When drivers set out to hypermile, there is a spectrum of techniques that they can use. These range from the good - don't blast away from a red light and don't speed up then slam on the brakes at the next red - to the risky. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. may be able to use hypermiling tricks like shutting down the engine at high speeds to win a race, but that doesn't mean you should try it during your commute.

The AAA thinks we need a reminder to not risk our lives - or endanger others - in order to save a little bit of gasoline. Drafting, coasting and "rolling through stop signs and driving at erratic and unsafe speeds" are specifically mentioned in the group's official statement on dangerous hypermiling (read it after the jump).

Who's performing these techniques? It's hard to say, but we can assume that the AAA knows a thing or two that we don't. After all, they're out there rescuing the increasing number of people who are running out of gas these days.

[Source: AAA]

Here in the U.S., hypermiling has largely been the province of hybrid drivers. That doesn't mean that only hybrid drivers can take advantage of those driving strategies. When last we heard from Helen and John Taylor, the British couple had just completed a run from Britain to Poland in a pair of diesel-powered Jeeps at 55-56mpg. After that jaunt they headed to Australia for another hypermiling adventure. This time around they used a Peugeot 308 HDi 110. The pair drove the C-class sized hatchback 9,000 miles around the coast of Australia over 25 days. On one stretch, they traveled 1,192 mile on a single 60L tank of diesel and they averaged 75.6mpg (U.S.) over the whole journey. That was enough to gain two slots in the Guinness book of World records for longest distance on a single tank and highest mileage for a journey. The 308 was completely stock with nothing added or removed and also carried the couple's luggage for the 25 day trip.

[Source: Peugeot UK]

Since the advent of the hybrid at the turn of this century, an increasingly large group of hardcore fanatics have taken up hypermiling. For the uninitiated, hypermiling is the practice of using modified driving techniques to get the maximum possible fuel efficiency. There are hypermilers who claim to get over 100mpg from their Priuses and Insights. The problem is that techniques like pulse and glide involve significant fluctuations in speed. By accelerating quickly and then coasting for long periods using regenerative braking to recharge the battery as much as possible and then repeating ad nauseum, they minimize the load on the engine. This is fine when a vehicle is driving in little or no traffic. Unfortunately, when there are other cars around, an extreme hypermiler can pose a real impediment. Differences in speed are often a source of accidents and people who aren't driving hybrids won't want to be stuck behind someone coasting along. There is nothing wrong with trying to maximize fuel efficiency and everyone should be trying to drive efficiently. However, even hypermilers need to be cognizant of other drivers around them and avoid being obstructive.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Last week Ray Holan wrote a feature article for AutoblogGreen about hypermiling. In it, he mentioned the Shell Eco-Marathon in Europe (where teams design cars for maximum fuel efficiency and a 2003 team got the equivalent of 10,705 mpg). There is also a Shell Eco-Marathon in the UK. Well, this extreme sport is not just for Europe any more, because the event is coming back to the United States next year as the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, as AutoblogGreen reader Tristan Roy shared with us.

We did pass over the announcement from Shell a month ago about the return of the Eco-Marathon to these shores (it was started here about 70 years ago) and we're happy to mention it now. We'll see what other news comes out on the Americas event as we get closer to the April 12-15, 2007 event at the California Speedway in Fontana, California.

[Source: Shell / Tristan Roy]

I've observed with mild amusement the recent spate of stories in the mainstream media about fuel saving. Maybe you have too.

You know the kind of articles. "Ten Ways to Survive High Gas Prices". "8 Things You Must Do to Save at the Pump". Even the venerable old Federal Trade Commission has a published list. Gasoline price spikes bring these out like a spring rain conjures up the worms. Once the price surge recedes (or the public gets used to the new price level) the media attention to fuel-saving goes underground again - just like the earthworms.

Yes, our collective memory is short. The wheels seem to turn something like this in the American brain. "Geez, $2.98 a gallon! Next time I buy a new vehicle I'd better downsize to something with better fuel mileage. I'm gonna go broke filling up this barge." Two weeks later, gas drops to $2.80 a gallon. "Wow, only $2.80 a gallon, now that's more like it". Collectively, we blithely ignore both past history (remember $1.25 a gallon gas?) and future trends (how high can it go?). But don't take my word for it. Check out the Oct. 19 AutoblogGreen post The Forgetfulness is Real.

Talk about forgetting. These fuel-saving tip lists are largely forgettable and that's regrettable. Most of them haven't changed much since the '50s. That's all the way back to President Eisenhower, father of the interstate highway system, for you history buffs. Same old hoary axioms: slow down, check tire pressure. You know the dreary drill. That's the problem. Dullsville. Let's face it. Quoting your fuel economy numbers is not a slam dunk pickup line at Club Med. Ripping off low ETs at the local dragstrip has a whole lot more "red-blooded-American-boy" appeal.

OK, so we forget about fuel economy and pursuing it doesn't get our juices flowing. The question I'm left with is this: Can efficiency get hip, slick and cool?