[Bmcu] Economy Run now on Saturday, June 4 at 9 am

[Andrew Frink]

(NOTE: this is on our website -- http://bmcu.drooartz.com -- if you have trouble with the email)

Greetings everyone, if you have looked at the "Lucas Calendar" you will note that this weekend is supposed to be our "Twice over the Oquirrh's Trip.  If you have also looked out the window at the Oquirrh's lately you have probably noticed that they are still under snow.  The most recent estimate that I saw indicated that we are about 5 weeks behind where we should be for snow melt this year. 
 
That said, I realize that some of you may fancy yourselves as Sterling Moss and are anxious for the opportunity for a hair raising ralley through the snow covered Alps.  However most us do not want to plunge off the road to a 1,000 foot fiery death any more than we want to plunge 5 feet off the road to a dented fender!  Therefore, logic and reason should prevail and we will save the "Twice Over The Oquirrh's Trip" for later in the summer.  Fortunately, never fear, I was also planning to do an "Economy Run" this summer, so we will just switch the dates.
 
So, this Saturday, June 4th, that's day after tomorrow, we meet for our first ever "Economy Run".  So what the heck is an "Economy Run"?  Well, Mobile in the U.S. and Mobilegas in the U.K. are the companies that promoted economy runs as corporate sponsored events and Wikipedia describes it as follows.  Mobil Economy Run was an event that took place every year from 1936 (except during World War II) to 1968. It was designed to provide real fuel efficiency numbers during a coast to coast test on real roads and with regular traffic and weather conditions. The Mobil Oil Corporation sponsored it and the United States Auto Club (USAC) sanctioned and operated the run.
 
To read their full article, use the following link:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobil_Economy_Run
 
We will meet June 4th at the Flying J Travel Plaza at 850 West and 2100 South in SLC at 9:00 A.M. for a 9:30 Drivers Meeting and the first car away at 10:00.  If you get there before I do ask for "Mike", tell him that you are with the "car club" and as a special offer you can get a 20 oz cup of coffee for only $1.00!  Flying J is anxious to have us but I want to make sure that we are respectful to them and that we congregate in an area that is away from their "bread and butter business" of truck traffic.
 
You will need to bring some cash or credit card so that each car can have the gas tank topped off and "security sealed" to prevent tampering while on the drive and more cash for when you return, so we know how much gas was used.  To level the differences between cars and place the largest emphasis possible on the driving skill of the individual, the ton/mile formula will be used.  In this calculation (borrowed from a June 1954 "Popular Science" magazine article) the total weight of the car, occupants and a topped up fuel tank, is multiplied by the mileage covered and then divided by the amount of fuel used to yield the final winner.  It's really not so much what kind of car you drive but HOW YOU DRIVE that determines the winner.
 
We're going to keep the first year fairly short and simple and see how people like this kind of event.  It should be less than 100 miles and we'll put a maximum time limit on it of 2 hours  I hope everyone enjoys it!  GGDuff.
 
Here are some more articles for you review that may help with your driving strategy.   
 
There was a very good article in the July 1959 Popular Science Magazine, titled "Woman Driver Tells How to Save Gas"
 
I'll summarize it here. 
1)  Every time you brake, you lose that much gas.
2)  Anticipate stop lights.
3)  Easy, gradual acceleration from intersections.
4)  A consistent speed is the goal.
5)  The most economical speed to climb a hill is 45 m.p.h.
6)  Be mindful of the traffic around you.
 
This is a link to the full article:
http://books.google.com/books?id=KioDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=popular+science+how+to+win+an+economy+run&source=bl&ots=P6_cdNisYi&sig=4TpmNVH4aWHbaSjCE1SOP1sjjFE&hl=en&ei=_8bnTcf7EIK4sQOP7ZzyDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDEQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q&f=false
 
Moss Motors also ran the following article in the Spring 2010 issue of British Motoring.

   http://bmcu.drooartz.com/archive/email/mosseconrun.pdf