The Australian hypermilers we told you about earlier this month have completed their journey, breaking their previous record for highest fuel economy achieved in a drive through all 48 contiguous states.

Arriving in Las Vegas after 22 days on the road and 9,552 miles traveled, professional hypermilers Helen and John Taylor of Melbourne, Australia managed an average of 64.42 mpg in a stock, unmodified 2012 Chevy Cruze Eco during the Shell Smarter Driving Tour.

For comparison’s sake, the EPA rates the car at 42 mpg highway. When we drove the Eco earlier this year, we got just under half the mileage the Taylors achieved. To be fair, ours had a slushbox and theirs had a stick shift, but the Taylors also squeezed every tank to the last mile, driving between three and five miles an hour under the speed limit.

“We’ve noticed many drivers in the States exceed the legal speed limit,” the couple wrote in an e-mail from the road. “In fact, if this could be eradicated the States would save billions of gallons of fuel, having a positive effect on the economy.”

They also took topography into account, traveling downhill in the highest gear possible for safe driving. “The added momentum helps you climb the next mountain fuel-efficiently,” the couple said.

When they’re not breaking records, as they’ve already done 88 times, the Taylors are lobbying governments to implement fuel-saving driving techniques in driver-education classes and teaching those skills in clinics. We imagine their life is kind of like a Mad Max movie, if only the Road Warrior had learned to channel his anger into a constructive career.

The couple even stopped to teach their methods four times during their tour of the U.S., and were heartened by the positive response. “It showed us how hungry motorists are to be educated about fuel efficiency,” the couple wrote.

Photo: Shell