100 mpg? For 'hypermilers,' that sounds about right

GILBERT, Ariz. -- After a 29-mile jaunt from his Phoenix office to his home here, Louis Hudgin proclaimed his gas mileage "pitiful."

He averaged just 88.3 miles per gallon.

Most drivers would take a victory lap if they managed to squeeze that kind of mileage out of increasingly precious gasoline. Even on this, a bad day, Hudgin coaxed 28 mpg more out of his 2000 Honda Insight hybrid than its federal highway mpg rating.

Hudgin's disappointment — he usually averages about 100 mpg this time of year — stems from his pride in being no ordinary driver.

He's a hypermiler, part of a loose-knit legion of commuters who've made racking up seemingly unattainable mpg an art. And a sport.

Hypermilers practice such unorthodox techniques as coasting for blocks with their car's engine turned off, driving far below speed limits on the freeway, pumping up tire pressure far beyond car and tire makers' recommendations and carefully manipulating the gas pedal to avoid fuel-burning excess.

They endure not only occasional honks from other motorists angry at their slow-poke ways, but intentional discomforts, as well. Like keeping the air conditioning off and windows barely cracked on a more than 90-degree day. Or parking in the boondocks at shopping centers so they can motor head-first toward the exit rather than backing out of a space.

Just about anything for an extra one, two, maybe even four mpg. With their odd fixation and log-book scribbles obsessively tracking their mileage, the hypermiler community might in other times be typecast as tightwad eccentrics. But in an era of $4-plus-a-gallon gas, they're garnering increasing attention as driving superstars, even saviors of the planet.

"More power to them if that's important to them, and they are accomplishing a goal that also benefits society," says Ron Cogan, publisher of Green Car Journal.

Automakers are taking notice. Honda will install an instrument in a new hybrid it will roll out next year that cues drivers for gas-saving actions, such as when to ease off the accelerator, says spokesman Sage Marie.

Hypermilers share their triumphs and secrets on a handful of websites. They also gather in some cities as a subset of clubs for hybrid-car owners, which many now are.

Driving safety advocates laud some of their habits — but heap scorn on others.