Cars Don't Waste Fuel. Drivers Waste Fuel

Pavlov's car?

How about a nice electric shock when you turn on the vehicle? That will keep you from starting it up....saving hundreds of gallons of fuel.

References to biting, trained dogs aside, this is a very good point made. Granted it is not earth shattering news and a 1.2 million dollar study to find this out? perhaps somebody should demand a refund.

I think a real time display of the current gas mileage would make a huge difference. I remember when I used to drive an '06 Laramie Dakota, with all the bells and whistles. I used to set the overhead display to show real time fuel economy. I almost croaked when I accelerated from a stop light and my MPG dropped into the single digits

I didn't perceive that I was accelerating particularly hard, either. After awhile it became a sort of a game to see how high I could keep the numbers when I was accelerating and how high I could get them when I coasted to a stop. The only issue I had with this system was, that I had to take my eyes off the road to see the fuel economy gauge. Not very safe.

Perhaps, if they could implement some sort of heads up display, with the economy data on the windshield, it would work well.

My 10 year old Skoda has this feature...as do most of the cars on European roads. I can select instantaneous FC, average FC for the journey or average FC over the last random (chosen by the car's ECU) number of miles covered.

It will also tell me approximate miles remaining in the tank. You wouldn't believe how far I can go on 0 miles....and I once got 47 litres in the 42 litre tank....driving on fumes anyone?

It's neat to have such information....but how does that help when the information is obviously inaccurate? (i.e. 47 liters into a 42 liter tank or still being able to drive when the calculation says you can only go 0 miles).

It's useful if you allow for the inherent inaccuracies and assumptions. So when it says I have 50 miles left and a 60 mile journey ahead...I know to drive more economically until I find a fuel station. The calculation is based on past performance, which like the stock market, is no always an indication for future performance!

And if you're watching go from 10 to 5 to 0 (mine only goes in steps of 5 miles) t6hen you get a feel for how much is left. It gives a finer level of info than the fuel gauge at that point.

I have to say, I do usually fill up well before that stage...

I see.

I tend to follow the Boy Scout motto of 'Be Prepared' so such information would be of little utility to me.

Too bad that the researchers didn't figure out that the piston engine that has been around for over a century was the real problem. The engine is the fuel waster. Tesla's engine design was nearly ninety per cent efficient, not the thirty per cent, that the most efficient automobile on the road today is rated at. And that is if you factor in the hybrid electrical system.

This is not new, way back in the 1970s a group of vehicle engineers in Germany tried this, the problem being that most people when taught how to do this, after a time they revert to their old ways of driving!

Everyone knows that driving habits results in poor gas milage, but no one cares. Some people like speed and will never change their style of driving, no matter what. It's like the smokers that refuse to stop despite health warnings. You can see people driving 55 on a 70mph freeway and they are almost driven off the road by other drivers. The rule is "go with the flow" or "move or get out of the way". People have the perception that the way they drive is a personal thing and no body else's business. The only way you will ever get good milage is to mandate computer control of the car, like acceleration. No one would welcome such a plan. Man, I wish I could have gotten in on that study; I could sure use the money.