Americans love games, whether it’s the kind that involves sweating outside on a sunny day or sitting in the rec room with the new edition of “Grand Theft Auto.” One essential part of games, though, is keeping score. If you want to stimulate people’s competitive juices, it helps to let them know when they’re doing well and when they’re not. And that might just turn out to be the key to improving how Americans do in a pastime that is bigger than a game — saving energy.
The Toyota Prius, for example, has a dashboard monitor that lets drivers see exactly how many miles per gallon they are getting at all times. Some of them, presented with a scoreboard, feel an irresistible urge to put up big numbers by adjusting their driving practices. One Ohio driver has managed to squeeze 58 m.p.g. out of his hybrid.
Other drivers are not content competing against themselves. Evan Hirsche and Katie Sebastian, who live in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, both drive Priuses and regularly compare their mileage. According to a recent story in The Washington Post, Hirsche has been getting 43 m.p.g., while Sebastian has managed 41.
She suspects he pads his figure by taking long, gas-sipping drives, a charge Hirsche denies. But Sebastian can take comfort in knowing how badly she’s trouncing most other car owners, whose vehicles are required to get an average of just 27.5 m.p.g.
Even these two are only beginning to explore their fuel-economizing potential. Some motorists known as “hypermilers” not only keep track of their numbers but post them online. A Chicagoan named Tony Schaefer, says the Post, got 66.9 m.p.g. out of one recent tank of gas.
If experience tells us anything, it’s that some Americans will go from being indifferent to their mileage to being attentive to being downright obsessed. Which has to be bad news for the Saudis.
It’s not only drivers who can compete. You can buy a device to tell you how much power your appliances are using. Or one that shows your total home energy consumption at any given moment — shining blue for low use and red for high. We suspect some homeowners will find their moods powerfully influenced by that indicator, and will look hard for ways to attain a constant blue glow.
Heck, they might even start bragging to their neighbors about how they’re doing, and their neighbors might start fretting about falling behind. And who knows where that could lead?
If fuel costs stay high, people are going to pay a lot more heed to boosting their energy efficiency. And like Americans of the recent past who enjoyed having the most imposing SUV on the block, many of them will savor the chance to say, if only to themselves, “Mine is bigger than yours.”
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IN THE WEB EDITION: How good is your gas mileage? What are you doing to save fuel? Tell us at chicagotribune.com/voxpop.
