Drive55.org - Proof

The hybrids that passed me were consuming more fuel.

This Real World Vehicle Report documents a 264 mile round trip from Sacramento to Guerneville, California on August 11, 2006. The rented 2006 Toyota Corolla 4 door equipped with A/C and a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder engine with automatic transmission carries an estimated MPG of 30 in the city and 38 on the highway.

As usual, in town I carefully obeyed all speed limits and when I was on the highway I set the cruise control at 55 MPH and occasionally hit 60 for brief periods. I turned the A/C system off and rolled the windows down about halfway instead. Though it was a warm day I was not unduly uncomfortable - especially when I thought about the citizens of Bagdad living with just 4 hours a day of electricity, and how uncomfortable that must be. Soon I was in the Bay Area and it was a cool 70 degrees anyway! So, by not using the A/C I saved another 20% of fuel.

The car was very comfortable and had lots of room. I took the wheels off my bike and the whole thing fit nicely in the trunk with room to spare. When I refueled it took 6.56 gallons and the odometer indicated I had driven 264 miles, which works out to 40.24 miles per gallon, or 40 MPG in this $12k-$15k car available to buy right now.

The hybrids that passed me were consuming more fuel.

2006 Toyota Solara, 331 miles, 32 MPG @ 60 MPH

Wednesday, 28 December 2005

V6 Cyl, 5 Spd Auto Trans, EPA 29/20

This RWVER (Real World Vehicle Efficiency Report) journey started in Sacramento, CA where I got on I-80 and drove east to the Hwy 12 exit towards Napa through the rolling hills of wine country through Sonoma and Santa Rosa to the Sebastopol, CA, area where I stayed overnight. The next day we drove to the coast, then went south on HWY 1 to Bodega Bay, where we again turned east to Hwy 101, south to Hwy 37, which took us across the Bay and connects with I-80 at Vallejo, which we took back to Sacramento.

Sunday, 13 November 2005

4 Cyl, 4 Spd Auto Trans, EPA 22/28

This RWVER (Real World Vehicle Efficiency Report) journey started in Sacramento, CA where I got on I-5 and drove first to Willows and then took back roads to Red Bluff, CA, where I stayed overnight, and then over the mountain range through the Mendocino forest on forest roads M1 & M21 to Hwy 101. In Ukiah I stayed a night and the next day drove to Lake Sedona, Guerneville and Cazadero before heading back to Sacramento.

2005 Toyota Highlander 32 MPG @ 55 MPH

Saturday, 05 November 2005

V6, Auto - EPA 19/25 MPG (Hybrid 33/28/30)

This journey was from Sacramento to the Community center in Sebastopol, CA. I rented the vehicle from Hertz and reset the trip meter when I topped off the tank before leaving Sacramento at 10 AM, arriving at the first stop at 11:50 AM.

Cruise control set on 55 MPH: (32 MPG)
Sacramento to Sebastopol exit off Hwy 101, 100 miles, 2 hours, 3.11 gallons = 32.15 MPG

Cruise control set on 60 MPH: (25 MPG)
Sebastopol exit to Sebastopol Community Center and then return to Sacramento: 119 miles, 2 hours 4.80 gallons = 24.79 MPG

Download a RWVER (Real World Vehicle Efficiency Report) form you can use to calculate and report your savings.

180 miles on 4 gallons of gas, 45 MPG

Wednesday, 02 November 2005

Noting the bias of a recent article seeking to prove or disprove the potential savings that result from obeying the speed limit and never exceeding 55 MPH, I decided to do a test myself on a recent trip from Sacramento to Oakland, California, a 180 mile round trip. I rented a 2005 Kia Rio from Hertz and topped off the tank just before I left at 11 AM on Tuesday, November 1st, 2005.

The Kia is a compact 4 door with a 4 speed auto transmission. It is equipped with a/c but I did not need it. The car did not have cruise control, so I manually kept the speed between 55 and 60 MPH, I accidently hit 65 a couple of times. I used the on board trip meter which indicated I had driven 180 miles when I pulled in for gas upon my return to Sacramento.

I arrived in downtown Oakland at 12:40 PM, one hour and forty minutes! I did some shopping and visited a client. By 3 PM I was back on the freeway headed toward Sacramento. This time traffic was thicker and an accident closed several lanes so it took 3 hours to get home.

A little after 6 PM I pulled in to a local station and filled the tank - it took exactly 4 gallons. This means that I got 45 MPG in this $10,000 4 door car, (rated by EPA at 32 MPG hwy) and clearly didn't lose a significant amount of time on the first leg of my trip.

It is important to note the return trip took an extra hour and a half because some lead-foot speeder had overturned his SUV on the freeway, shutting down several lanes for hours as rescue workers labored to free the fool and clean up the mess.

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