Nanci
Alien Lover
Are you guys aware of this? A coworker comes up to me the other day and asks if I have read anything about hypermiling. "Oh, you mean when people fill up their tires with oil and draft behind semis?" Not exactly. So I read this website. http://www.hypermiling.com/ Seems like I can adopt some of those habits easily, maybe improve my mileage. I've noticed it REALLY makes people angry when you coast up to a red light! I'm getting better at coasting to a corner, sometimes even hitting it exactly right so I don't have to brake! Jackrabbit starts are a little problem of mine, but I'm getting better. Having learned to drive in an icy environment, I'm already not much of a tailgater. And I'm sure my father is rolling in his grave: he was always the enforcer of complete stops at a stop sign- the kind where your car rocks back with the force of coming to a dead stop. He'd watch me leave out the window, and if I didn't make a full stop at the stop sign on our corner, I'd hear about it. 35 years of driving later, I still hear his voice every single time I stop at a stop sign. But now, I don't quite make a complete stop, unless I spot law enforcement near by. I'll even roll right through 'em if I can see for a long distance, out in the country. Not DRIVE through, but just apply a token amount of braking. I fell like a sloppy driver, but I'm improving my mileage. I love the game of coasting up to a red light, applying just enough brake to not stop, so I can just keep going when traffic moves when the light changes. So, I know you can save a lot of money by driving the speed limit, or under, but I just can't do it. I typically set my cruise control about eight miles over. People driving the speed limit infuriate me- I'm not sure why. I know, in the long run, I only arrive minutes before they do. But I _like driving fast! So maybe hypermiling will offset that a little. http://tinyurl.com/y8xeuf That's a cool article about the King of Hypermilers. Anyway- food for thought!
Nor do I speed. People that do and tailgate do NOT enjoy my responses. People that drive excessively fast have no right to complain about fuel costs - neither do people that have jacked up large trucks that they have NEVER taken off of the road or used to haul anything! Ditto on the people with giant SUV's that have one kid and buy 2 bags of groceries at a time. Face it - Americans are rather glutinous, and we confuse needs with wants. We WANT to drive to the other side of the country for a vacation (that is not a need), but we think SUFFERING is having to give up that vacation because of fuel prices. Bull puckey - that's inconvenient - NOT suffering. "Suffering" isn't having to eat out a little less, taking a few less trips into town, seeing a few less movies, buying a few less snakes, living in a slightly smaller house, shopping at Wal-Mart instead of Sears, or even having to eat store brand instead of name brand foods. NONE OF THAT IS SUFFERING......except to most Americans. Heck, any of us posting here from a home/personal internet account not necessary for work can't be actually suffering TOO much, can we? 
