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Fusion Hybrid Challenge - 1000 miles on 1 tank of gas


Casper

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the first generation honda insight was EARLY...

imagine the sales if it had been introduced at $4.00+ a gallon

fusion gets up to 70 mpg "while hypermiling"

that was the epa estimate for the insight with normal use...

why are the next gen hybrids so much worse than the insight was?

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what is this 'Pulse and Glide' technique?

per wikipedia

Burn and coast

Burn and coast is also known as Pulse and glide. This method consists of accelerating to a given speed (the "burn" or "pulse"), followed by a period of coasting (or "gliding"), and then repeating the process. Coasting is most efficient when the engine is not running. Because some cars inject extra fuel when the starter is activated, this was originally best accomplished with a manual transmission.[15] Hybrid vehicles are ideally suited to performing this technique as well: the internal combustion engine, as well as the charging system, can be shut off for the glide by simply manipulating the accelerator. Production fuel injected engines shut off the fuel when the throttle is closed and the engine is running faster than idle speed for instance while coasting down hill with the vehicle in gear, in a car with a manual transmission. This is due to the ECU being linked to the ignition and the throttle. This is not the case in older cars that use carburetors which will still drag fuel into the engine. The optimum acceleration that is used in the burn phase is not necessarily full throttle.

basically, accelerate to your optimum speed, then shut off the engine and coast (down a hill for example)

police officers have been cracking down on this technique a lot lately, claiming that it's an unsafe practice (since power brakes and steering aren't operable when the engine is off) and have been known to write citations for "unsafe acts" on the highway.

Edited by magley64
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why are the next gen hybrids so much worse than the insight was?

Because nobody was willing to make the sacrifices needed to drive a really fuel efficient vehicle (ultra firm tires, small body vehicle, low horsepower).

The EPA did reevaluate it's mileage formula to more accurately reflect real driving.

I used to be able to squeeze 30mpg city from my 95 Nissan 240SX. Lots of coasting, slowly accelerating, turning the engine off at stoplights, pushing it. Things like that.

On the freeway I could do 35mpg (40 if I wasn't speeding).

And didn't Sunoco or Marathon get 120mpg from a vehicle in the 60s or 70s as an advertising gimmick?

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You'd think after one hundred years of the internal combustion engine, they'd figure out that pesky 70% power loss issue.

that pesky 70% powerloss is in the form of heat and toyota has some really nice patents on different ways of capturing that loss.

There was also a 6 stroke engine developed by crower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crower_six_stroke#Obstacles_and_problems

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