How to make a Toyota Highlander get 60MPG

This article isn’t about how to retrofit a gasoline engine to run on used dishwater.  And it’s not about the lifecycle energy costs of an automobile.  This article is about how your number one weapon against using oil for transportation is personal choice.

Americans are often keen to consume their way out of a problem.  Case in-point would be the cash-for-clunkers program of 2009.  The federal government provided a subsidy to consumers to purchase a new car which would get better gas mileage, and perhaps helped some sleep better at night about their personal impact on the world.  This program had multiple goals, but the primary was to prop up the economy by encouraging consumers to purchase a new car.  However, as an environmental program, this Federal subsidy stinks.

As a component for deciding which automobile to purchase, the fuel economy of an vehicle is usually considered on a linear scale.  As personal transportation, a Hummer is a less sustainable vehicle than a Prius.  However, It’s more important to consider the personal choices one makes in how they will use the vehicle.  I have no problem with someone owning or purchasing a large low-fuel-economy vehicle if it mostly gets used to transport 4 or 5 people.  12 MPG is more realistically 48 MPG, if you are on average carrying 4 people.  Sleep well at night owning a gas guzzler, just don’t use it for personal transportation.

For my family, the choice for us is hold on to our older Toyota highlander instead of buying a new car every 5 years or so like to many Americans.  The Toyota Highlander we use in my household is not particularly fuel efficient at around 20MPG.  However, we almost never drive with less than 2 people in the car or more often, with three people.  At 20 MPG per person our vehicle gets 60MPG.    We don’t use the car for personal transportation.

It’s a simple easy personal choice, but you have to open your eyes to realized it.  Before you get into your car to grab a cup of coffee or drive to work, is there another way to get where you are going?  Would a bicycle, bus, or train get you where you are trying to go?