by Harvey Xiao

It’s my driving we’re talking about here. Who’d you think was gonna win? ;)

This is how I did it. Start by being the most aggressive driver of the group, and then simply put in a week of normal driving. Easy.

I’m kidding.

I won because my car and my commute joined forces to create a perfect storm against my competition. The Prelude’s high-revving motor had the most to gain from easing up a bit on the freeway. My 185 mile commute to the client also gave me room to play around with all sorts of (really stupid) hypermiling techniques. I broke it up into 2 parts: my drive up to the client on Tuesday, and my drive back from the client on Friday. Here goes.

Trip up - Playing it cool.

I didn’t want anyone to know I was hypermiling - too cool for that nonsense. Sierra Club sticker? No thanks. At least that’s what it looked like from the outside. Inside, I was busy shifting exactly at 3k RPM (that’s actually just adequate to keep up with day to day traffic), keeping the highway speed rock solid at 75 (instead of 80), and keeping my distance from other folks to minimize necessary braking (by giving me ample room to get my ass out of the way without brakes). 

Off the freeway, I predicted the lights. I eased off the gas when I saw stale green in the distance, and accelerated when I thought I had a chance to minimize a static idle. I used engine braking down the hills, and avoided all acceleration on the inclines. I pulled into parking lots fast and coasted into an open spot if I could. Pretty slick.

Verdict: Definitely doable. Not all the rules, all the time, but more of a default driving mode that’s interjected with brief moments of adrenaline rushing stupidity. I can work some of this in.

Trip down - Losing all dignity.

I gave up on all attempts at public perception. I shifted religiously through the gears at 2k RPM and looked down when grandmothers in Buick Roadmasters passed me with a dirty face. 

On the freeway, I gradually (and I emphasis gradually) made it to 60 mph in the slow lane where I patiently waited for the perfect semi to pass. 15 miles later, I got my wish. A white 53’ Kohler truck cruising at 72. I swerved in behind him and nestled into drafting mode. When he changed lanes, I changed lanes. When he sped up to pass, I sped up to pass. Up the hills at 65, down the hills at 75, flat land at 72. To the onlooker, it seemed like the Kohler truck gave birth to a black Honda. 

We were practically married for 75 miles. Then, as we were inching past a brown Prius, the Toyota driver swerved to cut me off. That asshole stole my spot! I watched helplessly as it looked like the truck conceived the ugly duckling instead. As the new couple left me behind, I tried to make myself feel better- maybe the Prius couldn’t stop.

Back driving solo I tended to lose momentum going up the hills. Going up one such bump, I saw something yellow in the mirror. It got bigger..  is it..? yes.. crap… oh god.. a school bus. Yup, it’s passing me… oh, look the kids are waving… ok.. wave back.. “hi kids!” ..”work hard..go to college, and you can learn to drive like this..”

Thankfully, a Pepsi truck took me on as a drafting buddy 10 miles later, and I hitched on the remainder of the way to Boston.

Verdict: Oh HELL NO. I don’t care if that drive churned out 100 MPG. The humiliation of sitting in the slow lane coasting along at 60 waiting for that perfect truck to pass me by … no thanks. I’ll go plant a tree or something instead.

So to sum up:

• Drive it like it’s a Civic HX, it’ll perform like a Civic HX.
• Prius drivers are jerks.

Results:

• Starting MPG: 24.7
• Trip up MPG: 33.1
• Trip down MPG: 38.1

Undisputed. Champ. 

photo copyright middle class motoring

by John Shen

So, normally, I tend to be a fairly aggressive driver. So I approached this both as a way to save a little bit of gas (I am quite serious about the whole save the environment bit), but also as a way to relax my road rage and de-stress my (pretty long) commute.

So like Sicheng, I’ll list out the things I did:

1)   Shift at around 2000rpm.

The great thing about this is that my engine there is sufficient torque at the low end (I think because they try to compensate for turbo lag). It’s not a fast car by any means at these speeds, but it’s possible to shift at down to 1000rpm without the engine shuddering for a lack of torque). I spent a week shifting as fast as I can into 6^th gear and hitting the cruise control button once I got there. City MPG crept up from a nominal 18MPG or so to about 25. Fun factor plummeted much more drastically, however.

Verdict: definitely not doing this, especially since I bought the car because it’s fast..

2) Drive at 60-65mph on the freeway.

This made a HUGE difference for me. In the GTI, 70mph in 6^th gear is at about 3000rpm, and 60mph is just a hair over 2000. This means that even though I’m going just a little slower, the engine isn’t spinning fast enough for the turbocharger to kick in, and my instantaneous fuel economy while cruising on a flat piece of road jumps up to an eye-opening 38-42MPG. I thought this would make me the slowest car on the highway, as it turns out, people in California really suck at driving. More on this later.

Verdict: Will get me into work just a few minutes later, but with a huge fuel economy boost and less stress—would have just spent the first few minutes at work looking at pictures of cats on the internet anyway.

3) Predicting lights

Dropping down a few gears and engine braking for the last 100-200 feet before a light has always confused me: does this actually save gas? Does the little blip of gas you put in to downshift gets counteracted by the fact that the fuel injectors can remain off while you engine brake? The value proposition here is unclear to me. However, slowing down at greens and coasting up to reds have done lots to reduce my blood pressure.

Verdict: Very de-stressing, I might keep doing this, despite it’s unclear fuel saving advantage. 

4) Drafting behind trucks:

Yeah I tried to do this, but I have neither the patience or the willpower to put up with it. From what I know about fluid dynamics you have to be pretty close to the truck to take advantage of the low pressure vortex field generated behind it. I don’t like tempting fate that much.

Verdict: Screw. That. 

So how’d I like hypermiling? For the most part my drive would start with me pulling onto the highway, accelerating from 40 to 60 over half a minute and pissing the hell out of everyone else in the slow lane. I’d eventually go find a truck to draft behind, but then only to realize that trucks don’t have cruise control, and I do, and get frustrated by constantly having to adjust my speed manually, so I’ll try and go around him slowly, only to run into a Camry in the left lane going 60. ugh! california! wtf!!. So then I try and pass on the right at 60 (slowest passing maneuver ever!), only to have to brake suddenly because the mid 90s corolla in front of me decided that 65 was too fast for him and needs to slam on his brakes to get to a more comfortable 45. What the #$%#@????  Freaking middle aged Asian drivers!!!

Okay, so I’d move back into the the middle lane, and of course by this point the truck I was trying to pass has already gone way ahead of me. So I decide whatever, I’ll just chill in the middle lane for a bit. wait, listen to music.. wait… look up and see a Prius angrily tailgating me???!!? WTF?!?!?!??! Sigh, it’s back to the right lane for me, where I promptly get tailgated by a Volvo station wagon, or an Altima hybrid. Whatever. I’m in the far right lane! Learn to pass douchebags!. Eventually I’ll finally exit the highway, engine brake off the onramp, and pull into work after a few lights.

Wait.. what did I say about de-stressing? No.. driving in California is jawdroppingly frustrating.

Well, at least my fuel economy improved: my average mileage at the end of the week? 35.4MPG. That’s pushing mild hybrid territory, from a 200hp sport coupe. Boo-yah.

photo copyright middle class motoring

by Sicheng Su

Ok. I started with 22 MPG. After a week of shifting before 2000rpm and not speeding on the freeway (yeah it was hard), I churned out a 24.3 MPG. (That’s decent, but wait till you hear what the other guys did tomorrow and Thursday.)

My trusty regular commuter is a heavy mid-size station wagon with a gas-wasting permanent All-Wheel-Drive system… and stop signs. Lots of stop signs. So instead of setting out to get the most ridiculously-high MPG possible, a cause that I figured was lost from the beginning, I decided I’d try to keep my MPG up in as sustainable a way as possible. And by sustainable, I don’t mean that save-the-earth-or-you’ll-burn-in-hell stuff. I mean changes in my driving style that I could feasibly live with everyday, without going crazy. Here’s what I did:

1. Shift by 2000rpm (okay, sometimes I went to 2100)

This was surprisingly doable! 80-90% of the time I didn’t even lag behind traffic, and the remaining 10-20% were uphill. And my car didn’t shake like a wet dog every time I left the lights too. I did learn, though, that shifting at 2000 revs makes me want to shift really fast like a racing driver – quite an oxymoron really, until I realized that there’s as much oomph below 1500rpm as a banana slug. When you only have 500 revs to play with, every split second of non-acceleration is painful. 

Verdict: Surprisingly sustainable and efficient… but no fun

2. “Rolling stops” at as high a speed as I figured I could get away with whenever I came up on a stop sign, and starting on 2^nd gear after

I usually do this anyway, and my paranoia of getting a ticket by running a stop sign prevented me from ‘rolling’ too fast, so I didn’t gain much mileage. I did get more irritated as a result of watching my MPG though. Stop signs were not designed for the sanity of hypermilers. 

Verdict: Avoid stop signs. In fact, if no one’s around, get out and push. You’re gonna stop in another 60ft anyway.

3. Trying to anticipate red lights in the distance and coasting to them as early as possible

Again, somewhat unsuccessful given the number of times I found myself slamming my brakes when a light turned yellow. Personal discipline fail. I’m happy to report, however, that no one honked me when I didn’t forget, so this is pretty doable.

Verdict: Sustainable, if I REALLY paid attention. But judging from the number of Prius and Corollas out there, few drivers actually do…

4. The few times I did get on the freeway, I did not speed.

That’s right. 65mph from me. Sometimes 60. Why? Because wind resistance increases by the square of your speed (I think… John? edit: yes… yes it does) so the slower you go, the less the breath of God holds you back. Let me be clear: THIS SUCKED. I was the slowest car on the road by far heading to pick a friend up from the airport, including being tailgated and then overtaken by a tow truck. It’s a good thing I was early. 

Verdict: Useful, but only sustainable if you have great time planning… and very healthy self-esteem. 

My epic conclusion? Hypermiling isn’t worth the effort. Seriously. If you want to be proud of your MPG, get roller blades. I will say, however, that shifting early might now become my default city-driving mode given how easy it was to keep up with traffic. It’ll just make those moments at 3500 rpm that much sweeter. :-)

Our first McM staff challenge

We’ve covered some green cars lately. It got us thinking, why not see how green our own cars can be?

This week, we entered in a McM friendly competition. Each of us were allowed to use any hypermiling techniques we wished to increase our MPG. Our only requirement was that we still used our cars for our normal commutes - nothing more, nothing less.

Let’s meet the contenders:

Harvey - 1997 Honda Prelude 5-speed manual 

Starting MPG 24.7

Driving conditions: 180 miles of highway followed by 4 days of city followed by 180 miles of highway.

The Prelude starts with a rather low MPG for a 4-cylinder Honda that travels mainly highway, but keep in mind, this car does 4k rpm @ 80 mph. Also, shifting below 3k rpm on this car is a completely gutless experience. 

John - 2009 Volkswagen GTI 6-speed manual

Starting MPG 28.1

Driving conditions: Mostly highway - small section of local streets followed by a 20 mile cruise down the 280.

The GTI has turned out to be the epitome of compromise car. It gets combined 28.1 MPG with John flooring it fairly regularly. However, with a high starting MPG, is there much room to improve?

Sicheng - 2001 Subaru Outback Wagon 5-speed manual

Starting MPG 22.0

Driving conditions: Mixed city and highway - stop and go and emergency braking for idiotic bikers on the Stanford campus mixed with highway trips to local fast food establishments.

The heaviest of the bunch by far and a prelude like 5th gear landed Sicheng’s outback the lowest starting MPG. Driving around a college campus all day didn’t help. However, the Outback is the torquest motor of the 3 at low revs. Let’s see how low Sicheng can go …

Tomorrow, we’ll post the Bronze medal McM hypermiler 

photos copyright middle class motoring

Happy Friday!

It’s this week’s podcast! This time we tackle “Olympic Cars”, because we all really miss the olympic games now that they’re gone.

So, in this episode, you’ll find out why Sweden represents Norway, Japan represents Canada, why Mazda has gone fishing, and why we should give up our Mustangs in lieu of diesel hatchbacks. Enjoy.

On another note - we have decided on a podcast schedule! Look out for a new Middle Class Motor cast every other Friday.

Cheers,
McM Editors

Podcast Episode 11: Olympic Cars?

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First Place: USA - Ford Mustang GT

by Harvey Xiao

Yes, we are fully aware of how great the new V6 is blah blah blah efficient blah blah hp / liter blah blah blah new design blah blah all aluminum blah…NO, get the V8.

The Mustang GT epitomizes America as well as the CSX does Canada. It is 100% American culture - in a way that most of the world will never get. It is, hands-down, our top pick to represent the Olympic champs (that’s us).

My fondest memory of the Mustang GT came in the passenger seat of an Acura RSX. Our driver shifted down to 3rd on the freeway, throwing the micro engineered, super high revving, beautiful vtech sounding motor right into its 200 hp, 7800 rpm sweet spot … only to see (and hear) a white Mustang GT convertible roar past us on the left - fit & finish gaps, uneven top, shaking exhaust and all. USA + 1

The mustang is a rolling stereotype of people’s perception of the US. It sports an archaic live axle, a small block V8, a 5-speed gearbox when the standard is 6, and has been given the fit and finish appropriate of a U-Haul truck. It has a skimpy options list too, which can pretty much be summarized with “would you like a top with that?”

Also, the Mustang is not as arrogant as it once was. It’s not as coarse, bold, scary in the bends as before. It’s mustered up a bit of respect for the Hondas, Nissans, and VWs of the world… I mean, that IS what this whole Obama hopey changey thing is shooting for, right? Somewhere along the way, the Mustang morphed from a car that annoyed me to a car that I’m proud of. 

That recent Mustang commercial was actually pretty accurate - when someone fires up a Mustang GT next to me… I tend to get goosebumps. When I “fire-up” my Prelude, I tend to want to make a smoothie. 

photo copyright middle class motoring - yes we know that’s not a GT pictured.. get over it.

#2: Germany: Porsche 911

by John Shen

Germany has the advantage of being one of the few countries with more interesting cars than you can count. But above all others, one car sticks out as so seenstial, so fundamental to the German Psyche, that I have a hard time thinking of anything more overwhelming deutsche.

The Porsche 911: an iconic classic that has fundamentally unchanged since it was initially designed as a more or less “hot” Beetle. It still exists and is a testament to attention to detail. It’s an excessively over-engineered solution to a fundamentally flawed problem: the engine is in the wrong place. However, everything about the car has been engineered to compensate for the fundamental error in design.

Sure, there are lots of other cars that are distinctly German. The Golf, the E-class, the 5 series. But nothing else has been constant and consistent halo of design throughout the history of post-war Germany as the 911. Germany has exported the 911 to the world in the same design and the same guise ever since Germany has existed in it’s current state: it’s Deutschland’s gift to the world: this is the hallmark of German engineering. 

Most importantly this car can trace it’s vintage directly all the way back to Ferdinand Porsche and the original Beetle. It’s like if the Mustang GT can be directly traced back to the Model T (Top Gear famously refers to this car as an “arse-engined hitlermobile”). People complain that German cars typically lack soul, but over the past 60 years, Porsche has precisely and methodically engineered a soul into the 911.

And how German is that?

photo copyright middle class motoring

#3: Canada - Honda Civic S…err.. Acura CSX Type S

by Harvey Xiao

Meet the $30k Honda Civic. Nope, this isn’t a joke. 

Before you dismiss our pick for Canadian Ambassador as a petty attempt at revenge for beating us in hockey (overtime, nonetheless), hear us out. We don’t give a rat’s rear end about hockey.

I’m about to make a very bold statement. If Honda sold the Acura CSX type S in the US (at US prices), I would buy one. The CSX the better looking, more mature, more tasteful, and less obnoxious twin to our Honda Civic SI. It is everything I love about the SI, and less of what we don’t care for too much. It’s the easiest way to drive a slick shifting, free-revving, fun-to-drive Honda without looking like a spikey-haired Asian rice racer.

More importantly, it epitomizes the subtle differences between US and Canada. The CSX is less arrogant, more subdued, and somehow, has a politer personality. Think about it, would you be as pissed if a CSX cut you off in traffic instead of a Civic SI? It allows you to drive it like a Civic SI without looking like you’re driving a Civic SI. That is pretty freaking awesome.

Also, Canada is pretty poor, so … 

sorry,  we didn’t find a CSX to take a picture of. Thanks, Wikipedia

Hey Folks,

We’re a bit bummed that the Olympics are over. So, to keep that Olympic spirit going just one more week, we’re paying tribute to the top 4 medal winning countries. This week, we’ll pick a car that represents:

Tuesday - Norway
Wednesday - Canada
Thursday - Germany
Friday - Good ol’ US of A 

We’re bending our pricing rules a bit this week because .. cars are so damn expensive in Europe, and Germans have expensive taste ;)

Enjoy!

#4: Norway: Volvo V70 Diesel

by John Shen

Admittingly, we don’t know much about Norway. I mean, do you? They are a very sparsely populated country, one of the richest in the world. They’re next to Sweden, but don’t make any cars on their own (except for the Th!nk electric city car). In fact. About the only they do make is Oil. and probably whales, and Vikings.

They also seem to produce a lot of skiers and winter Olympians. And have one of the highest rates for gasoline tax in the world. ($7/gallon). They’ve done a pretty smart thing to tax their oil rich citizens and take all that money and put it into a slush fund to help divest the economy away from oil when it runs out. Smart, efficient, Scandinavian.

So, we hit a bit of a blank when it came to thinking of a good car to represent Norway. A pair of skis? An Elk? But, after thinking about it more, we realized that a Volvo wagon, even though it’s made across the border by those Abba-loving Swedes, is still basically the one thing that holds Scandinavia together and epitomizes the style, sensibility, and utilitarian nature of the region. Initially, we thought the V70 might be too big for a country like Norway. Then we checked on wikipedia and realized that Norway has about as many people as Kentucky over an area just a hair smaller than California— there are plenty of Fjords to drive around. (Plus the smaller Volvo wagon is the V50, which is a royal piece of shit).

Since gas is expensive in those Fjordlands, you’d go for the diesel version (starting at roughly $60,000 USD for the base model, which is fairly decent as far as prices for cars in Europe goes).

So, now you know more about Norway, aren’t you proud?

photo copyright middle class motoring

At least personality wise :) - The Nissan Versa

by Sicheng Su

Friends around me seem to think that kids with one White and one Asian parent tend to turn out ridiculously good-looking. Conceptually, I’d make the same parallel with Japanese and European cars. I’d be thrilled if BMW and Toyota got together to make a performance sedan that drives like a BMW and lasts like a Toyota (it’d be pretty easy – just get Toyota to do all the electronics, and make sure they don’t touch the gas or brake pedals). Until those idyllic days come, though, the Versa might be as close as we get – built by the Japanese but based on a platform from the French (Renault).

I used to hate this car. I thought it was a boring, bland bubble-on-wheels; a lame Japanese attempt at making something marginally cute and economical. But that all changed when I drove it.

Let’s be clear – this isn’t a rocket. That 1.8 engine is slightly zippy, decently economical and, well, sufficient. You’ll rev it up because your budget lets you, or because you need to avoid being flattened by an 18-wheeler flying at 70mph, but not because the engine’s purr reminds you of Mozart.

What amazes me about the Versa is how simple, different and entertaining it is. The driving position reminds me of a small Japanese delivery van (the kind that makes you amazed it doesn’t fall over when the driver sneezes) – you sit nice and high relative to the dashboard and steering, and the gear stick extends wayyyyy down to the depths of the car. I know that sounds like a bad thing, but once I drove it I realized I had awesome visibility for such a small car, along with a firm ride and light but direct steering that made one-handed U-Turns a cinch – a great combination for city driving. It also comes with a 6-speed manual (somewhat unnecessary, but I like it nonetheless) and a ride that subtly hints at the car’s blood ties with Infiniti and the Renault Clio (the latter being one of the most successful subcompact hatches Europe, and certainly France, has ever made). Refinement in a sub-$15k Euro-style hatch that’ll last more than 5 years? No wayyy…

Nissan actually offers a bare-bones version of the car that has manual windows and doors, no A/C and doesn’t even come with a stereo. That, I also find entertaining, but in a bad way. You still get quite a good car for what you pay for, but it’s like buying a stripped-down Macbook – if you’re really that desperate to save money, look elsewhere. Like a Chevy Aveo. Or a bicycle from Walmart.

If you want a budget car, appreciate the utility or uniqueness of a hatch, and actually care about driving, you won’t want to pass this car up. It’s far more entertaining than a Corolla, almost as reliable, and it’s cheaper. Nissan also doesn’t have the same reputation Toyota has, so if there’s a recall – God forbid – your heart won’t be crushed.

photo copyright middle class motoring

Because it couldn’t stop - Toyota Matrix

by Harvey Xiao

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

But seriously, it’s a fitting time to talk about a Toyota, no? Mr. Toyoda himself is in the States as we speak listening to congress tear him and his company apart. Poor guy is probably wondering about the merits of American-style democracy … bitterness of WWII beginning to creep back in.

It’s no secret that we’re not the biggest fans of Toyota products. We don’t … love them… much…..at all…. However, even we’re beginning to feel bad about the situation, so we decided to say something nice about Toyota.

The Matrix- what a brilliant marketing move. Who at Toyota had the foresight to wake up and realize “Holy crap, we can build this SUV-looking thing that isn’t really an SUV based off the Corolla and sell it for thousands more while boosting our youthful image!!” Toyota is well-known for its ability to turn something out of nothing - the Prius from Yaris / Highlander from Camry type transformations. They really outdid themselves with the Matrix. Who knew you could squeeze that out of a Corolla design.

The brilliance in this design is that few people realize what the Matrix is based off of. Even when the two are parked side by side at a Toyota dealership, folks are mostly convinced that the Matrix is a superior vehicle. Damn.. (Another part of this brilliance is that Toyota realizes when it’s brilliant. They recently pulled the same exact trick and banged out the Venza from the Camry. Sweet). with this level of manipulative ability, I’m sure Toyota can slither their way out of their current predicament.

(I mentioned that I frequently destroy any chances to work for Toyota before, right?)

My only issues with the Matrix: 1. IT DRIVES LIKE A COROLLA! - but this shouldn’t be an issue to typical Toyota owners, and their incredible sensitivity to driving experience. 2. If you want a Corolla wagon, why not buy a Mazda 3? ;)