Mexican overdrive

English

Etymology

Based on NASCAR teams' experience in the early 1950s in the legendary Carerra Panamerica, where the long hills would have otherwise overrevved the engines.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

Mexican overdrive (uncountable)

1. (US, slang, automotive) The neutral gear when used while a vehicle is moving, especially when it is used to save fuel or to coast downhill faster than a vehicle can go in gear. (This is illegal in some places.)

   He shifted his car out of gear, at the top of the hill, and coasted down in Mexican overdrive.

Synonyms

• freewheel
• angel gear
• Georgia overdrive

References

• Playboy Magazine once answered a reader's question about the meaning of this term.
• https://web.archive.org/web/20060328232254/http://www.markcarey.com/spamdb/discuss-increase-your-gas-mileage.html