save on gas big time and it is FREE

Texas panhandle now. I was in New Mexico for most of the 55 limit
days. Texas even passed a law that a ticket for 25 or less over the
limit wasn't 'speeding,' it was just 'wasting energy.' You still had
to pay, but it didn't go on your driving record. You folks in the more
populous areas of the country have no idea how tough it is to drive
Amarillo to Albuquerque at 55MPH!

 

Doesn't resistance rise as the square of the velocity?

Yes, just found it.
http://www.seed.slb.com/qa2/FAQView.cfm?ID=858

DAS

For direct replies replace nospam with schmetterling

 

That's right. You can also see the whole drag coefficient equation here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient

Speed has a greater-than-proportional effect on fuel economy. It's
significant. Not nearly as significant as carpooling, though. You can
triple your gas mileage just by taking two other guys with you to work,
driving as fast as you want to.

 

My brother in law used to carpool with a good friend, 45 minutes each
way. They would drive my brother in law's Corolla one week and his
friend's International Scout the next. They didn't complain about gas
mileage because they were saving so much money. I'm sure it was nice
having somebody to talk to for almost an hour, too.

 

Yes, not regularly, though.

You have to work up to it. Do a few months of freeway
riding and your arms will get a lot stronger, then it's doable.
But, it isn't safe unless you have fine grained control and you
won't get that unless your tucked down.

Ted

 

my arms are plenty steon since i have been wrenching for 25 years and raced mx
35 years

 

Car-pooling waas/is well-developed in some countries, for non-commuters.

When I lived in Hamburg (Germany, that is) in the early eighties I used to
travel to Berlin sometimes. Through a car-sharing organisation I would
sometimes carry paying passengers, who made a useful contribution to my trip
costs. They may not even have had a car.

DAS

For direct replies replace nospam with schmetterling

 

In Australia a few decades ago the insurance companies treated even car
pooling as a case of "...for profit or reward" (or some such wording;
i.e., when B gives A a ride in exchange for A having given B a ride, A
is receiving a reward) and insisted that the car owner would have to pay
insurance premiums as though (s)he were running a taxi service. I don't
know whether things have changed there since I left.

Perce

 

Just curious, Dori - at what point would the German gov't consider you a
taxi service and require you to get a business/taxi license?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Well, here in the States, our level of denial is such that email chain
letters are being forwarded around with stupid schemes like "let's stick it
to the oil companies by not buying any gas on July 13th" or some other kind
of rot. "Send this to everybody you know!" I haven't seen any emails
saying "let's stick it to the oil companies! Ride your bike to work for the
next 20 years! Buy a small car the next 15 times you need a car! That'll
show 'em! Forward this to everybody you know!"

So this thread is a bright spot. It even started out suggesting something
that actually works.

I've had college-educated people tell me that "They just know" that GM and
Ford are in some conspiracy with Exxon and Chevron to make sure a new pickup
gets only 12 mpg. It alarms me just how stupid people are about certain
subjects.

 

Good question. There were limits on what you could charge and the sums were
fixed (limited) by the car-sharing organizers. The concept that the money
was a contribution to your fuel only, IIRC. So one could not actually run a
business on it.

Can't remember the insurance implications, before someone asks.

I found this as an example for the present:

http://www.freewheelers.com/about.php

Another concept that has started (maybe in US as well?) is car-use sharing.
A club owns a fleet of cars and has the right to park them in various areas
in a district. Club members use the cars when required. There is at least
one of these in London.

Seems a mix of taxi and car-hire service. Probably wouldn't work for
everybody but clearly works for enough to permit viable (AFAIK) operation.

DAS

 

So far, the computer says 23.7 for this tank. I'll fill up in a day
or two and calculate it.

 

How did you do on your gas mileage test? We bought a 1993 Civic last
week. We drove it from Kansas City to Springfield MO and back this
weekend and it got 47 MPG with the air conditioner running. Maybe I'll
try running my route at 55 mph this week and see how it does. I was
surprised at first that it has only a 9 gallon tank, but when you can
get 400 miles out of that tank why would you need any more than that?

 

Yes. I've averaged 25.0 for 7000 miles. The car is a 2006 Grand Prix
GT. Traffic flow, construction, wind/weather, etc. are going to make
more difference than max speed at least in the short term. I'm also
using the A/C now whereas not much of the initial 7000 miles required
it. On the positive side, I have added a gorgeous, sweet, young lady
rider and the 55 speed gives us more time to get to know each
other If you have to carpool, that is definitely the way to do
it.

 

That's worse than what you were getting before, isn't it?