With a $1.2 million grant from the Department of Energy, the research team is in the very first stage of developing their study.  Researcher Kanok Boriboonsomsin said he's studying ways cars with network connectivity might offer a fuel-saving route on a GPS system, and how infotainment systems can provide real-time feedback on fuel economy without distracting or annoying drivers.  "When you get in the car, you have the vehicle recommend the route you could take based on traffic conditions on the route, and on the way if there's anything wrong with your driving it may provide some feedback to you to adjust your driving behavior," Boriboonsomsin said.  That's key, because, as any hypermiler will tell you, the best way to increase fuel efficiency is to adjust the nut holding the steering wheel. Snarky, yes, but CERT's research could help automakers help us improve our fuel economy without spending a dime on powertrain engineering.  But first, the researchers at CERT have to find the best way to change driver behavior. That means creating a system that immediately emphasizes the benefits of efficient driving without creating a needless distraction or aggravation.  The nut holding the wheel  The team at CERT is hardly the first to try changing drivers' habits to improve fuel economy.  They were, however, the first to prove that drivers presented with real-time feedback about their fuel economy turned into instant hypermilers -- reducing their fuel consumption by 6% on average by coasting to stoplights, laying off the gas while accelerating and upshifting as soon as possible.  It's getting easier for drivers to know how their driving affects their gas mileage. Many modern internal combustion -- and every EV and hybrid we've ever driven -- features a dashboard display showing real-time and average fuel economy.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CERT) are developing a new way of boosting fuel efficiency by as much as 30% without