Hypermiling in the news

[FLAteam]

We watched the same report, but at different times. i'm sure the anchors were different or they said something different at each broadcast. honestly, those guys have a tough job and they gotta say something that's not biased like "those hypermilers are nuts" or "everyone should be doing this".

...unless cnn likes to not actually have live broadcasts but say they do. this was around 1:00 PM

[R.I.D.E.]

Actually its sad the interview had to be so disturbing, to a viewer or interviewer. You could ride in my car and fall asleep while I hypermiled.

Not a criticism of those who go to extreemes to achieve results, but it would have made it a whole lot more appealing to people to make it seem somewhat less crazy (from the viewers perspective).

"Stealth hypermiling" may be a better term for my particular style. Yesterday I used the terrain to restart my engine for the first time in a month, but few people will push start their car (interview). I did when I forgot to turn off the lights and the battery was almost dead.

I generally make a turn in 3rd gear, but it certainly is not a traumatic experience.

I avoid using the AC but if its 90 outside and we are dressed up, it's going on folks.

A much better job of disseminating useful information without all the scary tactics that make people dismiss us as extremists and dangerous to all those around us would have been my preferred interview.

I think this was a product of the "news flash" mentality of the media, everything has to be bloody, scary, or traumatic, to grab those ratings.

For something that has so much potential for a positive effect it seems like there was a presumption of failure on the part of those who had control over the presentation, with a lot of sensationalism added in to make it even less appealing.

regards
gary

[MiddleMike]

Yep. The media works in two modes, either Fear Mode or Appeal To The Masses Mode. Neither mode is conducive to presenting unbiased objective reporting. If you're in Fear Mode you make everything sound like it is an impending Armageddon. If you're in Appeal To The Masses Mode you make everything different than what Joe Average would do seem fringe.

Any hopes I had for the media being any kind of "watchdog" or act as any kind of general information depot died when I was only a teenager and realized how crappy the media outlets were and how they worked.

[theholycow]

Sunday night I went to dinner with my parents and told them a little bit about mild hypermiling strategies. They were impressed with my results but my dad was having difficulty understanding the science behind some of it.

My mom saw the CNN bit on Monday or yesterday and called me asking about it. She wanted to know if it was ok to put lower viscosity synthetic oil in her car (a late model Lexus SUV, I think). She wasn't turned off by CNN's report, and she is deathly afraid to do ANYTHING to change her driving habits or the way she interfaces with the vehicle. I'm talking scared to death to click "power" or "economy" buttons on an automatic's shifter. Still, gas prices have managed to pry her mind open.

At dinner, my sister was there and when I suggested using the manumatic mode she was freaking out that my mom would let it go to redline and break stuff...yeah, mom's not well connected with her vehicle, but I think she can handle sequentially shifting an automatic.

So, as a result, I'm going to put together my own intro to hypermiling for them and post it in the Articles sub-forum here too.