I wanted to publish this earlier on, but didn’t really get the time to. So here it is: a Toyota Prius police car that I saw in Beijing on Aug. 5, 2008, parked adjacent to Tiananmen Square.
You see police cars of all sorts: old, beat-up Volkswagens… shiny, new Hyundais…. unmarked, covert Mercedes Benz… you name it. I was really surprised and pleased to see an eco-friendly, super-mileage Toyota Prius. This really gives you an idea of China’s advances these days. In which other city in the world would you see a police Prius?
Oh, and did I tell you that that’s the kinda car I’d like to get? How can you not possibly get the King of Hybrids, the Prius? Its engine shuts down when you stop at a red light… it has regenerative braking… just imagine the possibilities!
27.Aug.08 
Defensive Eco-Driving, Life 
Comments (4)
Here’s a quick follow-up on my Defensive Eco-Driving series.
The gas price in Vancouver is ridiculous these days (well… I don’t have the right to complain, really — there’s people out there who are paying even more). As of June 2007, heading into the summer, we’re getting record-high gas prices that are simply shooting through the roof. Yesterday, I saw one station posting a price of $1.48/litre (just wait and see… in August I’ll probably rant about the rant being $1.80/L… haha… then I’ll look back and laugh at myself for thinking that the gas price is so high now).
For your own safety, and to save a few cents, it’s true that thou shalt not jackrabbit.
In the past 6 months or so, I’ve been doing some FE tests that are, by all means, non-scientific. Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts and prepare to be blown away by the results (you may be surprised!)
February
So since I made my first FE post back in the end of January, I started to watch my driving habits and attempted to see if there are any changes on my mileage.
For the month of February, I drove like an 80-year-old granny (no offence to the grannies out there!): I went no faster than 60 km/h, never went above 1,500 RPM, and always had tailgaters on my back. I alway took it easy on the gas, so much so, now I suspect, that I was going so slowly that my good ol’ ‘93 Corolla didn’t get a chance to gear up!
For the entire month, I’d never get enough power on hills, always lugging along (keeping in mind the RPM rule). I found this kind of driving… annoying — to say the least. The result? I achieved 374.7 KM for that fueling period ( this is by no means scientific as I’d drive till the fuel light goes on).
March
For this month, I drove slightly more “regularly” — though still not regular enough: I kept about an average of 1,800 RPM. The result? My automatic transmission intelligently up-shifted more often and I achieved just a little bit over the previous month’s mileage.
I was a bit surprised. I was surprised by the fact that though I had a higher average RPM, my overall FE improved.
April
Well… for April, I decided to “normalize” things a bit. I drove like a normal person, and had an average RPM of about 2,200. I could actually “feel” my car up-shift automatically as more power was needed. This was great for my FE: I achieve just over 400 km during this period.
May
Are you seeing a trend yet?
From the previous months’ experiences, I’ve come to this conclusion: don’t stare at your RPM gauge! Drive comfortably. Don’t get too low a RPM; your car wouldn’t gear up. Don’t get too high a RPM; you’re just burning the gas away. Drive comfortably. Really feel your car and its engine. Hear it. Taste it 
For the month of May, my RPM on average was about a bar above the 2k mark, which comes to about 2,200. I also maximized gliding whenever possible. Mileage: 424,4 km
From this experiment, I’ve discovered that the best way to achieve a reasonable fuel economy is to simply drive comfortably while feeling your car’s response. Do let go of the accelerator and glide as often — traffic-permitting — as possible.
I guess now I can comfortably say that a low RPM doesn’t necessarily mean high FE (I gotta get a Prius one day!)
18.Jun.08 Defensive Eco-Driving Comments (0)
I’m sure that I’m not the only one who finds tailgaters a real pain. Not only do they force anxious, fearful drivers to speed up, they also increase the chance of a car accident. Not cool, not cool at all.
I get tailgaters on my back all the time. Isn’t this ridiculous? I get tailgated for following the speed limit. I don’t follow the speed limit for no reason. I follow the speed limit primarily to keep a low RPM on my engine and save gas (an increase in 10 km/h in speed increases your fuel consumption rate by over 1% — not to mention driving like a jackrabbit increases your fuel consumption by as much as 30%), be safe (think about it, the limits are there for a damn reason: to keep you safe), and time the traffic lights.
Driving like a jackrabbit does not get you from point A to point B faster. I repeat, it does not get you to your destination faster. It only slows you down. Research has shown (you can looks it up), and experience tells that driving like a jackrabbit generally increases the the traveling time by 4 minutes. Think about it: if you drive like a jackrabbit, you apply a lot of unnecessary braking, which reduces your average speed. Dodging in and out of traffic also slows you down (common sense).
Following the speed limit also allows me to time the traffic lights. The traffic lights are designed so that at a certain average speed, you’ll sail through them all without a problem. If the speed limit is 50 km/h, and you go at 60 or 70 km/h, without a doubt you’ll end up at the red light before you realize it.
Now that we know we should follow the speed limit, the question is: how do you deal with the damn tailgaters? I get tailgaters all the time. The golden rule is: stay in the slow (in my case the right) lane; they can pass if they want to. Don’t ever speed up just because they’re pressuring you to do so. Also use some common sense: don’t go too much below the speed limit. Some people say that you should follow the flow. But if the flow is higher than the speed limit, you simply should not follow it because it burns up your gas and increases your chance of crashing into a tree and killing yourself. Remember, following the crowd isn’t always the best choice: there are those who would vote Bush.
I designed a slick bumper sticker not long ago:
I’ll get a pic of it on my car once it arrives. You can find the tailgating bumper sticker here.
02.Feb.08 Defensive Eco-Driving Comments (11)
I have to admit it, I’m obsessed with keeping my car nicely tuned, in good shape. But the thought of going to the mechanics’ is a huge pain! Com’on… I mean you gotta book and appointment and go there and all… Anyway my car’s about a month overdue for an oil change (not a good thing! - change as soon as the mileage or date comes first on your little windshield) and a few days ago I decided that it was about time I do something about it. Since changing the oil by myself is not any option, I needed to find a reasonably-priced mechanic/oil-change-place in Vancouver that’ll get the job done.
I considered many options. Price, customer service, time…etc. and have concluded that you should always do some research before heading to a local shop. In my case, I ended up going to the Vancouver Downtown Toyota Dealer (free car wash! 
:D ) :
(Note: the prices listed below are for a single oil and filter change)
Mr. Lube - $43.99 + tax - Do not go there! From all the horror stories I’ve heard while browsing around the net, I’d really suggest you not to go to Mr. Lube. I hear they try to up-sell you like crazy (e.g. create problems that don’t exist), especially if you are someone who seems to not know a lot about cars. Another thing you should keep in mind is that the people who change your oil at Mr. Lube are not qualified technicians. Even through Mr. Lube changes your oil in only 15 min without an appointment, they’re price is way out there. Some people’s thoughts on Mr. Lube:
“The reason for managers leaving Mr.Lube was that Boston pizza bought out Mr.Lube and the only concern they have is high profit returns. The company is now run by Ex- Bell Canada employess who themselves do not know where the oil goes in their cars. ”
“In BC, Lubeworld is now mainly operated by ex Mr. Lube managers.
Lubeworld and Great Canadian Oil Change are actually part of the same company since Great Canadian is the franchise arm of the company. Since the managers left in 2006 there has been a huge turnover of qualified employees from Mr. Lube going to Lubeworld and setting up shop there. My friend included. Morale is just horrible at Mr. Lube which probably explains their 1/2 price next oil change promotion. They are definitely hurting and losing customers. So just be careful where you go. There are some good places around. “
Nah… I guess I’ll pass on Mr. Lube. Look at their price! nearly $50 for an oil change?!
Jiffy Lube - $38.99 + tax - not much to say really about these guys. Just another one of those lube places.
Minit-Tune - $32.88 + tax - now this one really caught my eye. The price is quite reasonable, and the place is a few blocks away. Even better, they have a special coupon on their website that does all the regular oil change plus tire rotations for only $32.88. Not bad eh?
Dealership - Downtown Vancouver Toyota - $34.95 + tax + FREE CAR WASH - now that’s what I’m talking about! Not only is this a dealership with certified, Toyota-trained technicians, not only do they offer a pretty damn good price, but they also give you a free car wash! What else can you ask for? Coffee and paper? I’m pretty sure they got your coffee and paper there too.
So basically I ended up calling and making an appointment with the Toyota Dealer. Their service was quite friendly and professional. Dropped off my car. Picked up my car. Nice and sparkly car. Me so happy
Total charge? $43.06. Considering that the car wash was included free of charge (hand-washed, by the way ), this is a pretty decent price.
01.Feb.08 Defensive Eco-Driving Comments (6)
It has been a few days since I shared the jackrabbit post with you. After reading it over, I thought to myself… boy oh boy did I write a lot in that post! Hopefully you got a chance to read through it. Here are some of my recent jackrabbit encounters on the roads of Vancouver.
Posted above is my route of choice to and from Lord Byng everyday. It’s a nice ‘n simple drive and usually takes about 20 minutes. I meet most of the jackrabbits on the way back from school (point A –> b), Sunday-drivers in their big SUVs.
Point A to Point Gray Road is downhill all the way (I like!). Point Gray Road and Cornwall Ave. is a narrow, single lane stretch with a 30 km/h speed limit. To save gas, I usually coast at 40 km/h. Yet, there are always these jackrabbits who think that 60 km/h isn’t even fast enough for them.
Over the past few days, I meet quite a few jackrabbits. Interestingly enough, they tend to tailgate and speed in the 30 km/h zone. That’s a smart and safe thing to do eh (sarcasm!). Well… one time, there’s a lady behind me in her gas-burning SUV. As if tailgating isn’t enough (traveling at 40 km/h in the 30 km/h zone), she honks and tries to push me forward. I stayed cool. Riding on my brakes to warn her to back off would be a bad idea. Not only would that waste my brakes, it would also create a safety hazard ( you’d think tailgaters have brains.. but no). After a bit, she passes me from the right, WHOOMING her engine (and draining her fuel) as she went. Funny thing, a kept on coasting at 40 km/h and passed her a while later as she was stuck at an intersection trying to make a left-hand turn. Get my point?
Another encounter. Same route. This jackrabbit isn’t as retarded as the last one. He/she was tailgating, but wasn’t honking like the last one. This one too, pulled an illegal right-hand pass. Two seconds later, we hit a red light. The jackrabbit brakes hard while I slowly coast to a stop from behind. Point proven yet?
A few more common jackrabbit sightings. Going up the Burrard Street bridge, I usually keep my engine at max 2000 RPM to save fuel consumption (you know that the best way to burn up fuel is to WHOOMM your engine going uphill?). I always accelerate slowly and reach up to 50 km/h. I’d stay in the right lane and watch… erm… drivers speed up the bridge and pass me. Funny thing is, they always brake going down the hill, while I coast. At the bottom of the bridge, they always stop dead (if there’s traffic building up) and go at zero miles/gallon while I coast to a stop. I think you get my point.
That’s it for now. Keep updated through the Vancouver Driving category on my blog.
30.Jan.08 Defensive Eco-Driving Comment (1)
