In reviewing the 2007 annual report from Intermap Technologies (IMP), I came across a tidbit of information about how the company is supporting research at Auburn Univeristy to study fuel efficiency by using 3D vector data derived from their NEXTMap core data. The objective was to develop simulations for predictive cruise control and automatic gear shifting to calculate optimal vehicle speed and gear selection. The results of the simulation showed an increase of fuel performance of 3% and a potential reduction in diesel fuel consumption of 1 billion gallons annually in the U.S. if every truck used this technology.