We just got a Ford Escape Hybrid (since our other two cars are kissing the 200k mileage mark and are starting to fall apart...we're taking bets on which one goes first). One of the fun features of this car is that it tracks average mpg. Being the rather competitive person that I am, I have turned driving this thing into a contest to see just how high I can get that little marker to tick upwards. I seem to average about 33.3 - 33.4 mpg and this is probably sad to admit, but last week one of my highlights was getting that little reading all the way up to 33.6. I know, it's only two lousy tenths more per gallon, but I like to see my car saving gasoline! It's been a nice car drive. The Escape handles well and I even like the color (kind of a champagne color). I have dubbed her "Portia," from The Merchant of Venice. Okay, so it's also a sneaky play on the sound of the name so people will think I'm driving a Porsche. I also love driving slowly enough to keep the gas engine off and just be driving on battery power. I'm learning a few tricks to increase the gas mileage. My dad told me that if I release pressure on the gas pedal a bit once I've reached the speed I want that I'll see the rpm gauge drop a bit, which means I'm using less gas since I'm not accelerating any more. Aha! Now I had just better keep my eyes on the road instead of my gauges.
Off to my last music teacher association meeting of the year. Promise I'll watch the road!
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