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After researching home-built aircraft design techniques and considering designs of streamlined cars of the 1930s driven on the autobahn, Turner got to work. He built his test model using inexpensive corrugated plastic. As each design proved itself, he upgraded to lightweight aluminum. Among his modifications, Turner's "Aerocivic," as he's dubbed it, has a grille block on the front, which reduces the amount of openings for the radiator. The bottom of the car is completely enclosed so that nothing hangs below and he's put wheel covers over all four tires. There are also blocks over the windshield wipers to keep them out of the airstream and his outside rearview mirrors sit on the inside -- thus reducing the drag coefficient, a number that basically indicates how the car "slides" through the wind. Prior to the modifications, his car's drag was .34; now, according to Turner, it's an impressive .17.

The changes cost him $400 in hard cash and an estimated two weeks (stretched over time) in sweat equity, but his ROI has been well worth it. He went from getting 45 miles per gallon to 70 miles per gallon and now only has to pull into a gas station every 800 miles to fill up. That's like driving from Charlotte to Chicago.

Interestingly, Turner has altered his car to such an extent that he can actually drive the posted speed limit on highways and still get better than 70 miles per gallon.

And he really doesn't consider himself a "gearhead." A botanist by degree, tropical plants are actually more his thing. His yard is home to several 6-foot-high bamboo. He's just a guy with a mechanical aptitude who picked up a manual and took an interest because the car companies are selling "a bunch of poorly efficient vehicles."

Saving money motivates hypermiler Matt Leerberg, but the element of fun involved in the driving experience itself stimulates him even more.

"I absolutely love to drive and that used to translate into a lot of speeding tickets," confesses the married research lawyer who lives in Raleigh with his wife and two young children. "I started hypermiling because I got tired of setting the cruise control to avoid getting pulled over again."

But it wasn't an instant transition for Leerberg. When he first started hearing about hypermiling and some of the basic techniques, like inflating tires to the maximum level allowed by the manufacturer and driving at or below the speed limit to shave off 2 percent of gas costs, he wasn't impressed.

"There's nothing fun about saving 2 percent. That's not even a lot of money," he scoffs. "But, when I read an article about guys who were getting 100 percent better mileage [than their car's EPA rating], that number got my attention. If you could cut your gas bill in half, now, that's something. Plus, they seemed to be having a lot of fun."

Leerberg began to do some research on the Internet. He started by learning about techniques used by Wayne Gerdes, the man credited with coining the term hypermiler and the guy who says he gets 59 miles per gallon out of his stock 2005 Honda Accord -- beating Honda's expectations by 25 miles. One thing Leerberg quickly learned is that most hypermilers drive hybrids. But his car defies logic -- and catches the eye.

"My car is a red 2003 convertible Eclipse Spider, and it goes against every rule of trying to get the best fuel economy overall," admits Leerberg with a laugh. "But, one of the things I've learned from hanging out online with these experts is that the real savings is in hypermiling in a car that is not supposed to get good fuel economy.

"Because, if you take a car that gets 60 miles per gallon already and increase it to 80, you're honestly not seeing that much money," he explains. "But if you take a car that get 20 miles per gallon and increase it to 40, you're saving a fortune."

So, in May of this year, in a quest to spice up his boring 26-mile commute, Leerberg started to get his feet wet as a hypermiler. The first thing he did was inflate his tires to the manufacturer's limit. Next, he totally changed and retaught himself how to accelerate from a stop. Instead of flooring it, he began to press the gas pedal a hair and simply putt-putt forward -- a technique that he admits causes some impatience in other drivers. And, finally, he lowered his top speed to the speed limit or less.

Leerberg's miles per gallon increased 40 percent immediately. When he calculated it, he realized that if he just held himself to these basic techniques, he could save $600-$700 per year. Not exactly chump change, and anybody could do it. But a 40-percent savings wasn't enough. He wanted more.