With over 42,000 deaths annually caused by automobile crashes, including over 4,000 pedestrian fatalities, why is Mother Jones promoting such reckless driving? It is going to take much more than 59 mpg to make any sort of environmental change. Why not start promoting ways of reducing automobile dependence?

What about all the gas these guys are wasting in their little contests? I'm sure that could probably be put to better use. I did try some of the stuff they do and it works. It's kind of fun!

Hi All:

___This article at MJ (Mother Jones) created quite a stir in the hybrid and general auto site forums around the net both this month and last ... Mostly shocking but without context, even I thought it was over the top! Remember the article had 15 minutes worth of excitement over maybe 7 hours worth of driving boredom but that is how articles are published nowadays …

___The link below contains a write-up I did placing some of the MJ articles contents as well as the discussions afterwards into context. I also included additional pieces of the article that was pulled due to length … I hope most will read the following before going off the deep end!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/general/t-this-guy-can-get-59-mpg-in-a-plain-old-accord-beat-that-punk-3183.html

___FAS'ing (Forced Auto Stop’ing) is not for the illiterate or the brave. It is for those that know the consequences (both good and bad) and who know there cars capabilities inside and out. Close-in drafting is for those who fear for their lives. There are 3 other types of drafts you can use and all can be just as effective in the proper traffic conditions. As an example, I only achieved 93 mpg in Delta Flyers Insight when rushing up to Madison with maybe 15 miles of close-in because Terry and Hobbit wanted us to punch it up to get there for the ice-cream social instead of driving between the limits like I normally would. The link above should explain all of this that with a lot more pictures ;-)

___And don’t forget to read the last portion of my personal post in that link about the Mother Jones - articles contents and create conclusions with a little more knowledge and insight. I promised Dennis 20% and he did far better then that while hardly even touching anything I would call advanced as shown below :-D

“Finally, the two most important activities of the weekend … The first was when I let Dennis drive my Accord back to the O’Hare on Sunday morning. I was guiding him the entire way and he nailed down a 51.2 mpg segment over 30 miles from my drive dead cold to the O’Hare Departure terminal using only 3 FAS’ (Forced Auto Stop) and DWL (Driving With Load) while between the limits and RR (Ridge Riding). I guided him using the Accord’s NAVI (Navigational System) based TC (Trip Computer) and the iFCD (Instantaneous Fuel Consumption Display) as to when to accel (accelerate) and back off. This is where the 20% figure comes from while using an iFCD (Instantaneous Fuel Consumption Display) but he nailed down not just 20% greater then the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) combined, he nailed down 76% > then the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) combined with just one behind the wheel lesson not employing nearly the toolbox of tricks I would normally use and being perfectly legal the entire drive. And then the crescendo … Truly the most important aspect of the entire weekend was that Dennis purchased a brand new Prius II just a few weeks after arriving home in New York.”

___DO NOT ATTEMPT the advanced techniques without some training on an absolutely dead quiet country road so you understand the limits of your automobile as well as your own personal limitations. For me, driving with the ICE On or Off feels the same. For someone that has never considered it before, they may as well steer their car or truck into the nearest tree because that is where they will end up if they do not perform the advanced techniques at the right time or in the right place properly.

___Finally, I hope I woke some people up to what they are throwing away. I can drive the non-Hybrid Accord down the Interstate at 50 - 55 mph in a 45 min/55 max speed limits (these are the speed limits on the Chicago area Interstates) and receive over 50 mpg without even thinking about it or doing anything other then DWL (Driving with Load) and DWB (Driving without Brakes or Driving w/ Buffers). Some in the Chicago area do drive 75 mph and they receive 8 - 25 mpg depending on what they are driving in most cases. That kind of FE (Fuel Economy) is not acceptable in my book no matter what you are driving for all the obvious reasons stated in the MJ article. The FE (Fuel Economy) you receive, the CO2 emissions you emit, our dependence on foreign oil, and the amount of oil we are purchasing from our “Friends” is really up to you.

___Good Luck

___Wayne Gerdes aka xcel at CleanMPG.com

I applaud Wayne Gerdes for "pushing the envelope". Mankind has made some of its greatest strides by doing this. I not only wish to decrease our dependance on oil I want to obliterate it so I converted my 1998 merc mystique, 4cyl, 5 spd mauual to burn E85 (85% ethanol/15% gas). The car is rated at 26 - 28 mpg on gas and I'm getting 31 - 36 mpg on E85. I avoid a lot of the riskier stuff but I do coast a lot, use my cruise control on the highway, overinflate my tires by a couple of pounds, use synthetic oil, and I've installed a Scan Gauge so I can see the results of what I'm doing from minute to minute.
I really don't know how people can justify driving SUVs & Hummers at 80 plus mph and not complaining about gas prices. Even if it doesn't hurt them their habits hurt me because they are wasting my fuel. For those of you who claim that you are not wasting fuel by driving one of those behemoths - you don't know the meaning of the word "waste" - you are ignorant, stupid & self-centered!