Accelerating and Fuel Economy

["William" <mopar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,
This may be a bit of a stretch as far as Imperial content, but since they
are big cars, and do use a fair bit of fuel, I hope this isn't too far off
topic. I have a question regarding fuel economy and acceleration. Not based
on my practical desire to conserve fuel as much as the theorietical optimum
(read: settle an argument!). I am not interested in cruising economy, as
that is pretty straightforward.
Regarding acceleration, as I see it, there are two variables; throttle
setting and shift point. What combination will provide the most economic run
to cruising speed X? Is it wide open throttle and high shift points over a
short distance, low throttle and low shift points over a long distance, or
something in between? I remember reading about the Mobil Economy Run, where
in certain cases it was optimal to use WOT (or near) to accelerate to
cruising speed, but conventional wisdom usually states slow acceleration is
best.
One side is that it is better to accelerate quickly to cruise speed. The
counterpoint being that earlier you shift, and the less throttle you use,
the better. Which is correct? Thanks for the input on this one. I will
reveal later which side I was on...
William
83 EFi
Edmonton, Canada