Bob Barlow, Wayne Gerdes, Rick Reece, and Dan Kroushl drove 47 hours for a total of 1,397 miles on 12.87 gallons of gasoline in an unmodified Toyota Prius. How did they do it?

The men took turns on 4 hour shifts driving a 15-mile stretch of Route 65 in the United States. They achieved this amazing 110 MPG by using the "Pulse and Glide Method." The P&G method can only work for hybrids. To pulse the car you speed up to about 40 mph then ease off the pedal until the engine shuts off and the hybrid system goes into electric mode. Now it goes into the glide part. The engine is off, the electric motor is disengaged and the vehicle is literally coasting for free. When the car slows to about 25 or 30 MPH (depending on traffic conditions, of course) repeat the pulse part, then the glide and so on. If properly applied, this trick uses the engine only to accelerate, and it never has the chance to idle along, wasting fuel while providing no return.

They were able to keep the gasoline used less than 30% of the trip. They drove with the "low fuel" light blinking for more than 8 hours, something that few people could do without having a nervous breakdown.

This new record shows just how much our driving habits can influence fuel economy, especially with hybrid cars, and will hopefully bring more attention to hybrid cars and what is possible with current technology. Of course, this is an extreme scenario and the driving conditions were not "real world", but our everyday driving could benefit from more awareness of fuel economy.