How do I know this? Look at this site. This guy has modified his car. Sure, I can’t do any of that. If I tried the whole thing would fall apart out of spite. But he did. And his mpg went to 95! 95 mpg at 65 mph For most of us that would mean that gas would not cost $3 per 25 miles, but $3 for 95 miles or under a dollar for 25 miles.
Some of his changes could easily be made by the auto industry.
Mirrors on the inside? Why not?
More efficient use of the electrical system? Piece of cake.
Aerodynamic shaping around the tires, front and back. I think it should be possible.
My guess is that reducing turbulence around the tires and using LED headlights would get the auto industry to the new CAFE standards.
I salute basjoos who has the aerocivic. But I am not saying we should all mod our cars. As I wrote above, if I tried the whole car would fall apart. But basjoos, you should be an inspiration to the automotive engineers out there in Detroit, Japan and everywhere else they get in their little boxy windbreakers.
Written by free electron Share This
4 responses so far ↓
1 everyone // Dec 28, 2007 at 2:54 pm
because it is probably not safe or legal. that’s why.
2 friction is a drag // Dec 28, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Getting to 95 is harder than you think.
What you are noticing is the obvious stuff, like the aerodynamic shaping. Things that will earn you a few percent here and there. Give it to an H2 hummer and that’ll mean the difference between 9.6 mpg and 10 mpg.
A *great deal* of his savings comes from coasting and extremely selective use of the brakes. He drives the same route all the time, and he knows when to accelerate and how to time his velocity to avoid most of the “unnecessary” braking.
The biggest hits to his mileage come from stoplights, stop signs, and people cutting him off.
These aren’t exactly the kinds of things that the auto industry can control.
3 Flashlight // Dec 30, 2007 at 6:23 am
CAFÉ standards are hard on the auto industry because they are already heading for bankruptcy. They have to maintain the high standard of living for the top executives. High CAFÉ standard require advanced auto engineering and design which translates into higher production costs. This also means that these 6000 lbs SUV tanks have to go the way of the Dodo. While the Japanese and European auto makers have been building economy cars for their markets we have been trying to see who can build the biggest vehicle. The retooling costs to move from current large heavy non fuel efficient vehicles has to really cut into the bottom line. The management mentality in this country only sees as far as the next bonus.
4 Wise Golden // Jan 21, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I enjoy your Blog. 95 MPG is very, very difficult. In fact, it’s not currently possible. The good news is that the Government is only calling for 35 MPG which is very easily possible. In the year 2010, GM will introduce the Plug Hybrid Saturn Vue which will be the first car to allow for 10 miles of driving on charge alone, and then will convert instantly to a high-efficiency hybrid getting about 40 MPG. For many Americans, 10 “free” miles will be all that they need and they will rarely ever use fuel while driving a vehicle of this sort. Others will need to wait for the Volt family of cars which will finally make 95 MPG possible to people who drive 50-100 miles per day. The Volt will go 40 miles on electric only. Toyota is rumored to be planning a plug hybrid version of the Prius as well, but has not yet confirmed.
Ford recently unveiled a new type of engine combustion that improves mileage by 20% while maintaining power – that’s huge! Imagine paring that to a hybrid, or better yet, a plug hybrid.
I would like to also add that personal driving style contributes dramatically to Mileage.
Leave a Comment