The Taylors’ Diesel Inspiration Tour Sets a New Guinness World Record! |
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After driving 9,419 miles over 22 days on less than 12 tanks of Shell Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel, global world-record holders John and Helen Taylor broke the existing Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption on a road trip across the continental United States. By following the “FuelStretch” tips they developed with Shell while driving the all-new clean diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI, John and Helen were able to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency. On this drive, which began Sept. 3, the Taylors achieved 58.82 miles per gallon, surpassing the existing record by more than seven mpg or 14 percent. The Taylors spent a total of $653 on Shell diesel fuel, which averages only 6.9 cents per mile traveled! “We are very excited and grateful to have broken the current Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States,” said Helen Taylor. “We would like to thank Volkswagen for providing us their new clean diesel Jetta that helped us get another World Record and to Shell for the supplying the diesel fuel.” Approximately 12 official check-in and refueling stops across the country were included throughout the duration of the drive. The couple drove on a counter-clockwise route designed to be a realistic test of what fuel mileage is actually possible when a car is driven economically, passing through road work, rush hour delays, and extensive highway travel. “The terrain was very diverse, the weather less than ideal, and the traffic heavy at rush hour but the VW Jetta TDI handled it all beautifully, showing its fuel efficiency and its fun-to-drive dynamic capability, just two of this vehicle’s many attributes,” said John Taylor. “The car efficiently helped us to drive to a fuel economy world record.” The Taylors have made a 26-year career out of driving economically and conducting workshops globally on fuel-efficient driving techniques. They have collected 82 world fuel economy and vehicle-related records from drives around the globe in Australia, Asia, South Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America. For more information, check out www.fuelacademy.com and www.media.vw.com. For a complete list of fuel-saving driving tips, visit http://www.shell.com/us/fuelstretch. |