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]

Coming at you from Hybrid Fest 2007, here's an interview with Ryan Fulcher about his plug-in Prius. Interestingly, Ryan does not consider himself a hypermiler - he doesn't like to worry about his driving habits, and just drives safely. While that may make those of you in the forest green spectrum scoff, the fact that Ryan is a paler shade of green really only makes his Prius' mpg figure more impressive.

He uses a battery charger from Manzanita Micro to not only charge the batteries when plugged in at home, but to have the additional lead-acid batteries charge the stock battery, extending the range of the Prius' electric motor. A simple solution, but unfortunately a costly one. A conversion kit can cost $10-12,000, which would take years to return in fuel savings. However, the point is not to make a business out of this kit. Admirably, it's to show the major automakers that plug-in hybrids are easy to build and that there is a market for them. One would hope they already realize that, but as Ryan says, this "proof of concept" should be pretty good evidence in favor of production.

Are you somebody who is always tinkering with your car to get the best mileage possible? If so, you may just be a hypermiler, and should share you finding with the rest of us. In fact, why not share your tip with Popular Science, Instructables and Treehugger in their newest contest. Of course, we are most interested in how you green your car here at AutoblogGreen, but any green projects count for this contest. To see the official rules and all of that jazz, click here.

If you happen to have a cool project that you want to share with our readers, of course you are welcome to do that too. Like, say... electrifying a VW Vanagon?

[Source: Popular Science]

As mentioned by Insight owner and hypermiler Randall Burkhalter in the first Hybrid Fest video posted, the MIMA system is an electronic retrofit which allows the driver to manually control the Integrated Motor Assist in the Honda Insight. At Hybrid Fest 2007, I got to meet and interview Mike Dabrowski, who invented the system and is building and selling them to Insight owners.

The simplicity and the results of the system are remarkable, however, Mike is running out of the control boards that make it possible. He's working for cheap because he really wants to do the green thing (check out his personal Insight) and do what he can for the environment, but if people aren't going to order them any longer, her can't invest the money into having more boards made. So if you own an Insight and want to maximize its efficiency, call up this self-proclaimed "mad scientist" now, and thank me later.

Randall Burkhalter is the proud owner of a Honda Insight - the first exclusive hybrid model to the United States. It is not an ordinary Insight, however. Randall has fitted it with the MIMA system - a favorite tool of the hypermiler. It basically slaps an M in front of the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) Honda hybrid system, standing for 'Manual.' This gives the driver total manual control over how much motor assist or regeneration you are using at any given time with the use of a joystick. There is a small joystick in the cupholder in the center console, some control buttons on the stick shift, an LED display in the rear viewed through the rearview mirror, and the rest is all you. The system is actually quite reasonable at about $600 and consists of a few wiring harnesses that work around the factory system, a couple custom control boards, and that's basically it. The result, with practice and a change in "driver attitude" as Randall calls it, is an average of around 95 mpg. Remember, no mechanical modifications are being made, just some electronic add-ons.

Randall commutes 80 miles round trip each day, and goes to the gas station once a month. I'll just let that sink in for a second.... So that one-time $600 investment, for you lucky Insight owners, you can make back in savings probably in about six months. If your feet tend to go towards the "hot-rod performance" (which would likely mean you don't own an Insight anyway), make sure you adjust that driver attitude first - and quit complaining about not getting those EPA estimates - take a page from the books of these hypermilers.

More videos on the way. Keep watching ABG!

From the onset of the MPG Challenge on Friday to the conversion of Wisconsin Power's stock Toyota Prius to a plug-in hybrid on Sunday, HybridFest 2007 was the most rockin' party for treehuggers, hypermilers and other greenfolk this side of the Atlantic. If you feel bad that you didn't make it, you should. But to take the edge off, I'm here to tell you about it – as long as you promise to make it next year.

First of all, keep your eyes peeled here at AutoblogGreen, because we'll have interviews from happy hybrid owners, hypermilers (including those that competed in the MPG Challenge), and other attendees of various shades of green. You'll also find out how to get much better fuel economy that the EPA estimates, as long as you're okay with being tailgated. We'll also have a video of my sample attempt of the MPG Challenge in a Toyota Highlander Hybrid – it wasn't pretty.

Last year, HybridFest visitors endured the heat outside, but this year the event was in the air-conditioned comfort of the Exhibition Hall of the Dane County Fairgrounds, and was reportedly bigger and better than last year. Count on that being the theme of next year's Fest as well. Attendees were able to view exhibits from major automakers and their green offerings, alternative fuel promoters, green product manufacturers, and even a vintage Aston Martin V8 Vantage running on E85 (see gallery). I don't agree with the fuzzy seat covers, but to each their own. I'll see you there again next year!

On the road again... Hybrid Fest 2007 is happening this weekend, folks, so buckle up, plug your PDA into your Prius, and maximize every ounce of oil in your tank to get to Madison, Wisconsin for two days of jolly green joy. Bloggers, hypermilers, hybrid owners and everyone else is invited to the largest hybrid event in the country for mingling, test driving, and a little learning on the side.

On the agenda in the presentation department are author Sherry Boschert talking about plug-in hybrids and how they'll change America, Jonathon Foley from SAGE giving us "News from a Warming Planet", and Wisconsin State Representative Joe Parisi on the Wisconsin hybrid car tax bill, among other things. There will be interactive displays from Toyota (naturally) and other manufacturers, as well as exhibits on alternative fuels. The MPG Challenge invites competitors on a 20-mile course to see who can get the most miles per gallon - any prize for the winner beyond saving the planet for a day is just icing on the cake.

I'll be there covering the event for those of you who can't make it, and I'll be meeting and greeting the average Joe's to find out how they get above average fuel economy, so you can learn about them right from the comfort of your own home. Unfortunately, it looks as though I'll miss the conversion of Wisconsin Public Power's Prius to a plug-in hybrid, so whoever can videotape that and post it on YouTube, will get the vid posted here on AutoblogGreen, a shout out for who it came from, and a high-bandwidth stream of happy thoughts from me. I'll see you guys Saturday!

[Source: HybridFest]

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?