Long drive competition: 60 wins it

    I drove more than 800 miles yesterday from Connecticut to South Carolina.  There was little post-holiday (Memorial Day) traffic on the interstates.  Because the posted speed limits along the way were 65 to 70 mph, I probably got it up to 75 in parts of Maryland and the Carolinas.
    Big mistake, according to this morning's Wall Street Journal's "Me and My Car" column, written by Jonathan Welsh (page D4).  Mr. Welsh was asked how to attain the best gas mileage on highways, and he quoted the Environmental Protection Agency's guidance to keep it under 60 mph.  The EPA estimates that the added cost of every 5 mph over 60 is an additional 20 cents per gallon.
    This sent me to the calculator.  I figured that I drove halfway to South Carolina at 60 mph or below (about 100 miles were not on interstates and many sections of the highways were under construction, with 55 mph limits posted); a quarter of the way at 70 mph ($80 extra by the EPA's estimates); and the rest at 65 ($40 additional).  Therefore, my need for speed set me back $120.  For the half of the trip (400 miles) that I averaged 67.5 mph, I eliminated only 54 minutes, the extra time it would have taken me if I had driven at 60 instead of the higher speeds.
    It isn't as if I used that extra hour productively when I arrived at the condo in South Carolina.  I grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream (peach, very good) and sat back and watched ESPN's Baseball Tonight for an hour.  I like the show, but I wouldn't pay $120 to watch it.
    For my next long drive, I think I'll start out an hour sooner and try to keep it to a thrifty 60.