GM engineers speak up for installing MPG displays in every vehicle
Photo by Marcin Wichary. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Live mileage updates are probably best known from the Prius dashboard, but the world's best-selling hybrid is not the only vehicle with a real-time MPG display. Whether its a detailed display like on the Prius, an "eco light" like on the Malibu hybrid, or the very cool Ford Escape PHEV prototype screen, telling the driver how efficient their driving is at any given moment is the new black.
Ecomodder recently spoke with some GM engineers about HCCI technology when the discussion turned to MPG displays. The engineers realize that these displays can make driving into a bit of a game and that the knowledge pretty much automatically makes people greener drivers. Even with that assumption, the engineers acknowledge that whether or not these displays are installed in every GM vehicle is "a marketing decision." It seems like a no-brainer to me (but I'm not an engineer or in marketing) because if the automakers are going to spend untold millions on designing more fuel efficient cars, why not tack on the few extra dollars to "design" more fuel efficient drivers?
[Source: Ecomodder, h/t to Darin]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pablo 11:56AM (5/18/2008)
I've had BMW's with live fuel consumption indicators (both analog gauge and digital display) going back to the early 1980's. Even our 2002 Hyundai Elantra has a digital display of live fuel consumption. And the Elantra isn't exacty what I would call an expensive car.
With all ODB-II cars, the car's ECU already has the fuel consumption information available, the car makers just need to display it. This should be a no-brainer in every car....
Oh, except car makers would hate to have you actually be reminded, moment by moment, of exactly how crappy your mpg is in their massive SUV's and fat lumbering large V8 sedans. The reason this won't go into every car is that the car makers DO NOT WANT you to think about mpg everywhere you drive. If you did that, you wouldn't buy their cars anymore.
Yet again, the consumer will not get this very beneficial tool in every car unless there is legislation that mandates the display of live mpg consumption.
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Joseph 12:52PM (5/18/2008)
Automakers should add an mpg display to every car because it's a good accessory.
However, I don't think it usually convinces people to drive more economically. I know two people with cars that have an mpg display, and despite the fact that they notice their (average to mediocre) fuel-economy, they do nothing to try to improve it.
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Dad 1:24PM (5/18/2008)
"tack on the few extra dollars to "
A few dollars? What planet are you living on?
A few hundred, maybe, but just a few., No way.
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A.Brien 2:54PM (5/18/2008)
They can put a display for fuel consumption for approximately 20-30$ more in production cost per car and approximately 50-400$ millions in research and developements because they have to decide and tell which engineers will desing that, for how long, and there is the marketing department and the legal management people inside the compagny too that is bigger and bigger these years because of the more and more ruling there is with the goverment and their 10-20 agencies that rule the industry and there is the financials people from various parralel industries, oil, pharmaceutical, newspaper, gold, finance, military, etc that rule the world. So if you decide to change a little something in the car, it can cause a serious war or economic catastrophy.
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GreyFlcn 8:03PM (5/18/2008)
Doesn't need to be all that fancy.
Could just be an extra needle type meter.
Or even an LED with an 88.8 configuration.
Maybe add two push buttons like the trip meter.
One for average MPG, the other for something else ;D
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Kevin Nugent 7:57PM (5/18/2008)
Well finally they wake up and smell the coffee!
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s10 4:51PM (5/18/2008)
$30 to $40 more in production costs? No way... this is much cheaper... $3 or $4 is more likely. Just like the low tire pressure check light, this should be standard on all cars. If only people knew how much gas they could save if they would drive differently.... instead of accelerating to the max from one stoplight, stepping on the brake 10 seconds later for the next stoplight and on and on and on.
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Kyle 6:00PM (5/18/2008)
I notice the article did'nt say if GM is going to put them in the cars or not, was'ent that the whole point of an article entitled, "GM engineers speak up for installing MPG displays in every vehicle"?
Read "No answer" as "No, your not getting your MPG displays"
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Shades 6:09PM (5/18/2008)
The MPG screens are great for behavior modification. Imagine if every driver that steps on the gas peddle hard to race from 0 to 60 could see that they are only getting 9 miles-per-gallon. That would register very quickly at how much it is costing them in gas and dollars.
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oldjim 6:37PM (5/18/2008)
My 2000 Chevy Impala had it on it. It seems like they disabled the readout on my 2007 Saab and I miss it.
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David Wright 8:06PM (5/18/2008)
How about adding a feature allowing the driver to key in the price paid per gallon - so it can then display real-time consumption rate in dollars-per-hour.
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UH2L 8:31PM (5/18/2008)
The extra cost depends on what kinds of displays are already in the car. So it could be as cheap as nothing (just software) or as expensive as $20+. But even $5 times 100,000 cars is a lot of money. People forget that about high volume mass production.
It's funny because in "the old days", meaning pre-$2/gal gas, people had mpg readouts and never looked at them or never reset them. Now people might start doing so. But you're right that people with guzzlers won't want to look, unless they're interested in trying to save fuel with the vehicle they have.
I bought a Scan Gage which plugs in to the universal OBD port on vehicles and provides all the instantaneous data you could want. I highly recommend it.
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fd 8:20AM (5/19/2008)
I have been wanting more gauges on cars for years. Why is it that I have to switch between Tripmter / Temp & Heading / Eco / Avg Eco / Distance Till Empty / Blank?
I want all of those at the same time, seriously!
Just build the Eco, Avg Eco & DTE into the fuel tank gauge.
Let the trip meter be a trip meter and then the extra display can just be direction & temperature.
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auntiegrav 9:41PM (5/18/2008)
My 1966 Plymouth Barracuda had one built in. Technically, it was a vacuum gage. That's all you need for a gas engine. Just change the numbers to reflect miles per gallon. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to give the driver feedback for how hard they are stepping on the gas pedal.
Computers just suck. Next thing you'll be saying we should contract with Microsoft for these stupid overpriced gages.
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tankd0g 1:24AM (5/19/2008)
A Scan Guage II will do this on any OBD-II car for $160 and it'll pay for itself in the first year easy.
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diesel 4:35AM (5/19/2008)
I have being driving a civic euro model hatch for the past week. The previous driver was getting 36mpg imperial, I reset the trip and with driver modification I have got it up to 47mpg imperial. Most of my driving is trips less ten 4 miles the longest journey undertaken was 16 miles. I never passed 3000rpm and used the instant readout to get the highest possible mpg. I think they are impressive figures when you factor in the amount of speed ramps on my daily commute.
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doug 6:06AM (5/19/2008)
My new Fusion has one - most Fords do. My 1st tankful I got 27.5 overall, my 2nd I got 28.5, so far this tank I am averaging 29.9 (4 cylinder stick). It is a simple system, you hit reset everytime you fill up, and it gives you your running average for that tank.
The readout does turn driving into a game, I definitely think it would help people save gas. It should be a mandatory readout that can't be switched off.
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Dsuupr 9:05AM (5/19/2008)
Most new GM cars do have it. My HHR, and our previous Cobalt had one. So does my parents Rendevous. My parents "town car", a scion xa, does not have it.
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Dan 12:15PM (5/19/2008)
Great, more choices than just the Prius for the hippies crawling at 10mph under the limit with their eyes glued to the instant MPG gauge and oblivious to the 1/4 mile of traffic backed up behind them
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popeye 12:59PM (5/19/2008)
I have had a mileage readout (live and cumulative) on my '97 Chrysler LHS since I bought it new. I keep it on all the time and am sure it saves me gas - you really see how much your consumption skyrockets when you cruise faster or step on the accelerator in town traffic. Instantaneous mileage readout costs only the display, since the data is computed or can be computed by simple software modification for all cars with computer-controlled engine systems (I suspect that is every car sold nowadays).
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