The "It's not what you drive, but how you drive it" school of thought in fuel economy is making its way to “old adage” status.
Fuel Clinic, the extracurricular brainchild of professional software developer Michael Bragg, empowers the common-folk to do their part and then some when it comes to environmental consciousness. The online tool can prove to your car-pool buddy that his stop-and-go driving is not only hard on your stomach, but hard on his wallet too. It's easy, all you need to do is tell it about each fill-up, and it's free.
Finally, a valid response to the "Well, I drive a Prius and I'm better than you" crowd that doesn't include the words "Yo momma."
Born of Bragg's personal interest in tracking fuel use and mileage, Fuel Clinic provides visual feedback to demonstrate the effects of your driving habits that you were so blissfully ignorant of. It's a personal driving management tool that lets you create a profile, track up to five vehicles and answer questions like:
What brand or grade gasoline do I get the best mileage with?
How does keeping all that junk in my trunk impact my carbon footprint?
Am I getting the shaft on my fuel/mileage reimbursement?
Which eco-driving tips actually are effective?
Is the tool targeted at hyper-milers and quintessential Prius owners? Absolutely not.
“We are trying to break out of that niche,” Bragg told Wired.com. “It’s harder and more important to convince the average Joe with what he drives to work everyday on his daily commute. Hybrid owners are already on board.”
According to Bragg, the worst offenders -- typically SUV and truck owners -- have the most to gain. Fuel Clinic claims to have improved members' feul efficiency 6.56 percent over 3.4 million miles.
Recent teaming efforts with driving instructor and test driving big-wigs John Henry and Steve Garrod are on track, quite literally. In conjunction with Digital Eye Systems and their EcoRoadCam fleet management technology and the Driver’s Instructors Association, Fuel Clinic is bringing an eco-driving course to Central Florida Racing Complex in September. With a combination of track-time and classroom instruction, students will learn smart eco-driving techniques. The technologies behind Fuel Clinic and EcoRoadCam will document and compare their performance lap-to-lap.
There is a lot going on for Fuel Clinic, as Bragg and team have become the "center of the hub" for future efforts. Amongst the plans, Fuel Clinic hopes to create new functionality through a recently signed technical agreement sharing data-acquisition and storing methods with DashDyno, a tuner market favorite for plug-and-play car performance stats.
If you're looking for a raw muscle and street-cred silver lining, consider Fuel Clinic sponsors MJK racing's 5.9-liter, 540-horsepower 1994 SCCA GT1 class Camaro. The car is so heavily modified the only street parts left are the taillights. The unlikely teaming is an effort to mainstream conscientious driving through racing's popularity with the American public while providing a venue for research.
Yes, 540hp is completely necessary. It's all in the name of research.
Main Photo: Flickr / Dshack
