These are tips? I was expecting actions I can take. Most folks reading this are already thinking about it quite a bit and trying to cut down as much as possible. Please give us the top three things we can do in addition to planning our routes, sharing rides, not using A/C around town, steering clear of drive through windows, and slowing down on the highway. Anyone with any sense already does these things.

Please try the links given in the article. Most practices are standard Road Rally techniques. Knowledge can be learned, skills can be practiced, behavior must change.

I agree with Lee Ann. I thought the article was going to offer practial tips for interested readers. I have a manual transmission 2002 Insight. Planning your route even on small trips is really important. Every time your car has to shift up from a complete stop at a traffic light or stop sign, you use fuel. That's what they mean about breaking all the laws. No one can get that kind of milage unless they are coasting in neutral, building up momentum on hillsides, not stopping, and slipstreaming when it is beneficial. I also agree with Wayne's recommendation to put a fuel consumption display in every car. Driving the Insight and watching the FCD is like playing a video game. You are constantly trying to keep the indicator above the 50 mpg mark. I still think that TerraPass could have included some practical tips and details beyond the obvious that Lee Ann mentioned on how everyone can reduce their consumption while using their car. Thanks for the blog. Keep up the good work of informing.

uh, i already do these things, i wonder why my gas mileage improved only slightly. i have used these techniques all my life. this is nobrainer advise. the hypermiling web site is selling tabloid devices, spend $50 and double your mileage? tested by a certified mechanic? someone explain how a honda can get 100+ mpg, start at the top of a mountain?

I appreciated Terrapass's efforts to bust the water as fuel myth in a recent issue. I would also appreciate if they would do the same for other impractical solutions, such as ways for their readers to waste money on extra gauges and ways to double their mileage. Also when you click on hypermiling.com, you find ads for the same water powered car scams that Terrapass already busted. Some consistency would be appreciated.

My Honda Civic Hybrid and I get 56 to 59 MPG routinely. I take off slowly and coast to yellow and red lights from as far out as possible. I don't usa my A/C unless I really need to and between 45 and 55 MPH is the sweet zone. Everyone could get more than a 10% boost doing these. Dave C

If you go to http://www.eevc.info/ and download the results of the competition, it gives the exact course they took.

Also, for those of you who want actual tips, go to http://hypermiling.com (it's in the article). It gives you step-by-step instructions.

Also, it should be pointed that by changing your driving behaviour, you can get real results.

Check out this article on msnbc

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18923454/

Hypermilers annoy me. All but the most obvious of hypermiling techniques are a waste of time at best and dangerous at worst. Driving slower "saves" you about 3 gallons of gas per extra hour spent on the road. I suppose if you are a minimum wage worker driving by yourself, this is a good deal, but for the vast majority of us, it is not, nor is it even close.

When a hypermiler blocks the path of normal steady traffic, not only do they enforce this poor time/dollar trade on everyone around them, but they create all sorts of dangerous situations as everyone takes aggressive actions to get around the hypermiler. It is a bad deal all around.

Please drive within the pace of normal traffic.

For what it's worth, the more extreme hypermilers are INCREDIBLY dangerous. Some of them turn their engine off and coast down hills, etc. This can create an exceedingly dangerous situation in the event of an emergency (i.e. with the engine off, no power steering/brakes), not to mention it's illegal to have the engine off while traveling on an interstate. I hope people who hypermile will do it responsibly (I plan to do some research into it myself).

Totally agree with what Carl says. The tips for hypermiling are both dangerous and counter-intuitive in some cases, sacrificing tire, suspension, and engine life for more gas mileage. I doubt extensive work has been done to gauge the total impact on a vehicle for these practices versus how much gas you save.

The whole driving slower argument is a red herring. It has nothing to do with MPH and everything to do with RPM. If my car does 75 at 2500RPM and your car does 55 at 2500RPM, assuming the engines are relative the same displacement and aero-dynamics the gas mileage isn't going to be that different.

Also, over-inflating your tires is totally bad news, it makes your car handle horribly and makes your tires wear horribly.

great info I'm going to try out some of these things

While I agree that hypermiling can be taken to an extreme (as with most anything), I feel we should be fair and point out that driving slowly and accelerating slowly is, by itself, much safer than driving at breakneck speeds, which most of the civilized world seems to do.

My guess is that a large percentage of accidents occur because of reckless driving and driving too fast.

Also, it doesn't take a hypermiler to create the "dangerous situation" where drivers are passing other drivers. This happens all the time. Even when I'm driving the posted speed limit, cars rush pass me. Even drivers that are driving at what may be called a reasonable speed, say 5 mph over the speed limit, are constantly being passed by aggressive drivers, many of whom will drive as fast as possible. So this will happen no matter how fast I drive . . . unless I drive fast as absolutely humanly possible to avoid being passed by others.

If I just let other people dictate to me how fast I should drive, I feel I'm a defeatist. Nothing in society changes with that kind of attitude. Change often results from individuals who take a stand against the accepted norm.

My point is that if everybody drove slower and less aggressively, the world would be a better place. Less CO2 in the atmosphere, less accidents, and less consumption of fuel. So I feel I most live this vision because I want to see it come true.

If more people do it, more people will question their own behavior and some people will change, and some admittedly, will not. But by just giving in to the status quo, nothing will change.

"If I just let other people dictate to me how fast I should drive, I feel I'm a defeatist. Nothing in society changes with that kind of attitude. Change often results from individuals who take a stand against the accepted norm." -Brad

Right on! I focus on safe driving and stay within the posted speed limit. I am always being passed and cars fly up on me out of nowhere. It is very stressful. I shouldn't have to speed because someone else wants to. We live in a "me" centered world and folks have to realize that the world does not revolve around them. It's time to grow up and take responsibility in all aspects of your life.

I have started coasting more, not droping more than about 3mph below the posted limit, and have already noticed a difference in my milage. I am also letting my truck roll itself forward from a stop before applying the gas. Nothing extreem, simple easy changes that have not affected anyone else on the road, just improved the enviroment a little and boosted my gas milage.

"Also, over-inflating your tires is totally bad news, it makes your car handle horribly and makes your tires wear horribly." -Sam

Also want to note that if your tires are under-inflated, it will increase your chances of having a blow-out.

Best bet is to make sure your tires at inflated to the proper pressure.