Gas prices are way down right now but that has not halted the growing concern to save gas, find alternative fuel sources, and be as “green” as possible. Hybrid drive technologies and upcoming production electric cars are tackling this issue from the technology side – bringing new forms of propulsion to consumers in order to cut down on overall gas useage. However, some companies are coming out with features that will interact with the driver in order to convince them not to save fuel. This idea has been around since the ’70’s, but it dropped out of popularity quickly only to resurface very recently.

It all started out with a simple marking on the speedometer (mandated by the NHTSA in certain years like this 1980 Corvette); an orange marking at the 55 MPH spot was supposed to indicate the most efficient cruising speed and make it maintain it. Another feature that used to be popular was a chime that would activate when passing a certain speed (I believe it was usually set at 80 MPH). Thankfully you don’t see this one too often because of the sheer annoyance – can you imagine having to put  up with a constant reminder chime when cruising the interstates? Despite this, it has shown up in newer luxury cars such as the BMW 5 Series; after driving one for a long trip I decided that it was actually a very useful feature for that car because the smoothness and power of the car made it very easy to be cruising at 100MPH+ and think you are really going 75MPH. It is adjustable through i-Drive, so thoes that wish to really break some laws can still do it without being bothered by the car.

One of Nissan’s newest gas saving feature is a servo powered gas pedal that will actually push back on the driver when it is pushed ON. They have dubbed this feature, “ECO pedal”, and apparently it will start pushing the most when it believes that the driver is needlessly accelerating. Early drive reports have claimed that this feature is a great step towards getting more out of every drop of gas; despite this, I wonder why they had to go through the trouble of designing a complicated mechanical system for this when a spring would have did pretty much exactly the same thing. I guess they would not get as much press if they used such a “low tech” way to solve the problem.

How can anyone forget Toyota’s method of maximizing efficiency with their hybrid drivetrain? That LCD screen in the middle of the dashboard on Prius models has been the bane of commuters everywhere. I never realized why Prius drivers would accelerate so mind bogglingly slow and cruise at such a slow speed until I started driving one (surprising). The screen in the dash will display what is going on in the drivetrain based on the way you drive – how much energy is left on the battery, how much of the motor you are using, and the regenerative braking status. It somewhat turns driving into a game to see how much you can utilize the electric motor in order to get the maximum gas mileage.

Honda also wants a larger share of the “green” consumer market (more than its Insight & hybrid vehicles are covering) so it will also offer a psychological aid for gas efficiency as well. Their system involves soothing colors on the dashboard. When the driver is using the car in an efficient (slow) way, the dashboard will be backlit by a pleasant green color. If the owner begin to drive in a more aggressive manner, it will smoothly shift to a blue background. This blue light will supposedly remind drivers to throttle down their speed and use less gas. Another feature that Honda will include is a reminder system that will actually give advice on how one can go about saving gas. I doubt the efficiency of this system because there are really not that many things you can do to save gas except the obvious: properly working car, light & smooth acceleration, and keeping speed at a reasonable level. Seems to me like it will be like having your mother in the car – it will tell you to drive slower and stop accelerating so fast… constantly.