|
 May
19 , 2004 —
There
are lots of easy, little things you can do to improve the
fuel efficiency of even a tired jalopy - without time traveling
a few decades ahead.
-
- - - - - - - - - - -
 Pay
attention to your tires.
27%
of passenger cars and 32% of light trucks have at least
one under-inflated tire, according to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration. Flaccid tires waste energy
- the United Stated Department of Energy estimates that
nearly 4 million gallons of gasoline could be saved each
day for every one pound per square inch of under-inflation
nationwide, compared to if all vehicle tires were properly
inflated. |
|
| |
|
Feed
your car what it needs.
Using
the recommended type of engine oil and gasoline for
your vehicle can make your fuel efficiency rise.
Clean
oil, air filters and spark plugs can also increase fuel
efficiency.
Don't
skimp on your car's check ups - a poorly-tuned engine
can increase fuel consumption by up to 20%.
|
|
| |
|
Control your lead-footed tendencies.
You can reduce highway gas consumption by about
15% just by slowing down from 75 to 65 miles per hour.
Driving with finesse improves fuel efficiency too
- abrupt stops and starts decrease mileage. Cruise control
can help by maintaining a steady speed.
|
|
| |
|
Just
turn off the ignition.
Don't run your engine while you are parked or waiting
in line, like at a drive-through window. Idling for
more than about 10 seconds uses more gasoline than turning
the engine off and then restarting when you're ready
to move.
Car
engines don't need to "warm up" for longer than the
30 seconds it takes you to buckle up and make sure all
systems are go.
Even
the worst gas guzzler doesn't waste fuel if you don't
turn it on. Use public transportation or walk or ride
your bike for any trip that makes sense, and your fuel-per-mile-traveled
rate will plummet.
|
|
| |
|
Do
a little pre-trip planning.
The heavier your vehicle, the more gas you need to propel
it around. So think about any excess weight you are
lugging, and put your bowling ball in the trunk only
when you're on the way to the alley.
If you can do your driving at less busy times, you will
use less fuel covering the same distance by avoiding
traffic jams.
Combining
trips could mean that you don't have to cover the same
ground several times a day.
|
|
| |
|
Check
out what future car technologies you can try in your
community right now - without buying a new vehicle.
You can have a cheap futuristic ride by hopping aboard
public transportation. Communities such as Birmingham,
AL, Phoenix AZ, South Bend IN and Gainesville FL all
have buses that run on electric batteries. Other cities
are testing out how fuel cell buses will meet their
needs - transit authorities in Oakland and Santa Clara
California hope to have buses on the road by early 2005.
The
Europeans are one step ahead of the U.S., with three
fuel cell buses each driving routes in Amsterdam, Barcelona,
Madrid, Hamburg, Stuttgart, London, Luxembourg, Porto
(Portugal), Stockholm, and Reykjavik, Iceland.
Even
using traditional fuels, public transportation uses
much less fuel per mile traveled than cars or light
trucks.
|
|
If
it's time for a new car…
Toyota
Prius
Honda
Insight hybrid
Honda
Civic hybrid
Ford's
hybrid SUV, the Escape--
Lexus
RX400h luxury SUV
|
