Cottage Farming

I’ve seen this trend happen over the past few years, but it’s always a bummer to watch my fuel efficiency drop with the temperature. One day I’m happily bopping along at an average 52 mpg, then whamo, the thermometer dips near freezing and I’m pumping out carbon at 45 mpg. I even scrape out another one or two miles per gallon by keeping the temperature in the car just above the point where I can feel my fingers.

This year, however, I just experienced the worst gas mileage of my hybrid-driving career. I was stuck in an 8-hour traffic jam during a recent snow storm that dumped something like 2 inches an hour on Boston. There I was, inching along with the rest of the commuters (when we were inching at all), and all I could do was watch my average miles per gallon plummet. The constant draw on the battery to keep the lights on, the windshield wipers moving, and the heat and defrosters going dragged me down to the 31 mpg mark.

So, when’s that arcology I’ve been promised gonna’ be ready?