Gas Monkey

I’m on my first train ride of my adult life … right now. Actually, the train hasn’t even started moving. As a (shamefully) frequent flier, I’m used to airplanes. Somehow, I thought they were simply the best way to cover long distances.

But I’ve been on this train for less than 10 minutes and I’ve already spotted about 20 things that make this a much more pleasant experience than flying. My list so far:

1. No wait, no security. Amtrak asks passengers to be at the train 30 minutes before departure. If you show up a little late, you simply walk straight on the train and find a seat that looks good to you.
2. If you want to pee, go pee… There’s never a time on a train when you can’t stand up and do whatever you want. And that includes having a nice lunch in the dining car, which is what I’m going to go do now.
3. The seats ACTUALLY RECLINE! Instead of the 1.5 inches of lean that the little silver button provides on a plane, Amtrak’s big black button gives a recline of about eight inches. I could actually sleep in this chair! If I wasn’t so excited about how much it reclines.
4. PLUGS! Some planes are starting to finally provide power jacks so we can keep charged through long flights. But all Amtrak trains have a three-pronged jacks to keep you electrified throughout your journey.
5. No NAGGING: It’s a frikkin pleasure not having someone bug me about my seatback and tray tables and whether my electronic device is approved for that particular segment of the trip. And no seatbelts at all! Whether or not it’s technically safe, it’s certainly more comfortable.
6. Legroom: As a six-foot-plus guy, I notice a couple extra inches here. And it’s nice.
7. No beverage cart slamming into your knees and elbows. The beverage cart on a plane absolutely ensures that you never ever ever put any piece of your body into the aisle. Well, the train aisle is considerably wider, for one, and the cart is nonexistent.
8. Treats: If you happen to want a cheese danish on an airplane, you’re out of luck. Not here my friends … and the cost of said treats is much more modest than the $5 you’ll pay for a snack pack on American Airlines filled with crap you probably don’t even want.
9. You handle your baggage. If you lose your bags on a train, it’s your fault. There’s no waiting at the baggage claim and no worrying about how the baggage handlers (or TSA) will treat your bags.

And all of the additional, everyday benefits remain. It’s cheaper, more environmentally friendly, you can use cell phones and there are even some cars with beds.

I’ll be excitedly posting this as soon as I have Internet access again (my one complaint). But otherwise, this is an excellent and pleasant way to travel.
Amtrak’s Website

When Dean Kamen unveiled the Segway® Personal Transporter (PT) on ABC’s Good Morning America, he described the machine as “the world’s first self-balancing human transporter.” When you look at the machine in motion, you get an idea of what he’s talking about. Unlike a car, the Segway PT only has two wheels, yet it manages to stay upright by itself. Continues below…

Segway XT

Segway up the World’s Steepest Street

To move forward or backward on the Segway PT, the rider just leans slightly forward or backward. To turn left or right, the rider simply moves the LeanSteer frame left or right. You get the sense of power and speed, yet you also feel a sense of safety and absolute control. It all feels natural, safe, and instinctive.

The Segway PT can take you places that a car or bicycle can’t - including inside many stores, office buildings, businesses, airports, elevators, and trains. Although they’re ideal for short jaunts, Segway PTs can travel as far as 24 miles/38 km on a single battery charge, depending on terrain, payload, and riding style.

Like any invention that’s ahead of its time, the Segway PT is often misunderstood. The gleeful smiles of Segway PT riders may have created an impression that this is …well…a toy. But make no mistake. While a Segway PT is incredibly fun to ride, it is serious transportation designed for today’s world.

The key to maximizing miles per gallon may be changing how you drive, not what you drive.

Live updated gas station prices across the country. Type in your zip code and see the current prices of all the stations in that area. The default location is Los Angeles.

Here are some simple rules to live by when trying to improve your fuel economy and at the same time make your gasoline dollars go further. Combining several of these tips can improve your mileage by up to 20%.

General User Tips

1. Keep a record of your gasoline usage - stop at your local office supply store and they should have a simple booklet you can purchase that you can fill out every time you buy gas or service your car. Make sure you check your fuel economy with every fill up using this record. This is the best way to see if your car may be having some fuel robbing problems. You fuel economy should stay pretty consistent over time.

2. For long trips, use your most gas friendly car - it might be a tight fit, but the savings can be really big.

3. Consolidate trips - try and schedule your trips and combine them. Many times just making a decision to go to a different side of town to shop can lead you to major price savings at the pump.

4. Avoid “reving” the engine, especially just before you switch the engine off; this wastes fuel needlessly and washes oil down from the inside cylinder walls, owing to loss of oil pressure.

5. Eliminate jack-rabbit starts. Accelerate slowly when starting from dead stop. Don’t push pedal down more than 1/4 of the total foot travel. This allows carburetor to function at peak efficiency.

6. Avoid prolonged warming up of engine, even on cold mornings - 30 to 45 seconds is plenty of time.

7. Don’t start and stop engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the gas amount equivalent to when you start the engine. Avoid the drive through at the fast food restaurant.

How to Buy Gasoline

1. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Keep in mind - gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to “volume of measurement”.

2. Normally the best time to buy gasoline from a pricing point is Wednesday morning. The prices are usually moved up for weekend by the oil companies and by Wednesday you have had three days of competition setting in among the stations to help drive the price down a few cents.

3. Most stations generally raise or lower their prices in the morning - around 10 AM. Expect a rise to occur on Thursday morning.

4. Some stations are fast to rise prices when they are going up, some are slow to go up. If you find that the price has gone up when you go to lunch, try and find one of those slow movers in your area so you can still purchase the cheaper gasoline.

5. Choose type and brand of gasoline carefully. Certain brands provide you with greater economy because of better quality. Use the brands which “seem” most beneficial.

6. Avoid filling gas tank to top. Overfilling results in sloshing over and out of tank. Try never to fill gas tank past the first “click” of fuel nozzle, if nozzle is automatic.

7. Avoid purchasing at exit ramps for highways - especially during holiday travel. These stations may be convenient but they know they have a captive audience. Try to fill up at your local station before you leave town - you know the one - where the prices are lowest.

8. If you have to buy on the highway, try to buy at the border stations when traveling between states. Many times these stations are very aggressive at trying to gain your business and many can take advantage of differences in state taxes.

How to Drive Economically

1. Slow down when possible - driving 55 mph can save up to 10% on gas mileage vs. driving 65 - 70 mph. This is due to wind resistance.

2. If your car has an overdrive gear, use it. Traveling at fast rates in low gears can consume up to 45% more fuel than is needed.

3. Manual shift driven cars allow you to change to highest gear as soon as possible, thereby letting you save gas if you “nurse it along”. However, if you cause the engine to “bog down”, premature wearing of engine parts occurs.

4. Keep windows closed when traveling at highway speeds. Open windows cause air drag, reducing your mileage by 10%.

5. Drive steadily. Slowing down or speeding up wastes fuel. Also avoid tailgating - the driver in front of you is unpredictable. Not only is it unsafe, but if affects your economy, if he slows down unexpectedly.

6. Think ahead when approaching hills. If you accelerate, do it before you reach the hill, not while you’re on it.

7. Think ahead at stop signs and stop lights - no need to race up to a red light and then jam on the brakes to slow down. Plan to slow down before the light. If you can slow down soon enough to not have to stop at the light, you can save quite a bit a fuel versus starting from a standing start.

8. Stoplights are usually timed for your motoring advantage. By traveling steadily at the legal speed limit you boost your chances of having the “green light” all the way.

9. Regular tune-ups ensure best economy; check owner’s manual for recommended maintenance intervals. Special attention should be given to maintaining clean air filters… diminished air flow increases gas waste.

10. Remove snow tires during good weather seasons; traveling on deep tire tread really robs fuel!

11. Inflate all tires to maximum limit. For each pound of pressure the tire is under inflated, you consume about 1% more fuel. Make sure you carry in your car an accurate tire gauge and know what the pressure should be. Check your tires at least twice a month and always before, during and after long trips.

12. Remove excess weight from trunk or inside of car - extra tires, back seats, unnecessary heavy parts. Extra weight reduces mileage, especially when driving up inclines.

13. During cold weather watch for icicles frozen to car frame. Up to 100 lbs. can be quickly accumulated! Accumulated snow and ice cause tremendous wind resistance. Try and keep your car clean at the carwash when possible..

14. Avoid using roof top carriers - they can cause serious drag on the car and lessen your mileage by up to 15%. Pack it in or leave in behind.

I use to have a plug-in car and didn’t buy gas for 3 years. Now I want automakers to make them again.

Tesla’s groundbreaking distinction is under its carbon-fiber skin. The $98,000 Tesla is the first production high-performance electric car. It is powered entirely by electricity, a plug-in that will never use a drop of gasoline. And it’s billed as being able to go 221 miles in mixed city/highway driving on a full battery charge.

It’s not about promises that the Tesla will deliver pin-you-back-in-your-seat acceleration — 0 to 60 miles per hour in a Ferrari-like 3.9 seconds — or its sexy appearance.

The sports car from San Carlos-based Tesla Motors has European sex appeal with power to match that defies the image of electric vehicles as poky carts for golf courses or senior villages.

Tesla is being touted as the first of a wave of electric cars that will bring the most profound change in the auto industry since the first Model T rolled off Ford Motor’s (F) assembly line 100 years ago. From Toyota (TM) to General Motors, (GM) the quest for clean air and independence from foreign oil is leading to the wall socket.

“It’s in the vanguard of the electric car revolution that is coming,” proclaims Elon Musk, the digital-age tycoon who is Tesla Motors chairman and largest shareholder of Tesla Motors.

Robert Schoenberger, auto writer for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, takes the new ultra-compact, high-mileage Smart Car for a test drive. Website http://www.smartusa.com/

Toyota (Prius) and GM (the GM Volt and the Saturn Vue) seem to be in a race as to who will provide the first mass-produced plug-in-hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The backfit market is building options coming for plug-in conversions for existing hybrids.

But what about the tens of millions of normal, internal-combustion engines out there? Is there any hope for them?

If Poulsen Hybrid is to be believed, the answer is a resounding “yes!” The Poulsen Hybrid Power Assist System “creates a PHEV by retrofitting electric motors, DC motor controllers, storage batteries and an on-board charger to a conventional new or used automobile.”

This electric system would be used for maintaining speed, after acceleration:

The development is based on the observation that only 10-15 horsepower is required to propel a compact or mid-size automobile along a level road at a steady 60-70 mph. leading to the conclusion that this relatively small amount of electric power would be able to cope with 70-85% of normal driving, only aided by the combustion engine during start up and when extra energy is required for acceleration and hill climbing.

The systems puts hybrid electric motors on the outside of the rear wheels with an on-board charger.

Poulsen’s system is expected to debut on the market next month — $3,300 for purchase and $600 for professional installation.

Mark me intrigued but questioning. For example,

• This system doesn’t have regenerative braking, thus one is simply trading the cost of gasoline for electricity. At $4,000, a break-even point comes well after saving 1,000 gallons of gasoline. Thus, how much gasoline is really saved as this system basically moves the ICE to idling while the electricity handles acceleration.
• The addition of this system outside the car will increase wind drag. A meaningful amount? Don’t know.
• Also, some basic safety questions must arise. What are the implications for adding these systems outside the car?

But I’m still pretty intrigued with this ingenious approach to tackling the challenges of the huge existing fleet of internal-combustion engine vehicles and moving miles from gasoline to electricity.

Widespread adoption of PHEVs can reduce GHG emissions from vehicles by more than 450 million metric tons annually in 2050 — equivalent to removing 82.5 million passenger cars from the road.

There is an abundant supply of electricity for transportation, and a 60% U.S. market share for PHEVs would use seven to eight percent of grid-supplied electricity in 2050. PHEVs can improve nationwide air quality and reduce petroleum consumption by 3 million to 4 million barrels per day in 2050.

But do we have 43 years to do this? Why not start with today’s automobiles

Observe the Speed Limit

While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.

As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas.

Observing the speed limit is also safer.

Gas and oil prices have climbed to record levels across the globe.

We want to know how high gas prices are affecting you and what lifestyle changes — if any — you’ve made as a result.

Share your story in the comment box below.

At the beginning of May, we mentioned that a bunch of gas stations were discovering that their older pumps couldn’t handle prices over $4. They ticked up to $3.99 9/10 / gallon and that was it. For now, it appears that some regulators are allowing such gas stations to start selling gas by the half gallon — or, rather charging half-price and doubling it at the register. They’re only allowed to do this if they can show that they’ve ordered new parts that will handle up to $9.99 — though, of course the folks who make such parts are running out of them quickly as a bunch of stations are rushing to upgrade. Any bets on how long until we’ll be writing about the gas stations running into problems when the price of gas reaches $10/gallon? What’s scary is that even at the half price ($2.03/half gallon), it wasn’t that long ago when that seemed really high for a full gallon.

Video link below..

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/05/26/acosta.old.school.gas.pumps.cnn

Your paycheck and gas prices.

Click here:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/05/29/hours.gallons/index.html

Commuting

If you can stagger your work hours to avoid peak rush hours, you’ll spend less time sitting in traffic and consume less fuel.

If you own more than one vehicle, drive the one that gets the best gas mileage whenever possible.

Consider telecommuting (working from home) if your employer permits it.

If possible, take advantage of carpools and ride-share programs. You can cut your weekly fuel costs in half and save wear on your car if you take turns driving with other commuters. Many urban areas allow vehicles with multiple passengers to use special High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.

Consider using public transit if it is available and convenient for you. The American Public Transit Transportation Association has links to information about public transportation in your state.