Sushi, Isuzu & Me
As soon as I got the invitation from Isuzu Trucks I was intrigued… The company was asking me to fly to Japan to take part in a fuel economy program, and I couldn’t say no. Whatever this initiative was, it had to be pretty spectacular if they were willing to fly me to Japan!
As it turns out, visiting Japan was spectacular (and the sushi was fantastic), but the Isuzu Fuel Economy Challenge was simplicity itself… which was actually the point. What Isuzu wanted to demonstrate to me and the other American journalists in attendance was that you can use very simple driving techniques to dramatically improve your fuel economy. Each of us took two spins around the Isuzu test track in manual-transmission Isuzu Class-5 ELF (N-Series in the USA) box trucks. The first time out we drove the way we would normally drive; the second time we used the driving techniques that Isuzu taught us to improve our mileage.
Our new & improved driving behaviors included: light acceleration, upshifting at 1400-1700 rpms, maintaining a lower top speed, staying in the top gear as much as possible, gentle braking, and proper use of the engine brake. Amazingly, all 15 drivers saw a remarkable increase in fuel economy between the two runs. My personal mileage improved 26.8 percent, with a final mpg of 17.39, but the biggest improvement was nearly 60 percent, and the top mileage was over 22 mpg! Sure, it wasn’t “real world,” but, hey, if amateur drivers can show such impressive results on a test track, there’s no reason why professional drivers couldn’t wring more mileage out of their trucks by changing their behaviors.
Hats off to Isuzu Trucks for making fuel economy such a simple matter, and for proving that you don’t have to invest a fortune in new equipment or technology to improve your fleet’s mpg. Domo arigato, Isuzu-san!