Posted Tuesday, October 25/05 in Driving efficiently

Economy driving equals boring, slow and safe, right?

Tell it to the judge!

What follows is a collection of techniques that are guaranteed to increase your efficiency - and may attract the attention of the local constabulary as well.

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Posted Thursday, October 20/05 in Driving efficiently

Two very different games are available online that try to teach users how to drive efficiently. One's primarily a marketing tool for a car company, while the other is strictly educational.

Neither is going to give Grand Theft Auto a run for its money.

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Posted Monday, October 17/05 in Driving efficiently

The Dutch call it "the new driving" - and it's yet more evidence that Europeans take their driving more seriously than us North Americans.

That's right - new driving. Like new math. It's social marketing, meant to encourage a wholesale shift in the way folks behave behind the wheel. (After all, who wants to drive the old way?)

Yet, bizarrely, the Dukes of Hazzard are the spokespeople.

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Posted Tuesday, October 11/05 in General

"Hybrid or not, if you want good fuel economy you have to drive like you want it."

Truer words were never spoken. These came from autoblog.com, in an item about U.S. consumer backlash against manufacturers of hybrid vehicles because of their "unattainable" EPA fuel consumption ratings.

This consumer kerfuffle has led to various responses from manufacturers, and from the EPA itself.

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Posted Tuesday, October 4/05 in Driving efficiently

Reduce fuel consumption, lower emissions, and minimize wear and tear on your car.

That's the message in "The next time you get gas: economy driving", a video I produced in 1993 while working part-time as an instructor for Young Drivers of Canada and studying in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University.

It may be 12 years old, but the message is perhaps even more relevant today than it was when I made it.

It's online now and available for your viewing pleasure.

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Posted Sunday, October 2/05 in Driving efficiently

For those of you who are watching (i.e. me), it would appear I've finally beaten the elusive Canadian hwy fuel economy rating.

My most recent highway trip (249 km) returned 69 mpg (IMP), 4.1 L/100 km, 57.4 mpg (US).

No. Please. Hold the applause. It's not like I just took the checkered flag.

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Posted Monday, September 26/05 in Suzukiclone info

"Transportation pods" - now there's a diplomatic (and apt) description of the Suzukiclones.

Imagine my surprise to read it this weekend on the front of the Toronto Star auto section, under the title, "Five cheap used cars - good on gas," by Mark Toljagic.

The car's pros and cons were briefly outlined, but most interestingly (to me anyway), the issue of durability was addressed.

What was the verdict?

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Posted Monday, September 19/05 in Driving efficiently

Ever wonder how much of a difference specific car mods (or driving techniques) make to fuel efficiency?

So did the engineers at Honda.

For you economy numbers nerds (you know who you are), there's a particularly illuminating paragraph in an overview of the 2005 Accord Hybrid that attributes specific fuel saving values to each of the component technologies that make up Honda's hybrid approach.

Care to guess which gadget/refinement nets which increase in fuel economy?

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Posted Monday, September 19/05 in Driving efficiently

"So what! I drive a 15-year-old Metro!"

Well, unless your Metro is electric, there is one feature in the list of Honda hybrid technologies that applies to you. All Metros came factory-equipped with the "idle-stop" feature: the ignition key.

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Posted Friday, September 16/05 in Mods & Tests

Tools, additions & modifications in the quest for greater efficiency:

• drilled extra large holes in the intake silencer/air box (in the right front fender)
• new distributor cap & rotor
• Bosch Platinum 2 spark plugs
• K&N air filter

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