(Photo by Julie Grant)
Lots of new hybrids and electric
cars are coming to the market. But some
say you don’t need an expensive new car to
get really good gas mileage. In the second
part of our series on saving gas, reporter
Julie Grant met one group of guys who says
you just need to take good care of your vehicle
and drive like your grandmother:
Transcript
Lots of new hybrids and electric
cars are coming to the market. But some
say you don’t need an expensive new car to
get really good gas mileage. In the second
part of our series on saving gas, reporter
Julie Grant met one group of guys who says
you just need to take good care of your vehicle
and drive like your grandmother:
John Stine – aka Johnny Mullet – has always been crazy
about fast cars and big trucks.
But in the past year, this self-described country boy put
aside the hot rods and four-wheel-drive pick-ups and bought
an old Chevy Metro with a tiny 3 cylinder engine. He made a
few changes to make it more aerodynamic such as taking off
the passenger side mirror and even the radio antennae.
And, Stine also started driving really slowly.
It took a while for Johnny Stine’s wife to come around to the
changes.
John Stine: “What did you think at first?”
Mrs. Stine: “At first?”
John Stine: “I’m a nerd. You’re crazy.”
Mrs. Stine: “I thought he was a big nerd. I thought ‘oh my
God.’”
John Stine: “What are you doing to my car?”
That all changed pretty quickly as prices at pump went up.
Her nerd went from geek to chic.
Mrs. Stine: “Anything to save gas. We have a big truck. It
was costing us over $160 a week in fuel. But when he got
57 miles to the gallon, I was just like, ‘wow, what a
difference.’”
(sound of car talk)
Stine is meeting up today with about 20 other motor heads
from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and as far as Virginia. They’ve
gathered at a state park to check out each other’s souped-
down vehicles.
The parking lot is not lined with macho- muscle cars with 20-
inch rims. These guys drive refurbished Ford Festivas, Geo
and Chevy Metros on the skinniest tires possible.
Paul Keim says they’re just trying to save a few bucks on
gas. But his wife isn’t completely sold on this hobby.
“Ask her. The lady in the green shirt, she’ll tell you, my
name is ‘cheap bastard’.”
Keim says his wife does appreciate his gas saving tips.
She’s picked up 5 miles per gallon – just by keeping up the
tire pressure, changing the oil regularly, and, adjusting the
nut behind the wheel.
“You are the nut behind the wheel. Once you adjust your
attitude, and your driving style, you can get incredible
mileage.”
So, what do we need to change behind the wheel?
(sound of car doors)
John Stine is going to give us a few tips.
First, pay attention to your aerodynamics.
Julie Grant: “It’s pretty warm, am I allowed to have the
windows opened?”
John Stine: “The windows open when we’re sitting is fine.
As I’m driving, I like to keep them up unless it is very hot.”
Open windows are bad for aerodynamics. Air conditioning
wastes gas.
So, there are sacrifices. You might get a little sweaty – just
carry some extra deodorant.
Everyone here today drive cars with a stick shift because it
means better gas mileage.
Stine does whatever he can to keep momentum and not stop
at a traffic light. That can mean coasting very slowly up to
an intersection.
Some guys here say it’s been tough to adjust their driving
habits. To drive slowly – especially when the driver behind
them is bearing down on the bumper in a race to the office.
Ken Pietro of Detroit says he knows it irritates other drivers,
but that’s their problem.
“It’s just like, ‘hey, go around, go around,’ we’re in no hurry.”
Pietro says he doesn’t care, since he’s getting more than 52
miles per gallon. What’s your mileage? He didn’t even have
to buy a hybrid.
“People just can’t believe I’m getting that. You’ve got all the
newer Priuses and Honda Insights and all that. And these
people are shelling out 20 or 25 thousand dollars to get good
gas mileage with these hybrid vehicles. Which is fine, you
got the money to do it. That’s great, save the environment.
But I can do it in a $500 car and I’m getting better mileage
than them.”
And while you might complain about their slow driving, they
might just beat you home – they won’t have to make a pit
stop at the pump.
For The Environment Report, I’m Julie Grant.