The Taylor’s break Guinness World Record driving a stock clean diesel Jetta TDI

HERNDON, Va. – The world’s most fuel efficient couple, John and Helen Taylor, have broken the current world record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States averaging 58.82 miles to the gallon. They ended their 20 day trip in West Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. To help them break the world record, they drove the all-new, 50-state-compliant clean diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI, fueled by Shell Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel under real world driving condition, simply applying easy to use fuel saving tips and the latest efficient engine technology available for good clean diesel fun.

“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.”

The previous Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive was 51.58 miles per gallon and the Taylor’s broke it by 58.82 miles per gallon, a whopping 14 percent improvement. In 20 days, driving across 48 states the Taylor’s drove 9,419 miles, exceeding 60 mpg on several legs of the record-setting run, spending only 6.9 cents per mile (total was $653).

“The terrain was very diverse, the weather less than ideal, and the traffic heavy at rush hour and 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.”

People were encouraged to e-mail the Taylors along the way at: fuelacademy@gmail.com with any questions they may have about the tour, the vehicle or about fuel economy tips and join their “Fan” page on Facebook.com. As of the end of the trip, more than 2,000 people have e-mailed the Taylors.

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 passing through: Washington D.C.; New York City, Rutland, Vermont; Toledo, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Spearfish, S.D.; Missoula, Mont.; Winnemucca, Nev.; Santa Monica, Calif.; Durango, Colo.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Mount Vernon, Ill.; Ponchatoula, La.; and, Beckley, W.V. Some of the fuel saving tips the Taylors advocate include: avoiding idling and higher speeds, minimizing vehicle drag and performing regular vehicle maintenance.

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. Via their Web site, the Taylors will be sharing their personal experiences on the road. For more information and regular reports from the road, visit www.fuelacademy.com and www.media.vw.com. For a complete list of fuel-saving driving tips, visit http://www.shell.com/us/fuelstretch.