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Jun 15, 2007 12:26 am US/Central
Roll On: Saving Gasoline The 'Hypermiler' Way
by Bridgette Bornstein
(WCCO)
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Laura With uses gravity and rolls, one of the many ways she saves money on her commute.
CBS
A growing number of people are saving money on gasoline by changing the way they drive. They're called "hypermilers". These drivers will creep up to stop lights, accelerate slowly and ease off the pedal anytime they can.
Laurie With is one of those drivers and she is able to leave her parking space at work without using any gasoline. She uses gravity and rolls, one of the many ways she saves money on her commute.
"It will basically just roll itself out of a parking place if you give it a chance," said driver With.
The gauge on her hybrid shows that it's working. Right now she's averaging 57 miles per gallon. Her roundtrip commute is 80 miles a day, and she only has to fill up once a week at most.
"We're just regular people, we just have different priorities, I think, than people who are in a bigger hurry," said With.
She also keeps her tires slightly over-inflated because she said that helps the car move more efficiently.
"Here's a little hill we can coast down without accelerating," said With.
Some hypermilers are more radical, tailgating semis to draft like race cars and some even turn off the engine on the highway. That's not exactly safe or legal. With doesn't do that, but she does tend to go a little slower than most, and it's paying off.
"It's not like doing 35 all the time, it's just I'm not racing from point to point because I don't feel the need. I'm not a nut. I'm just an ordinary person who likes to spend less for gas," said With.
She did the math, and figured out she saves about $3,000 a year with her hybrid and her gas saving ways. However, she said her hybrid is very low to the ground so it's not great to drive in the snow.
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