Reporter Rene Gutel gets tips from Mike Speck, a master eco-drive trainer at Pro-Formance Group of Phoenix (Photo courtesy of Rene Gutel)
We’ve all heard we can improve our
gas mileage by changing our driving habits.
And you might think you already know what
that means – coast more, for example, or check your tires’ air pressure. But according to Ford Motor Company, if you really want to get better mileage, you need a trained coach in the passenger’s seat teaching you how to do
it. In the final part of our series
on saving gas, we sent reporter Rene Gutel out to learn how to eco-drive:
Transcript
We’ve all heard we can improve our
gas mileage by changing our driving habits.
And you might think you already know what
that means – coast more, for example, or check
your tires’ air pressure. But according to
Ford Motor Company, if you really want to get
better mileage, you need a trained coach in
the passenger’s seat teaching you how to do
it. In the final part of our series
on saving gas, we sent reporter Rene Gutel
out to learn how to eco-drive:
(sound of car)
So I’m behind the wheel of my silver Mini Cooper and eco-driving instructor Mike Speck
is coaching me on how to get the best gas mileage I can, as safely as possible.
“Try to keep just a steady throttle input. You can see you are on and off the gas quite a
bit.”
We’re on suburban Phoenix roads at the beginning of rush hour. I drive a stick-shift and
one of the first lessons Speck teaches me is to shift gears a lot more quickly than I’m used
to.
Mike Speck: “And upshift.”
Rene Gutel: “Already?”
Speck: “And upshift.”
Gutel: “Oh! But we’re only going 30 miles an hour in fourth gear?”
Speck: “Yeah, it’s below 2000 RPM. The car is perfectly fine doing it.”
Speck is what they call a master eco-drive trainer at Pro-Formance Group of Phoenix.
Ford Motor Company recently teamed up with Pro-Formance to offer nearly 50 eco-
driving tests in Arizona. They studied the results which showed that by working with a
coach like Speck for just a few hours, drivers can improve their fuel economy by 24%.
The nuts and bolts of eco-driving are simple enough: Accelerate and break smoothly.
Slow down and watch your speed. Also, anticipate traffic signals as you’re going down
the road. But all this sounds way easier than it really is.
Speck: “Now we know there’s another slow left-hander coming up so off the gas.”
Gutel: “Okay, I’m off the gas.”
Speck: “And just let it coast around the corner.”
Gutel: Okay, I feel like you’re teaching me to drive my car all over again.
Speck: “I’m trying to do it as mellow as I can.”
That feeling – of going back to driver’s ed – is actually part of the experience of learning
to eco-drive.
Curt Magleby is the Director of Government Relations at Ford and he says to learn how
to do it right, you do need a coach.
“It’s not about tips and that’s what you’ll see on many websites throughout the US: tips
on how to be a better eco-driver. It’s got to be the hands-on coaching experience that
changes behavior.”
Ford is part of a new nationwide effort to encourage eco-driving. Magleby says there’s
talk of putting trained coaches at Ford dealerships.
“So when a person comes into a dealership and they’re considering the purchase of a
vehicle and we can talk to them about not only, here is the technology vehicle, here’s
what you can do, but you are a part of that equation.”
And down the line, Magleby says Ford might be pushing to have these techniques
become a part driver’s ed classes.
(sound of driving)
Speck: “You are accelerating very smoothly… very linearly. It’s very good!”
Gutel: “This is a different feel to driving. I feel like I’m coasting everywhere.”
Speck: “You are, and most people freak out about how much time they’re going to take.
When we validated the study, the average time increase was only 10%.”
Speck and I drive the same route three times during my eco-driving lessons. The first run
was the control, no tips from him at all, and I averaged 27 miles a gallon. But by the end
of the third run, we boosted that to 36 miles a gallon. Not bad, huh? Now if I can only do
that well on my own.
For The Environment Report, I’m Rene Gutel.
“Now try second. Well done! Go to third and just let it coast. Very well done.”