was difficult for me to cross the bridge..then I found myself looking at the FE gauge all the time....the goal then was to try and squeeze every single extra mile I could of a galloon of gas.....it was a challenge...the end result: I am a very patient driver now. As somebody else mentioned I kindoff know the topography of the 22 mile commute so as to ease of the gas pedal. Strange how people change!!!!!!
Now I just let the speedsters get by me..only to see them again at the next light. I wonder if people realise that their driving habits are dropping their FE way below that is mentioned on the sticker...