Should the 55mph speed limit be re-imposed?

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For every mile per hour faster than 55 mph, fuel economy drops by about 1 percent, said Jason Mark, clean vehicles program director for the Union of Concerned Scientists. The drop-off increases at a greater rate after 65 mph. The faster you go, the faster the fuel goes.

There are costs the slower you go, however. It took 49 minutes longer to make the trip at 55 mph -- three hours and 36 minutes total -- but it seemed like forever. Sitting in the slow lane, tapping the gas pedal to maintain a steady speed, the car felt like it was traveling at 25. Everything from Porsches and BMWs to big-rigs, the AC Transit bus and pickups towing boats -- and they're supposed to keep their speeds under 55 -- cruised past in the left lane.

There are costs the slower you go, however. It took 49 minutes longer to make the trip at 55 mph -- three hours and 36 minutes total -- but it seemed like forever. Sitting in the slow lane, tapping the gas pedal to maintain a steady speed, the car felt like it was traveling at 25. Everything from Porsches and BMWs to big-rigs, the AC Transit bus and pickups towing boats -- and they're supposed to keep their speeds under 55 -- cruised past in the left lane.

A lot of drivers cast curious glances at The Chronicle's Malibu, and a woman in a black Volvo station wagon with three kids in the back seat glared. One person -- a preteen boy in the passenger seat of a Dodge Stratus -- made an obscene gesture, raising both middle fingers somewhere in Merced County.

A handful of drivers came within a few inches of the rear bumper before jerking their cars into the fast lane and flying by, but most simply passed. Actually, everybody passed sooner or later. The 830 cars and trucks that went by the Malibu as it poked along at 55 mph was nearly 10 times the number that passed on the speedier trip home.

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