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Japanese Mileage Maniacs

Posted by Zonk on from the where-did-they-get-those-wonderful-toys dept.

WY writes "Bloomberg reports on the quirky world of Japanese hybrid car hackers: 'Toyota Motor Corp. says its Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car gets about 55 miles to the gallon, making it one of the most fuel-efficient cars on the road. That's not good enough for Takashi Toya.' He managed to reach as high as 115 MPG. He is one of about 100 nenpimania, Japanese for mileage maniacs."

4 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. How "real" is their driving? by xmas2003 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The article is a bit light on details, but my guess is a significant factor is they are driving on fairly flat terrain, they really minimize accelerations, and probably stay below typical highway speeds since air drag becomes significant. I.e. I'd like to see 'em get 100+ MPG driving over some Colorado mountain passes. Article also doesn't talk about this, but I bet for long trips, the savings in gas that is offset by the extended driving times ends up valueing their time at a pretty darn low $$$/hour.

    Sure, I'm all for more fuel efficient cars and less fossil fuel burning, but there is a tradeoff.

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    1. Re:How "real" is their driving? by anagama · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Japan is pretty mountainous -- obviously not as high as the rockies but lots of up, down, and around.

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  2. Why only 55? by Brad1138 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It is good to see people getting "real" good mileage. The Prius gets 55 MPG, the Geo metro and Honda civic in the late 80's and early 90 got mid 50's. I heard some GM exec on the radio yesterday talking about the new 50 MPG small cars they were bringing to market, what, "used Honda's"? If a regular engine can get 50+ MPG it shouldn't be hard for a Hybrid to get 70 or 80+, if not 100+.

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    1. Re:Why only 55? by janek78 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Good point, our regular turbodiesel Skoda (a European car) gets 70-80 mpg even if you not trying. It's always fun comparing American and European cars. Other point is - they all have one person in them anyway, so theoretically, they should all do like 200 mpg, right? It seems so wasteful to be dragging around two tons of metal to transport one person.