My Plan for Cars to Get Better Gas Mileage

I'm baaaaaaack. Well...I'm finally done with school forever, and while I was sitting in traffic today during my last morning commute to Manhattan College, I had an awesome idea for how to improve gas mileage. I personally think it's a pretty cool idea, not just because we are living in the times of the great global warming debate, but just because everyone loves getting good gas mileage...and because my idea involves something that can be fun for everyone. I'll give you a hint: it involves NASCAR. Hang on! Don't click the X at the top right of the screen! Just because I mentioned global warming and NASCAR doesn't mean I'm going on some crazy rant...my idea is actually kind of cool...and I swear it really only has to do with gas mileage...so just hear me out.

Ok...now I came up with this idea while I sat in traffic and came to the realization that people lack the ability to drive at highway speeds (65-80 mph) in large, closely packed groups of cars. When there's a lot of people on the road, everyone just mopes along, and as a result, everyone's gas mileage suffers, as well as everyone's sanity. So...I propose that everyone...and I mean everyone (yes, even you, Asian lady talking on your cell phone)...goes to NASCAR driving school. I mean, who else would be better to learn from than NASCAR drivers? Those guys can go 160+ mph in a pack of 40 cars with mere inches between each car. Sure...they crash a lot, but that's because they're constantly going in a circle. Now you're probably wondering how taking NASCAR driving lessons would help gas mileage, so I'll get to my point. In NASCAR there is a technique called drafting, in which one car gets behind another car, and follows it as closely as possible, therefore inserting itself into the air pocket behind the lead car. Getting into the air pocket behind the lead car means that the rear car is not experiencing any wind resistance. This is helpful in races because it allows the car in the air pocket to go faster due to the lack of wind resistance, and then eventually slingshot himself around the lead car. This driving technique would be helpful for driving a regular street car because the lack of wind resistance in the air pocket allows the car in the pocket to get better gas mileage. So think about this plan now. We get everyone to go to NASCAR sanctioned driving schools...and we all learn how to move our asses in tightly packed groups of cars, and we all learn to how to draft. Once we get everyone drafting each other, you could potentially have a line of cars 20 cars long all drafting one another and getting great gas mileage! Your car that gets 25 mpg could possibly get 35 mpg or maybe even 40 mpg! How fuckin' sweet would that be? Think of all the gas you wouldn't have to waste money on! There would be no traffic during morning commutes either, because no one will be creeping along...everyone will be movin' their ass to the tune of 65-80 mph, and they won't be afraid to do so because they learned from the best of the best!

Some of you may be wondering, "Hey Chris...how do you know that less wind resistance means you get better gas mileage?" Well...seeing as how I have a bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering...I know these kinds of things. In aerodynamics, we learn that the purpose of making cars more aerodynamic and sleek is so that they have a lower drag coefficient (which means they experience less wind resistance). Theoretically, the lower a car's drag coefficient, the faster it can go while still getting decent gas mileage. Most car manufacturers design their cars so that you get the best gas mileage at 65 mph, which is the highest possible highway speed allowed by law in the majority of the country. Once you go faster than 65 mph, your gas mileage begins to take a turn for the worse. Applied to my drafting plan, the zero wind resistance experienced in the air pocket behind the lead car means your car's drag coefficient essentially becomes zero (meaning it has no drag), due to the fact that the air pocket is essentially a vacuum (meaning it lacks air).

So there ya go! That's my plan to increase gas mileage on everyone's car without any major technological overhauls. Take that Exxon/Mobil/Sunoco/BP/Hess/Lukoil/Iraq/Iran/Saudi Arabia/Kuwait/Venezuela! Now it's our turn to screw you guys over by making your profits lower! Seriously though...I know that my plan is a little out in left field, and since it doesn't concern reducing emissions, it will probably never affect global warming (if it really does exist), but honestly...is it any crazier than telling people that it's ok to pollute as long you buy some bull-shit carbon offsets?