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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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Hybrid Owners Put the Pedal to Fuel Efficiency

Prius' real-time feedback alters driving habits to max MPGs

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(Newser) – Leaving the bad old days of drag-racing in the dust, greenies are now engaging in their own race for fuel efficiency, reports the Washington Post. With hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius giving up-to-the-second feedback on just how much gas passing that little old lady in the right lane is guzzling, many drivers are adjusting their habits to max out their MPGs.

Avoiding hills, lead-footedness, and fast stops can take a tank from an average 40 MPGs to 60 or more, and hybrid geeks are making it a competitive sport—even crowing about results online. Says one Prius devotee who denied his wife use of the car ("You're gonna screw up my mileage"), "It's just knowledge. Now I have it."

High gas prices posted at a Shell gas station in Redwood City, Calif., Wednesday, May 14, 2008, as a Toyota Prius hybrid drives by.
High gas prices posted at a Shell gas station in Redwood City, Calif., Wednesday, May 14, 2008, as a Toyota Prius hybrid drives by.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Unsold 2008 Prius hybrid sedans sit on a lot at a Toyota dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo., in this Nov. 4, 2007 file photo.
Unsold 2008 Prius hybrid sedans sit on a lot at a Toyota dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo., in this Nov. 4, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
Zenon Bartido, pumps gas into his Toyota Prius hybrid car at a Shell gas station in Sunnyvale, Calif., Wednesday, August 15, 2007.
Zenon Bartido, pumps gas into his Toyota Prius hybrid car at a Shell gas station in Sunnyvale, Calif., Wednesday, August 15, 2007.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
A 2007 Toyota Prius is shown in a Sept. 2006 photo. A decade after the first Prius went on sale, Toyota's global sales of hybrid vehicles have hit a landmark 1 million.
A 2007 Toyota Prius is shown in a Sept. 2006 photo. A decade after the first Prius went on sale, Toyota's global sales of hybrid vehicles have hit a landmark 1 million.   (AP Photo/Toyota Motor Corp., File)
An unidentified buyer looks over some of the 2007 models on display in front of a Toyota dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo., on Sunday, March 25, 2007.
An unidentified buyer looks over some of the 2007 models on display in front of a Toyota dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo., on Sunday, March 25, 2007.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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