11 juli 2008

Economist: Energy prices - Foot off the pedal

Jul 10th 2008

From The Economist print edition

Rising fuel costs begin to change behaviour


Illustration by Claudio Munoz

ONE of the most popular programmes on British television is “Top Gear”, a Sunday-night celebration of the motor car that owes its success to an irreverent mix of speed, stunts and smoking tyres. But viewers of the first instalment in the show’s new series, broadcast in June, had a slightly different experience. Following a race designed to find the most fuel-efficient supercar, Jeremy Clarkson, one of the hosts, gave a short soliloquy on how motorists could cut their fuel bills by changing their style of driving. Visitors to Mr Clarkson’s blog can find a list of uncharacteristically worthy fuel-economy tips, which include avoiding aggressive acceleration and braking, switching off unnecessary gadgets and even driving more slowly. More...