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180 miles on 4 gallons of gas, 45 MPG |
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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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Speaking at a climate change conference in Miami, California Governor Arnold Scwarzenegger said drivers can do a lot to cut fuel costs by driving slower.
"Who can cut (costs) down is you, you, you and you," Schwarzenegger
said. "You can cut it down. Take your car, for instance. Go and get the
perfect tire pressure. Tune up your engine. Drive slower." He went on to say "energy prices are not going to go back to the good
old days" and it is "bogus" for politicians to promise otherwise."
"Politicians have been throwing around all kinds
of ideas in response to the skyrocketing energy prices, from the
rethinking of nuclear power to pushing biofuels and more renewables and
ending the ban on offshore drilling," Schwarzenegger said. "But anyone
who tells you this would bring down gas prices any time soon is blowing
smoke. I think that people should really be in charge of their
own destiny and how much they want to pay for fuel, not wait for the
politicians," he said.
The Drive 55 Conservation Project is delighted with the Governor's message and hand delivered a Thank You letter with Drive 55 bumper stickers to his office in Sacramento today. Leadership in the legislature also got a letter and some Drive 55 bumper stickers hand delivered to their offices in the Capital, inviting them to 'Lead by example'.
Quote sources:
Sacramento BEE
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/1042081.html
LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/
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