20+ MPG

Today I got 339.2 miles on a single tank.  I know... that might not seem like that much for you Hybrid guys, but for me, it was a big improvement.  Over the last month I have been trying to alter my driving habits to yield better fuel economy.  I had listened to this show on NPR about this guy that was able to get 45 MPG out of a standard non-motified Civic, so I figure, if he could get a big improvement, maybe I could also.  I wasn't about to go to his extremes (turning off AC, coasting below the speedlimit, running red lights, turning corners at high speed (if he was at speed).  His key advice was, if your breaking, your wasting gas.

I've done a couple things that have helped.

1. Commute to work 30 minutes later and miss heavy rush hour.  This means less stop and go, and my job allows me this flexibility... whew.
2. Keep speed constant, 64-70 i can keep my car at about 1500-1900 RPM's and the car hums and gets really good gas mileage.  This helps for when I have to hit hills.
3. Keep some distance and look far down the road to see if traffic is slow... if so, coast as much as possible.
4. Don't gun it... as fun as it is in my car, I try to not put my foot into it, even up hills and behind idiots... I just relax and go with the flow.
5. Pretend the gas pedal is an egg, and only push lightly to accelerate.

So moral of story I went from about 17+ MPG to 20.24 MPG... which turns out to be about 45 extra miles on a tank which is 1.5 trips to work. 🙂 

We will see how long it lasts, but even if I don't always behave while driving, I should at least get some improvement on my around the town driving.