1,445.7 miles on One Tank of Gas -- in a FORD

[LuckyTheDog]

Press release from Ford:

http://www.ford.com/about-ford/news-announcements/press-releases/press-releases-detail/pr-fusion-hybrid-averages-815-mpg-30289

Drivers trained in mileage-maximizing techniques such as smooth acceleration and coasting to red lights were able to get an extraordinary 1,445.7 miles out of a single tank of gas during a fund-raising effort in Washington, D.C. that concluded today. They did it by averaging 81.5 miles per gallon in an off-the-showroom floor, non-modified 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, the most fuel-efficient midsize car in North America – nearly doubling its U.S. certified mileage.

[itsrobert]

1. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

1, Cue the Honda/Toyota loving fascists.

[NV Whino]

Color me fascist.

[LuckyTheDog]

3. I know...

"American cars are bad... rinse, repeat."

So boring.

[spoony]

13. Lol, yeah

And as proof of domestic inferiority they'll offer up their anecdotal stories about cars from the early 80's.

[EOTE]

62. I had an '81 Chevette that became the bane of my existence.

It began a little after it hit the 100k mark. The transmission dropped while driving and sent me to the ER. I decided to invest the money in getting it repaired, but that just made it angry. Two days later, it took my family hostage and recorded everything on a VHS camcorder while my family trembled in fear. Through some calm negotiations, I managed to rescue my family after promising not to call the cops. That turned out to be an even bigger mistake as the Chevette soon there after went on a rampage and killed dozens at a local elementary school. It then hooked up with a dusty old Ford Pinto and continued its crime spree well into the early morning. They weren't stopped until the local PD called up the National Guard and both cars were fire bombed from a distance. The smell of napalm mixed with the various auto fluids nearly caused me to wretch. It was then and there that I decided never again to buy a domestic automobile. The safety of my family and the continuing existence of humanity depends on it. 80 mpg or not, I refuse to allow for another tragedy like that to happen again. (BTW, my Volkswagen is currently enrolled in Cornell and is on the Dean's list for the second semester in a row.)

[Marr]

75. HAHA-

very funny.

[spoony]

94. !!

:rofl: I so needed that, thank you!

[NV Whino]

2. What?

They coasted downhill? They drafted big rigs? They pushed it most of the way?

[ddeclue]

4. Why is this hard to believe? I routinely get 31-32 mpg out of my 1995 Z28 Camaro Convertible.

and it has a 5.7L 275 HP V8.

All I have to do is put it into 6th gear and set the cruise control at 65MPH with the top and windows up. I can get 420-450 miles off a tank of gas on the interstate if I drive non-stop.

Should it be any surprise that you could get 80MPG out of a little hybrid like that?

I don't think so.

I used to know a guy who had a Honda CRX in the late 80's that got >70MPG and another guy with a Jetta Diesel that got 54MPG routinely in the 1980's.

Doug D.

[NV Whino]

8. I'm not trying to trash Ford here

but at the moment 81. whatever mpg is simply not happening... for any brand. Really, normal driving won't get that.

I own a 2007 Honda Fit. I get 33 to 38 mpg. My 1998 Celica (convertible) got 31 to 35 mpg. My 1989 Honda Prelude (before newer smog stuff) got 40 mpg on a regular basis, highway or street.

We are getting there, but these ridiculous tests don't serve anyone's good. No one drives the way these tests were performed. It produces lots of hype and no substance.

[kentauros]

67. Actually, it IS happening, just not in the US of A.

However, it is no longer happening even in Germany, where Volkwagen produced the Lupo 3L. That's 3-liters of fuel per 100km or the equivalent of 78mpg for a full production model car with no special driving conditions or a need for "hypermiling". Germans simply didn't find the price tag (under $20k USD) "affordable". Bring it over here and they'd outsell the Prius :D

[EOTE]

72. Anyone is capable of learning hypermiling techniques.

They're not only good for extending fuel economy, but it will make your car last a lot longer and reduce your repair bills too. I can't believe how many people I see accelerating towards red lights just to slam on their brakes. If everyone would just think a bit more while driving, they'd do themselves and everyone else a lot of good. And btw, I've got a GTI that's awfully close to 300hp. I can average 40 mpg if I really restrain myself.

[ecstatic]

5. coasting to red lights?

[LuckyTheDog]

6. It's called 'hypermiling'

You can really boost mpg by doing certain things.

[SteelPenguin]

16. it can also be dangerous

Alot of the things they recommend you do for hypermiling are dangerous, whether you're driving a Ford or a Honda.

Though some are safer in a hybrid where you don't have to literally turn your engine off, and it does it for you.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

23. Like driving like a total idiot

[EOTE]

76. Driving like a total idiot tends to net you worse fuel economy.

Hypermiling causes you to drive more conservatively and saves a lot of gas in the process.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

83. Hypermiling would get you killed around here

I'd rather get less gas mileage than obstruct traffic and tailgate tractor trailers.

[EOTE]

84. Tailgating actually provides a very minimal benefit.

I don't see how hypermiling obstructs traffic, I use many hypermiling techniques every day and never find myself even tempted to be a nuisance to any traffic. And tailgating anyone is stupid, I never do that. People who do typically tend to brake more which would completely remove any of the benefits that hypermiling provides. Most of hypermiling is just using common sense. For instance, if you see a traffic light ahead and it's red, you might as well start coasting right then and there, if you're good at timing it, you can get to the point where you coast through a moment or so after the light turns green. That way, you're not only saving on gas, you're saving your brakes too. I can't believe how many people I see on a daily basis accelerating their way towards red lights just so they can wear out their brakes further.

[Fumesucker]

92. The single most effective hypermiling technique I've found is

To drive in such a manner that you use the brakes as little as possible.. That automatically saves you quite a bit of fuel because you end up pulsing and gliding a lot.

[EOTE]

93. Precisely.

And it provides a double benefit because you not only save gas, but you save a lot of wear and tear on your car. I'm amazed at how many people on the road seem to use their brakes as much as possible, providing a double penalty. It's really sad.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NYC_SKP]

9. So now we know that only when faced with extinction, do they grow a brain.

They should have been working on this in the seventies.

Better late than never, I suppose, but what a waste of the last twenty years.

It's going to take quite a few Ford Fusion Hybrids to overcome the bad karma from their Excursion SUVs.

:patriot:

[cwcwmack]

38. when faced with extinction?

dramatic perhaps?

[NYC_SKP]

81. I didn't mean human extinction, I mean extinction of their line-up and business model.

Although some would argue that we're on the path to human extinction with these backward automakers as a part of the cause.

:patriot:

[cwcwmack]

86. ahhhh... yes, yes, yes. Agreed. I misunderstood. n/t

[Occam Bandage]

10. Eh. I get 45-50 mpg in an unmodified stick-shift Yaris.

And I'm hardly a hypermiler; I just drive with an eye towards efficiency. It's nice that they're encouraging it, though.

[Romulox]

17. Didya see the safety tests recently released re: the Yaris? nt

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

24. Death trap?

If so, I wouldn't be surprised. I had a Toyota Echo (same platform as yaris) and that was a piece of shit.

[Occam Bandage]

26. Yes. 4-star rating from the DOT.

I'll try to avoid head-on collisions on made-for-youtube videos, though.

[Romulox]

30. "Smart, Yaris & Fit Fare Poorly in Crash Tests"

http://www.lemonlaws.com/2009/04/smart_yaris_fit_fare_poorly_in.html

"Laws of physics prevail"

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr041409.html

:hi:

[Occam Bandage]

36. I'll trust the government's take over that of

a consortium of insurance companies with an eye towards encouraging people to drive certain types of vehicles.

[Romulox]

39. I love how "Occam's Bandage" so breazily dismisses inconvenient data.

I've often thought that "Occam Bandage" (sic) must be the antithesis of "Occam's Razor". :hi:

[Occam Bandage]

41. No more "inconvenient" than the results of the Pepsi Challenge.

I've been in one wreck in the Yaris. The fact that it's so light was a good thing. I was at a stoplight. A wide-right-turns truck to my left wasn't paying attention, and turned through me. The trailer of course clipped through me. Fortunately, it also pushed my car to the right, off the road. It crumpled the left side of my car a bit, but not much. Had I been driving a heavy SUV, and had my car stood its ground, it's quite possible the left side of the car would have collapsed on me.

A light car is more maneuverable and has a better braking distance than a heavy one, and is less prone to rollover, in addition to having better gas mileage. It fares worse in a head-to-head with a heavier car. This is all very well known by anyone who has ever so much as considered buying a car of any sort. Made-for-Youtube videos by the insurance industry aren't really "data."

[Romulox]

43. Your anecdotal evidence is no substitute for a methodical testing.

(Like the one you dismissed.) You're very haughty for someone who can't back up your opinions with any facts. :shrug:

[Occam Bandage]

48. You're right. There is no substitute for methodical, impartial testing.

Which is why I trust the DOT's comprehensive crash analysis, and not the insurance industry's, for much the same reason I tend to believe government-commissioned studies on global warming more than I believe coal-industry-commissioned studies.

[Romulox]

50. Then why did you offer anectdotes?

:wtf:

[Occam Bandage]

52. There's nothing wrong with an anecdote. I don't know anyone who thinks they're evil.

Certainly the insurance industry loves them, given that their "crash tests" are publicized through YouTube videos of small cars in head-on collisions with large cars.

[Romulox]

56. They are worthless in this context.

Someone who is as qualified to label others "idiots" as you are should know that. :hi:

"I don't know anyone who thinks they're evil."

:wtf:

[Occam Bandage]

58. If I had said an anecdote outweighed data, you'd be right.

But I didn't. I said that my personal experience was in accordance with the well-known safety advantages and disadvantages of small cars. When it comes to countering the data, well, I already provided data: the DOT's 2009 crash tests for the Yaris, which I take more seriously than those of an alliance of insurance companies with a vested interest in people driving larger (and thus more expensive, and thus more expensive to insure) vehicles.

[ejpoeta]

95. actually, i figured their goal was to increase safety of vehicles so less

injury and thus less cost to the insurance companies.

[NoGOPZone]

42. Yaris saftey tests

2009 models, now with standard side airbags

IIHS

Frontal Offset - Good
Side Impact - Good

NHTSA

4 door liftback

Frontal Driver - 4 Stars
Frontal Passenger - 4 Stars
Side Crash Front - 4 Stars
Side Crash Rear - 4 Stars
Rollover - 4 Stars

2 door liftback

Frontal Driver - 5 Stars
Frontal Passenger - 4 Stars
Side Driver - 5 Stars
Side Rear Passanger - 3 Stars
Rollover - 4 Stars




I read it in Consumer Reports ;-)

[Romulox]

44. Consumer reports doesn't conduct crash tests. Please see my post #30. nt

[NoGOPZone]

47. Who said they did? nt

[Romulox]

49. You cited Consumer Reports as an authority in your post #42.

"I read it in Consumer Reports" :hi:

[Occam Bandage]

54. He didn't say they did the testing.

He said they reported on the testing. You know, testing done by actual agencies with an eye towards the public good, and not by the insurance industry with an eye towards influencing the types of cars people buy and insure.

[Romulox]

57. Can you keep your hurt feelings to one subthread please?

:rofl:

[Occam Bandage]

60. You've posted in more than one subthread in this thread yourself.

There's that hypocrisy again. Which, again, is mixed with idiocy, as you confused "as CR reported" with "as CR tested."

[Romulox]

61. LOL. Subthreads that I have started, genius.

You are really upset here. You're not making sense.

[Occam Bandage]

63. ...by replying to people. Genius. nt

[Romulox]

64. Right. But you are replying to my replies to others. Because you are angry.

Do you see the difference? :silly:

[Occam Bandage]

69. Which is still in the subthread I created.

Which was about my car, if you recall. You posted something factually incorrect about someone's reply to your reply to my post.

[Romulox]

70. Oh dear. nt

[Occam Bandage]

71. Yes, you must have forgetten that in your haste to turn the conversation from facts to emotion. nt

[Romulox]

73. You're embarassing yourself. No more of this, please. nt

[Occam Bandage]

78. You must have difficulty with your pronouns as well as with reading.

Me: "I get good mileage in my Yaris."
You: "It's a deathtrap."
Him: "CR reported on all these tests showing it's safe."
You: "lol CR doesn't do tests."
Me: "He said reported, not performed."
You: "OMG SO ANGRY"

[NoGOPZone]

55. I cited Consumer Reports reporting

NHTSA and IIHS results. Perhaps you didn't notice those acronyms in my O.P. :eyes:

[pansypoo53219]

11. i try that inch up to the red light + drives my mom crazy.

i try smooth acceleration.

[Luminous Animal]

12. I rarely drive...

but I used to drive one day a week for work. I knew the route well and the timing of the red lights. If I drove 18 MPH (city streets, speed limit 25), I could pretty much drive the 5 miles round trip with only stopping and accelerating 6-8 times. It always cracked me up to see everyone speed off from the red light only to speed up to the next one. In the end, we all ended up at the same place at the same time.

[Selatius]

14. They must be using hypermiling techniques or something similar.

There are smart ways to drive as far as conserving gasoline, but that is something that requires patience and finesse and practice.

[high density]

19. It's a hybrid

I don't think there was any need to do any extreme "hypermiling" stuff. The system automatically does most of those things already (i.e. shutting off the gas engine.)

[Selatius]

90. Well, if you hyper-mile with a hybrid, you should be able to get those ratings.

1400 miles on a single tank of gas in a hybrid probably can't be reached if you drive like the average auto driver.

[Orsino]

15. Are there people not cheering this news?

I love my Prius and my Accord Hybrid, but I bought 'em in part to encourage Detroit in the direction of greater fuel efficiency. The Fusion Hybrid is impressive so far. The Ford fascists are still playing catch-up, but I see no reason for bitterness here.

[Romulox]

18. Er, "Ford fascists"? Jesus Christ. nt

[Fumesucker]

20. Eh, the very first reply to this thread talked of fascists..

Oh, and 80 mpg is pretty good but lets face it, trying to get the average person to drive in such a manner as to get that kind of mileage is well nigh impossible, you have to pay too much attention to your driving and you actually have to think about what you are doing.

The average person will probably get closer to 40 mpg in that car.

[Orsino]

21. Yeah, my bad for not attaching my reply in the right place.

Getting people to drive more gently may not be impossible. I would have once said that Ford making hybrids was an impossibility. It'll probably take another fuel crisis to get people thinking more clearly about how--and how much--they drive.

[Occam Bandage]

27. "Honda/Toyota loving fascists" is fine, though?

[Romulox]

29. Both are idiotic. Which one are YOU defending?

:hi:

[Fumesucker]

31. Well, I'm certainly not defending either..

Both phrases are stupid..

But it's interesting that you skipped the very first reply on this thread to concentrate on a much later one that contained the same phrase, just 180 degrees out of phase.

[Romulox]

34. Pssst. That's because I am neither moderator nor editor of this board.

:eyes:

[Fumesucker]

45. I never thought or implied you were..

But you *did* see fit to comment on one use of the phrase but not the other, much earlier, one.

[Romulox]

53. In other words, I may point out the idiocy of one post w/o having to point out the idiocy

of EVERY post. This does not make me responsible for the content of anyone's posts but my own. :hi:

[Fumesucker]

59. You can do whatever you wish..

But you reveal your bias and agenda with your selective pointing out of idiocy.

And the second poster even made a statement that led me to believe that he only posted the fascist quip because it had already been done a long way upthread.

[Romulox]

68. Likewise, I'm sure.

Your bias is also apparent, non?

[Fumesucker]

79. When you commented on the second "fascist" remark..

I simply observed that it had already been done..

I'm a bit biased when it comes to cars, but not as much as a lot of people here.

Of course my bias comes from painful experience with crappy cars that cost me a great deal of money (and yes it was some time back, I have a long memory for people or organizations that rip me off).

[Romulox]

89. Let. It. Die.

Jesus.

[Fumesucker]

91. Take. Your. Own. Advice..

[Occam Bandage]

33. Neither. My irritation, unlike yours, ain't selective. nt

[Romulox]

35. And yet you didn't castigate the poster to whom I responded. Strange!

:hi:

[Occam Bandage]

37. Nor did I castigate the other "fascist" guy.

I simply castigated someone who scrolled past one declaration of "fascist" directed at foreign-car buyers to complain about a later declaration aimed at domestic-car buyers.

Hypocrisy and idiocy are more irritating than idiocy alone.

[Romulox]

40. Well, there goes your self-described even-handedness.

"Hypocrisy and idiocy are more irritating than idiocy alone."

Seeing as I haven't called anyone a "fascist" on this thread, to whose hypocrisy do you refer? (This should be good!) :shrug:

[Occam Bandage]

46. You're right. I do find compounded idiocy worse than simple idiocy.

Similarly, I find that two cheeseburgers are more filling than one cheeseburger, and that having two mosquito bites is itchier than having only one mosquito bite. I wasn't aware that "even-handedness" required an even response to degree and kind as well as to target.

As for your question? If you can't figure out who I'm referring to, well...

[Romulox]

51. Your post is gibberish, and you are arguing for its own sake. nt

[Occam Bandage]

65. Reading comprehension is hard for some people, I guess. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

22. As a part of a Corvette Club back in the late 70's, we used to do 'economy runs' to see how good of

gas mileage we could get. We would even turn the car off and do a lot of down-shifting to get the most miles we could.

[Taverner]

25. YES! OK, Toyota, we've one upped you. Let's see you do better

And then Ford will try to outdo them...

What this needs is some competitive one-upsmenship

[NickB79]

74. Toyota already outdid Ford when it comes to hypermiling runs

Google "Prius Marathon" and you'll find numerous reports of 100+ mpg records achieved with hypermiling techniques.

[NYC_SKP]

82. I'll do that, but can you tell me quickly any modifications needed to do this.

Or special techniques.

The very best I've gotten is around 80 mpg on a country road at 35 mph.

I don't know how it could be any better in a stock Prius.

Thanks.

[EOTE]

85. The Prius is not a mid-size sedan, however.

And the Fusion Hybrid is far more enjoyable to drive.

[Fumesucker]

87. The Prius is indeed a "mid-size" although not a sedan..

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-01-07-toyota-ford-midsize-hybrid_N.htm

Fusion has 111.6 cubic feet of combined space; Prius, 110.6. Both are over the federal threshold of 110 for midsize and below the 120 mark for full size.

[DS1]

28. Must be one long downhill track

[flvegan]

32. While I congratulate Ford and the drivers on this extraordinary accomplishment

I'd rather be stabbed than be behind a hypermiler of any sort.

[Fumesucker]

77. I hypermile quite a bit..

Since I'm short on cash and driving an older SUV that gets terrible mileage (but I got the truck free).. I also have a 75 mile commute to do twice a week.

You'd be hard pressed to to tell what I was doing because what I have found efficient in my vehicle is not the very slowest acceleration but the most acceleration I can manage in the highest possible gear. As long as I keep the EMS computer closed loop my truck gets the most efficiency while accelerating at the widest throttle setting in the highest gear.

Wide throttle settings at low rpm keep engine pumping losses to a minimum and also keep spark advance to a minimum, both of which contribute to increased efficiency. As long as the computer is still closed loop then the mixture is very close to stoichiometric.

Keeping in the highest gear possible doesn't make for blinding acceleration but wide throttle settings keep the acceleration reasonable anyway.

[MrCoffee]

66. Hypermilers piss me off

Most of those "mileage-maximizing techniques" are extremely hazardous to other drivers.

[Fumesucker]

80. See my post #77..

It's not always possible to tell when someone is hypermiling, not all cars respond the same way to the same techniques, I've found in my SUV that moderate acceleration is more efficient than extremely gentle acceleration for instance.

[hunter]

88. The guy on the bicycle didn't use any gasoline.

My own favorite form of transportation is my feet.

[niyad]

96. my 1986 mustange routinely got 35-40 mpg on the highway, and about 30 in the city.

cruise control was wonderful. one time, driving across AZ, I did my usual every two hour stop for gas, only to find that it only needed about 3 gallons (and I had driven nearly 170 miles) of course, when I stepped out away from shelter, I found out why--a VERY strong tail wind had obviously been pushing the car right along.