Hydrocarbon Miser - How Good of a Driver are YOU?

No news from the road this time but here are a few related news items I thought you might enjoy.



Gas too cheap: OPEC approves largest output cut ever
by Jonathon Ramsey on Dec 17th 2008 at 4:30PM


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You didn't really think OPEC was going to pack up its supercar fleet and shut down the holiday mansions while $1.55 gasoline -- and that's in California -- ruled the day, did you? Oh no. OPEC hasn't merely cut production, it gutted production by the never-before-seen amount of 2.2 million barrels per day. As for the market, surprised as it might have been, fazed it wasn't: oil sank to $40.20/barrel immediately after Khelil's announcement. Those are 2004 prices, which means – as far as oil's concerned – we're living Back to the Future.

[Source: MSNBC via Truckblog, photo by XcBiker | CC 2.0]

The short-term issue is that OPEC no longer enjoys the cohesion it had with non-OPEC members like Russia. Russia is the second largest oil producer behind Saudi Arabia, and in spite of the kingdom's hope that Russia would announce significant cuts, the communist power didn't. Russia said it would cut production by 600,000 barrels, but that reduction already happened in November. What does all this mean? It means that without any definitive statements on oil production, no one knows how low the price of a barrel is going to go.

The long-term issue is that investors still believe demand for energy is going to drop due to global economic conditions. Already, OPEC says that "crude volumes entering the market remain well in excess of actual demand," and with everyone proclaiming that things will get worse before they get better, that means a lot of oil sitting around... not making money. Clearly, that's not the future OPEC wants, adding the intriguing warning that "if unchecked, prices could fall to levels which would place in jeopardy the investments required to guarantee adequate energy supplies in the medium to long term." So there.


Source: AutoBlog





German gets Porsche 911 Carrera up to 35.1 mpg
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Dec 17th 2008 at 1:32PM


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Click above for image gallery of Porsche's 35-mpg trip

Proving once again that the way you drive is just as important as what you drive, ex-racer and German TV presenter Klaus Niedzwiedz has managed to average just over 35 miles per gallon (U.S.) in a brand-spanking new Porsche 911 Carrera. The route taken covered 400 miles of urban streets, country roads and a large chunk of Germany's famous autobahn. Niedzwiedz wasn't holding up traffic either, averaging 52 miles per hour for the trip and keeping his engine speeds between 1,800 and 2,000 RPM. So, while the latest 911 with its 345 horsepower, direct-injected flat-six powerplant and seven-speed PDK gearbox is an excellent performance machine, it's also an economy car. Sort of. Fine, it's not an economy car at all, but its EPA fuel mileage rating of 19 city and 27 highway is mighty impressive and proves that modern sportscars, including Chevy's latest Corvette, which is also capable of extremely miserly fuel consumption, are better than their predecessors in every meaningful way.


Source: AutoBlog

Howdy Soupers,

It has been an interesting couple of weeks. I traveled across a slick and snow pass twice in the past couple weeks and felt the effect on my fuel economy. I wish I had stopped into cleanmpg.com to check if they had any winter driving guides. I happened to do that in preparation for this post. Here are the numbers for my trip. I have also included my numbers for pizza delivery this past week too which was on snowy slick roads.

• 1996 Toyota Camry LE
• 21/27 (24)
• Trip 27 MPG/Pizza 22 MPG
• 112.5%/1-4.7%
• Used all the regular techniques but driving in snow creates a lot of rolling resistance. Any additional resistance to running your vehicle reduces your fuel economy.

Here's an article directed at hybrid owners for winter driving. However, many of these principles apply to most cars.


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A Hybrid Owner’s winter survival guide [cleanmpg]

Thing is jeremy, I get no resistance at all when it snows. As I don't drive when it snows...

Never learned because we never have snow. And on the few occasions we do have snow, they just shut down the city and I don't have to drive.

Works out fairly well.

Just seems like it'd be scary, driving in snow.

Getting around 44mpg(Imperial) in my mum's Prius at the moment and I have a heavy foot.


EDIT: Removed double post. Jeremy221



This post has been edited by Jeremy221: Dec 30 2008, 10:12 PM

arrgh, I think you might want to relax a touch. The estimated EPA (US) rating for the Prius is 55 MPG (Imperial). Driving a vehicle like a Prius is great for learning about how you drive. The in car fuel economy screen will tell you your instantaneous fuel economy. This will allow you to vary what you are doing and improve your results.

I wish I had that much information some times but my current set up makes me think more long term, though there are probably many quirks that need worked out in my driving to pull in really good numbers. I hope you're having a lot of fun.

I know but there are so many idiots here you just have to compete don't you?