Ramon

I haven't read all the posts but after page two where it was mentioned that the purpose of the neutral gear is for better gas mileage I just had to reply. While not the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, it is up there. Will it get you better MPG at a light? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not, but the neutral gear is certainly not there for the purpose of saving gas. It is for towing and for pushing your car should your engine stall and not start up for whatever reason.

Oh, and I anticipate that the reason it is next to D is that if you happen to be able to start the engien up again after a push, so you can go directly to Drive and start going.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I bet there's no "logical" reason for the shifting order other than it's a US standard. Sort of like motorcycles - the gearshift and clutch are required to be on the left and the brakes on the right. British bikes weren't originally like this, but after it was "standardized" all bikes were required to comply if they wanted to be imported to the US. So, more than likely, this is just another "standard" and has no specific logic behind it at all. Just like trying to explain why some places drive on the left and some places drive on the right. Purely arbitrary.

rokeven

I currently have an IS250, and this past weekend hit 28.0 MPG lifetime. It has been going up about 0.3 MPG per week for the last couple of months. On freeway only driving, where I get gas just before getting on the freeway, I have been able to get 36 MPG on flat ground while going through an entire tank. Not bad at all.

The Chad

A Google search doesn't help in detirmining if shifting into neutral and coasting to a stoplight uses more or less fuel than leaving it in gear. However, for fuel economy purposes, leaving it in gear and using the engine to slow you down with no application of throttle, IMO, uses little to no fuel, whereas putting it in neutral causes the car to idle, and to not stall, the car must apply fuel to keep it running.

For those of you who would like to have some viewing material on the subject of fuel efficiency, I recommend anyone with a high speed internet connection to download the episode of Top Gear where Clarkson tries to go 800 miles in an Audi twin-turbo diesel. There's a LOT of excellent fuel savings tips in the enjoyable episode. I'd post a transcript if I could.

Anyways, the link:

http://www.finalgear.com/shows/topgear/4/4/

You will need a BitTorrent client to download the episode, and DivX to watch it. For those with the bandwith, I think it'll be an informative addition to this discussion.