It’s never easy for adults to keep up with the slang used by their young, nor is it meant to be. After all, the whole point of teenage slang is to form an exclusive club, one that says “No Parents Allowed.” But the age of the internet and it’s slew of tech talk and acronyms has driven slang to a whole new level, one that transforms so fast even OMG and LOL teens can’t keep up with it.

The other day I ran across a word I wasn’t familiar with. Thinking it was some new net term, I asked my teen what the word “hypermiling” means.

He looked up from his laptop, raised a quizzical eyebrow and said, “How should I know?”

He may not have known what the word meant but he knew instantly where to find out. Seconds later, Google was showing us both several hundred links that ushered us into a world I didn’t know existed–the world of the hypermilers, people who use technology and driving strategies to eek every last ounce of mileage from the gas they put in their automobiles.

The term “hypermiling” seems to have been coined by Wayne Gerdes, whom many regard as Mister. Hypermileage, a man who clearly knows how to wring every last drop of gasoline from even the most recalcitrant gas tank. Reportedly, he once got an average of more than 100 mpg (miles per gallon) from a standard-issue Ford pickup truck over the course of one long, hot summer.

Gerdes, who seems to have an obsessive-compulsive relationship with his gas tank, may have lead the pack, but it’s armies of everyday Joes and Jills who are filling out the ranks of new hypermilers. Unlike the hypermiler pros, who see it as a form of competitive sport, the everyday hypermilers want nothing more than to stop the cost of gasoline from encroaching any further into the rest of the household budget.

“With the cost of gas going up almost every day,” one Mom-type hypermiler told me, “it rules my budget. I fill up the car first, then head to the grocery store to spend what’s left on dinner. I never know till I see what the gas pump says whether I’ll be serving hamburgers or Hamburger Helper.”

The pressure from gas pump shock is what’s turning many average drivers into fans of the hypermiling movement.

“I never gave much thought to how my driving style affected my car’s gas mileage,” one new convert said. “But I saw a magazine article on hypermiling that described how cutting down on acceleration by letting the car coast could increase your gas mileage. I tried it and sure enough, it extended the time between fill-ups. Once I saw that working, I got a lot more interested in learning about hypermiling. Now I want more than just good gas mileage. I want to see just how far I can push it toward getting great mileage.”

Some of the hypermilers claim that by using their specialized driving techniques they can double the gas mileage of just about any car. But the really obsessed are intent on something far more significant. They want to Pulse and Glide and Warp Stealth their way into the Hypermileage hall of fame, a small, almost mythical group of hyper milers who manage, like Gerdes with his 100 mpg summer, fuel efficiency that we mere mortals can only dream of.

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