This past weekend I had the opportunity to take a spin in the 2010 Ford Fusion. I was there to learn about Eco-driving, and had “hyper-miling” expert Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG to lead the way. Ford also had a mission this weekend to go the distance and drive 1,000 miles on just one tank of gas. This was made possible by a team that drove tirelessly up and down the GW Parkway in Alexandria (Mt. Vernon side), and they achieved their goal and then some, setting a world record of 1,445 on a single tank of gas.

Overall, it’s a nice mid-size vehicle (bigger than the Camry) with good upgrade options like a killer navigation system, SYNC and more. If saving the planet in comfort and style is your kind of deal, then check it out.

I haven’t driven a Hybrid since back in 2000, so this was a new experience for me. I’m also used to driving a stick shift, so the idea of driving an automatic that also had an engine that shut off was a whole new world.  I learned very quickly that I probably burn twice as much gas as I need to, and there are things that even I can do in my regular gas-guzzling stick shift to conserve gas and energy. On my trip, I was able to get 75 mpg on my 18 mile trip. That’s crazy.

Lynn Miller at OrganicMania provided some fantastic tips from her trip on how to maximize your fuel economy.

For anyone else interested in my experience (or learning about eco-driving in general), I encourage you to check out these resources. We can all make the world just a little bit greener by driving smart.

Follow @FordDriveGreen on Twitter and hashtag #hybrid1000

Check out links related to the challenge on delicious

See tons of pics on Flickr

View lots of great videos on YouTube (including mine)

Special thanks to Ogilvy 360 DI and Ford for inviting me!

Popularity: 13% [?]

Monday night I was driving home and hit a raccoon on 66. There was no way I could have stopped, the moment I saw its furry stripes in my headlights, I was already hitting it. I freaked out, I have never so much as hit a squirrel in my life. I’m lucky it wasn’t a deer (or, a person), but I was still upset. After a bit of crying, I was ready to put it behind me.

Then I woke up and took a look at my front bumper. The front end is cracked and falling off, and there is a piece sticking out from under the bottom of my car. I took it to a body shop and they said that it looks like the air conditioning (something or other) is dented too. Could be anywhere from $1,200-$1,500 to repair.

Luckily, I have great insurance through USAA, so everything is covered (even my rental car should I need one) minus a small (relatively) deductible.

So, now when I’m driving late at night on the highway, I’m extra cautious. There have been a ton of deer on the road lately, and I’m really skittish of hitting something, anything. Even a leaf blowing across the road causes me to take another look. Which, can be a good thing and a bad thing. Hopefully my car won’t take long to fix, and I’ll eventually get over the fear of hitting something. I can’t always be afraid of things that go bump in the night.

Popularity: unranked [?]