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Everyone likes to save money. And we all want a healthy planet. Review these quick tips to accomplish both at the same time.
In many parts of the U.S., gas prices are reaching record or near-record levels.
Using cruise control to stay at a steady speed will improve your fuel economy.
Keep your vehicle well maintained with regular servicing to keep it operating at peak efficiency.
Having tires inflated to the maximum recommended pressure can improve gas mileage by as much as six percent.
Gasoline prices may be stabilizing in the United States, but they're still in record or near-record territory, so drivers continue to be extremely conscious of how much fuel their vehicles use.
But don't just fret about it. There are ways to get around while maximizing fuel use.
Regular Servicing Is Important
Keep your vehicle well maintained with regular servicing to keep it operating at peak efficiency. An inefficient engine—with fouled spark plugs, for example—won't make optimum use of fuel. Be sure the air filter and the fuel filter are clean. Put in new ones if they're not.
Don't forget little things like the air in your tires, either. Having tires inflated to the maximum recommended pressure can improve gas mileage by as much as 6 percent, while periodic wheel alignments can help improve fuel economy up to 10 percent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
And clean out that trunk and back cargo area. Take out unneeded items that only add weight to your vehicle. Extra weight decreases gas mileage.
Be a Different Driver
Change your driving style. Accelerate gradually, drive smoothly and with care and you could see as much as a 20 percent gain in fuel economy compared with what you'd get with an aggressive driving style, the EPA says. Skip those jackrabbit starts and sudden pedal-to-the-metal maneuvers if you want to save gas. Anticipate stops so you avoid sudden braking, and take a long view of the road ahead, coasting safely to an intersection in front of you where you see traffic stopped.
Don't speed. A car moving at 55 miles an hour can get about 15 percent better fuel economy than the same car going 65 mph. Use your vehicle's navigation system, if you have one, in your travels to new locales. This can save you from getting lost and wasting gas.
Drive Smart
Don't be idle too long. Don't waste fuel by sitting in that drive-thru lane at McDonald's or Taco Bell. Park and go inside instead. Don't let your vehicle idle as you wait outside the elementary school to pick up your children. Idling uses more fuel than turning the engine off, waiting for your youngsters and then restarting the engine.
When you're in slow city traffic, keep the air conditioner off, if possible. Roll down the windows and open the air vents to keep you and your riders comfortable. That air conditioner is a burden that uses fuel, and if you're tooling around town, you can see a "very slight" improvement in gas mileage by keeping it turned off, a Mercedes-Benz spokesman said.
Plan Ahead
Combine your errands into one trip, rather than taking multiple trips from home. Organize your stops so they're near each other and so you don't retrace your path. You may even be able to park in one central spot and walk between some of your stops rather than driving and parking at each one.
Plan your trips so you go out during less-congested times of day. When there's less traffic, you're more apt to be able to drive smoothly.
Note that road and weather conditions have a role, too, in the fuel economy of your vehicle. Driving into a 20-mph headwind can reduce fuel economy by as much as 6 percent. Driving up a mountain road with a 7 percent grade can cut fuel economy by as much as 25 percent. Driving on gravel and in slush and snow requires a bit more fuel, too.
Other Modes of Transport
Look at alternative transportation options—even if it's just for one or two days a week. Walk, bicycle, carpool or take public transportation and leave your vehicle at home.
When you shop for a new vehicle, compare fuel economy. Bear in mind how bigger vehicles, bigger engines, four-wheel drive and lots of optional equipment can add to a vehicle's weight and, as a result, reduce its fuel efficiency. Even larger tires can have an effect. A tire with a larger "footprint" on the road that doesn't have a special rubber compound designed to improve fuel economy has more rolling resistance than a comparable smaller tire, and this can lower fuel economy.
Watch for New, High-Tech Solutions
Check out the newest automotive technology. It's getting more mainstream with each passing year.
The first gas/electric hybrid car to be sold in the United States is the 2000 Honda Insight, which gets an estimated 61 mpg in city driving and 70 mpg on the highway. Best of all, Insight pairs a small, three-cylinder gasoline engine with an electric motor that never has to be plugged in. In fact, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. said so many people are interested in the fuel-thrifty Insight, the auto company is increasing the number of Insights shipped to the United States from Japan, where they're built. Company officials said Honda will bring in about 6,500 Insights in calendar 2000, rather than the 4,000 originally allocated.
Toyota plans to begin selling a gas/electric hybrid called the Prius in the United States later in the 2000 calendar year, and virtually all automakers are researching ways to build a commercially viable fuel cell vehicle.
Other Costs Affected
You might pay a bit more for that next new car. Higher fuel prices during the first months of 2000 prompted General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler to boost the price of delivering vehicles to dealerships, so they all raised destination and delivery charges on new cars, trucks and vans by $25. April marks the start of a $25 increase in destination charges on all Honda and Acura vehicles, and other companies were deciding whether to follow suit.
An Eye to the Future
Think about how your fuel conservation efforts benefit the Earth and future generations.
Scientists say global warming and its projected disastrous effects on weather, rising sea levels and heat deaths are due, in part, to the burning of fossil fuels. Each gallon of gasoline your vehicle burns adds to the problem by putting an average of 20 pounds of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
So, every gallon of gas that you don't use helps ease the global warming crisis.
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