Going slow for better mileage
No hybrid, no problem; former speed demon sticks to 35
Our collective wisdom says that when Dave Nuttall pulls into a gas station he is certain to be totally annoyed at paying around $4 a gallon for regular unleaded.
But you’d be wrong. A Wilmington native, Nuttall has tinkered with his driving over the past nine months and says he boosted his miles per gallon by more than 25 percent.
So the tall 54-year-old is cool and relaxed when he emerges from his 1994 dark blue Toyota Tercel at the pump.
A black-and-white banner on his car’s back window encourages others to achieve like him: “Why just suffer when you can save $$?”
The homemade message proclaims his “nonhybrid” gets 50 miles per gallon.
“Anything I can do to put a finger in the eye of the oil companies that are raking in record profits off my meager wages is a happy day for me,” he says.
A happy day. A rare phrase in association with driving and buying gas.
AAA Mid-Atlantic reported gas averaged $4 a gallon in the Wilmington-Newark area on Sunday. That was up almost a dollar a gallon from a year ago. If Nuttall was following the trends reported last month by the Access America Travel Frustration Index, his “aggregated hassle-factor” would be up. But his hassle-factor is down.
It’s because by talking with friends and doing research on fuel efficiency, he’s taken control of his driving, practicing something he calls “hypermiling.”
“When you slow down, your car works efficiently and you save money,” he says. “It’s almost that simple.”
Though some scoff at how much he’s eased off the accelerator, he’s pleased that he rarely goes faster than 45 mph. He prefers 35 mph and does his best to stay off interstates.
Inspired to save
Hypermiling is a clunky phrase that suggests someone is “hyper” over “miling,” whatever that means. Wayne Gerdes of Wadsworth, Ill., claims to have coined the term.
He is a former 75-mph speed demon who devoted himself to driving smarter after 9/11, when he felt America should end its reliance on Mideast oil. In his view, if every American halved their consumption at the pump, it would be an economic boon and improve the nation’s standing in the world.
So he experimented, entered contests to wring the most miles from a gallon and started a Web site espousing his ideas (www.cleanmpg.com). In recent months, he’s drawn others to his cause, such as Marty Hogan, chief engineer for compact crossovers and hybrids at General Motors in Detroit.
Hogan endorses many of Gerdes’ ideas, such as driving conservatively, using cruise control and removing junk from the trunk.
Still others eschew the word hypermiling and call their efforts to pump up their efficiency “green driving,” “smooth driving,” “gentle driving” or “conscious driving to save a buck.”
Whatever it’s called, the idea of people slowing down to get better mileage is gaining followers, as drivers also pay attention to acceleration, coasting more, making sure the air filter is clean and keeping tabs on tire pressure (keep them at the maximum recommended by the manufacturer, drivers say).
Practically, all this means that in addition to the cell phone users and rampant speeders on the roads, there’s a new class of drivers: those taking their sweet time to get where they’re going. Delawareans practicing this approach say it’s good for their outlook, keeps them alert and rewards them with savings.
‘Braking is wasted gas’
“I used to drive a little faster and feel more stressed out,” says Erica R. Koran, 26, of Felton. “I’ve noticed since I’ve let people pass me, I’m not getting tense in the back of my neck.”
She has a 65-mile morning commute to the Wilmington law firm where she works.
The EPA average for her 2007 Honda Civic is 25 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway. Overall, she’s pushed her average to 43.8 mpg and she’s delighted at how easy it’s been.
To achieve this boost in efficiency with her automatic transmission, she has:
•Left home earlier in the morning to avoid traffic and limit stopping.
•Set her cruise control for 62-67 mph on Del. 1 so her speed doesn’t creep up.
•Put her car in neutral at stoplights.
•Paid close attention to lights by coasting more and braking less.
“Braking is wasted gas, not to mention the gas you need to speed up again,” she says.
Hypermilers can be intensely focused or easygoing. Larry Denburg of Pike Creek says he’s on the easygoing side.
A 55-year-old magician who often drives great distances between weekend gigs, Denburg is a former go-fast driver who has dialed back the speedometer. He’s also added smooth changes in acceleration and deceleration.
“I’m mostly trying to accelerate more gently and it’s giving me results that are almost hard to believe,” he says.
The stats for his 2006 Toyota Matrix in May crept up from 32.1 mpg to 44.9 mpg.
“Because the results are so good, the reinforcement is there to keep this up,” he says. “And I am undoubtedly a safer, more aware driver.”
Garrett Robinson, 79, of Millcreek has been helped in his efforts to better his mileage by driving a Honda Insight, a two-seater hybrid introduced in 1999 and now out of production.
The EPA says the Insight should get 70 mpg in highway driving. But Robinson has pushed his miles per gallon to 87 on trips.
“The single best thing is not being in a hurry and driving moderately,” he says. “If you’re always pushing five miles over the speed limit you’re burning too much fuel.”
He says it’s also fun to play with his approach to traffic lights so that he uses the least possible gas in stops and starts.
Safety first
But there are caveats. The American Trucking Association is urging drivers to avoid drafting, the practice of tailgating heavy trucks to increase fuel economy. Drafting involves driving a car close to a truck, using the reduction in wind resistance to get better mileage. But it can lead to accidents.
“Few driving behaviors are more dangerous on our highways than drafting,” said ATA President Bill Graves.
And it’s not always bliss on highways for hypermilers. On occasion, other drivers are impatient.
Nuttall has had several drivers run up on him and flash their lights, though no one has blown their horn or expressed themselves with their fingers.
“I have learned the grace of pulling over,” Nuttall says. “I even wave as they go by.”
Letting himself be passed took getting used to. In his view, that’s because most of us are conditioned to feeling we’ve lost something if we let people speed by.
“Now, if drivers pass me, I tell myself I’m just not in a hurry and I’ll see the rewards at the pump,” he says.
This story contains information from the Associated Press. Contact Gary Soulsman at 324-2893 or gsoulsman@delawareonline.com.
