Hypermiling is all about making adjustments to maximize your gas mileage, and many techniques work whether you're driving a hybrid or a Hummer.
"Anybody can be a hypermiler. It doesn't matter if you're in a Dodge Durango getting 10 mpg [miles per gallon] today. You can get 15 mpg tomorrow," says Wayne Gerdes. "It's going to save fuel."
The nuclear power plant operator in Illinois ("producing electricity with zero greenhouse gas emissions,'' Gerdes observed) averaged more than 90 mpg for more than a year driving a manual transmission Honda Insight, the company's new hybrid.
He was part of a team that drove a Toyota Prius for more than 1,200 miles, in two straight days of driving, on a single tank of gas, an effort that was featured in an HBO Earth Day Special "Too Hot Not to Handle.''
Gerdes says he has always kept records for every vehicle he's owned. Tired of paying for gas, he started watching the way he drove in his Toyota Corolla, thinking about the physics of driving and experimenting with ways to improve mileage. "I hit 52 mpg in my Corolla and I said, 'Wow, this is pretty special. I bet there's more.' ''
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