pzarquon
March 6th, 2007, 07:58 AM
A fascinating story in the latest Mother Jones about "hypermilers," people who are obsessed with and compete to get the absolute maximum mileage out of their cars (http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/king_of_the_hypermilers.html). Author Dennis Gaffney rides with Wayne Gerdes, the superstar of hypermilers, as he demonstrates some techniques (including drafting 18-wheelers and taking turns at 50 m.p.h.) and competes in Hybridfest's MPG Challenge in Madison, WI:Ahead, the light is red. "This is a long light," he says. "I'm screwed. We have to throw it away." "Throw it away" is the phrase Wayne uses to describe what most of us do with gasoline. We throw gas away when we accelerate fast, when we turn on the air conditioning, when we leave heavy stuff in the trunk, when we drive with a roof rack, when we don't change the oil, when we underinflate our tires, when we roll down the windows, when we speed, when we brake, or when we idle. Wayne might seem a radical at times, but he's really a conservative: He doesn't want to throw anything away.