Device tracks
cars' fuel economy

Device crunches the numbers on gas use, costs to inspire motorists to drive efficiently

Thursday, July 2, 2009

By Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News

Even with all of the talk about cash for clunkers, radically higher corporate average fuel economy regulations, hybrids and $45,000 electric vehicles, and with gas galloping back toward $3 a gallon -- if not beyond -- at least one question remains: Do you actually know what sort of mileage your vehicle gets?

Or let's put it another way: Would it make a difference in your driving if you knew that it costs $9.50 every time to you drive to work or $5.25 every time you take the children to school?

Karl Singer thinks so. Singer is the founder and president of the Fuel Efficiency Center, a Dallas-based company that sells a device that plugs into any vehicle produced since 1996 and provides all sorts of numeric feedback, including current and average fuel economy, the cost of your current trip and how much you've spent on any given day of your driving.

Even with all of the talk about cash for clunkers, radically higher corporate average fuel economy regulations, hybrids and $45,000 electric vehicles, and with gas galloping back toward $3 a gallon -- if not beyond -- at least one question remains: Do you actually know what sort of mileage your vehicle gets? Or let's put it another way: Would it make a difference in your driving if you knew that it costs $9.50 every time to you drive to work or $5.25 every time you take the children to school? Karl Singer thinks so. Singer is the founder and president of the Fuel Efficiency Center, a Dallas-based company that sells a device that plugs into any vehicle produced since 1996 and provides all sorts of numeric feedback, including current and average fuel economy, the cost of your current trip and how much you've spent on any given day of your driving. By seeing such numbers, and seeing them in real time, Singer thinks people will change their driving habits, not only becoming more fuel-efficient but also less aggressive -- and to Singer, aggressive driving is a social problem much like secondhand smoke. Singer is so concerned about driving habits and their costs that in addition to selling the Fuel Efficient Adviser device, he launched StarDrivers.org and is trying to convince insurance companies, HOV-lane regulators and others that people who drive safely and efficiently should enjoy the same discounts and privileges as, say, those who drive hybrids.

Singer says the Fuel Efficiency Adviser provides what he calls "a cash readout" that informs drivers and inspires them to drive more fuel efficiently with current technology. He says that someone who spends, say, $5.50 driving to work can realize that "if I drive smart, I can get this drive down to 4 bucks!"

Singer notes that seeing such immediate results helps make good driving habits sustainable. He admits that he himself is "a transformed transgressor" who used to be a very aggressive driver but now finds he not only saves money, but also "arrives unstressed."

He sees StarDrivers.org as an online social network that further encourages efficient driving, and that eventually will provide discounts like those offered by groups such as the AARP and AAA.

The Fuel Efficiency Adviser sells for $159.95. It plugs into the OBD-II port (just below the dashboard) on post-1995 vehicles and not only provides fuel economy information, but also can be used as a trip computer, as auxiliary gauges showing everything from transmission temperature to voltage, or as a scan tool that reads "check engine" warning codes. (The Fuel Efficiency Adviser is an enhanced version of the slightly more expensive ScanGaugeII devise made by Linear-Logic of Mesa, Ariz.)

For information or to order the Fuel Efficiency Adviser,
visit www.fuelefficiencycenters.com or call (877) 439-3534.

Larry Edsall is a Phoenix-based freelance writer. You can reach him at ledsall@cox.net.

 

The Fuel Efficiency Adviser offers the driver a variety of information. At upper left, it shows the cost of fuel used for the current trip; top right is the cost of fuel used during the day. At lower left, instant fuel economy is updated every other second. At lower right, average fuel economy is shown for the trip. It is sold by the Fuel Efficiency Center of Dallas. (Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News)