"Smart" Driving Expensive

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22350, 22 February 1936, Page 37 (Supplement)

"Smart" Driving Expensive

SPECTACULAR ACCELERATION COSTS MONEY

" "YyHY throw away half the petrol that you put into your tank?" asks an American writer. " A careful driver can often get more than 30 miles to the gallon from a car which, if driven in an extravagant way, will give only 15 miles to the gallon." Nearly every driver dashes away from a standing start, pressing the accelerator pedal down to the floor boards in an effort to outstrip the car beside him. This is extravagant motoring. It costs money to make a quick getaway, no matter how efficient your engine may be. Pressing the throttle down to the floor gives the engine more petrol than it needs for maximum acceleration. The average engine develops nearly as much power, but uses about half the quantity of petrol, at half throttle. Driving faster than the regular flow of traffic necessitates excessive use of the brakes, and one throws away most of

weight. By driving carefully one may save a third of a cup of petrol each time one moves from a Btanding start. At the end of a day one may have saved even half a gallon, which is worth nearly a shilling. The effect of sudden acceleration on petrol consumption was revealed in a series of tests recently carried out overseas. To accelerate quickly with a full throttle from a standstill to 80 m.p.h. in second gear calls for a considerable " outlay " in power, and during such times the average full-sized car will deliver only from about four to five miles a gallon. During sudden acceleration from 30 to 60 m.p.h., with full throttle, and in top gear, the average is from seven to nine miles a gallon. Driving a car with wide-open throttle uses much more petrol than travelling at a moderate speed with the throttle only partially opened.