When I came across this the other day, I thought it was too cool not to write about because it involves a husband and wife team who enjoy travelling, setting goals, being together and discovering the open road.

Native Australians and husband and wife team John and Helen Taylor are trekking across the United States in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption in an all new clean diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

The pair, who are currently about a third of the way through their cross country journey and who began their journey on September 3, have so far driven at least 2,753 miles through more than 24 states and have averaged about 58.78 miles per gallon.  The current Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive is 51.58 miles per gallon.

There are approximately 12 official check-in and refueling stops along the way as the pair make their way through Chantilly, Va.; Rutland, Vt.; 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. Va.

Said John:

“It has been quite an adventure thus far, the world is getting smaller — on day four we met a girl originally from our small town in Australia now residing in Ohio! We are optimistic we should be able to break the current world record if we stay on course and keep our fuel-efficient driving tips in mind.”

According to the press release, people are encouraged to e-mail the Taylors along their travels with any questions they might have about the tour, as well as any questions about the Jetta TDI, fuel economy or just to say, Hi! at fuelacademy@gmail.com.  The couple can also be found on Facebook (The Taylors’ Diesel Inspiration Tour).  The couple also have a website http://www.fuelacademy.com.

Helen Taylor said she became interested in fuel economy when she had a far-away job interview in her native Australia and only had 72 cents to buy gas for the trip:

“I drove economically and got the job. That’s how I got started.”

The Taylors have made a 26-year career out of driving economically and conducting workshops globally on fuel-efficient driving techniques. They couple have already collected over 80 world fuel economy and vehicle-related driving records from drives around the globe, including Australia, Asia, South Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America.  In 2006, the couple set a Guinness World Record for driving around the world on only 24 tanks of fuel while in a Volkswagen Golf.

The Taylor tour across America will officially end on September 26 in West Virginia.

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