Butt Warmers

On our way to the last UW basketball game, which my parents graciously drive my brother and I to in their Toyota Prius, we noticed their gas mileage had dropped substantially over the winter.  In the summer months, they were easily clearing 50 mpg.  But now in the dead of winter, its down to about 40 mpg (still not too shabby).  We were trying to figure out how the mileage could have changed so much?  Was it the seat warmers?  Is a warm butt worth 10 mpg?!

I did some research tonight and found this website.  Besides the heater running more (which saps power), cold tires and a different formulation of gasoline reduce gas mileage.  It happens in every car!  If I was paying attention, I would have noticed my Pathfinder's 17mpg was dropping to about 14 mpg in the winter.  Wow, 20% looks a lot better on those lower mpg cars.

The moral of the story is:  It's better to keep your butt warm in a low mpg vehicle than a higher mpg one.  Right?