Drivers in the U.S. are buying hybrid vehicles, not because they want them, but because they can’t afford to drive any other type of car. With gas prices setting all-time records and heading toward $4 per gallon, consumers are forced to drive a car that gets the most miles per dollar spent. That’s an overpriced hybrid car.
The truth is that hybrids may get better mileage than a traditional car, but it’s nothing to write home about. First, hybrids cost more. The slightly better mileage means that if you keep your hybrid car for from 3 to 5 years you may make up for the higher cost. That doesn’t seem like such a good deal, does it? But it’s all we have and that’s why folks are buying the darn things.
Costly gasoline prices are forcing today’s consumers to preserve automobile fuel as much as possible. Unbeknownst to many, even an idling car is guilty of using up valuable fuel, not only unnecessarily wasting this expensive resource, but also causing danger to the environment and a risk to the health of many others. Idling may actually harm your vehicle, but that’s only the start. It can also be responsible for increasing pollution levels caused by gasoline burning in the atmosphere.
Many people believe that there are times its okay to for their car to be idle. This common misconception is what makes parents rushing to drop their children off at school or those in a hurry at the cleaners to leave their car in this dangerous mode. It’s also another reason that many think leaving a car idling early in the morning, to supposedly warm it up before hitting the road, is an acceptable practice but ironically its one which really isn’t needed at all. Vehicles don’t require any warming up unless temperatures are less than 25 degrees (and even then, an engine needs less than a minute). The best way to get your car, including its wheel bearings, the steering mechanism, tires and transmission, warm and willing, is to begin driving. Turning your car off entirely can also help save on fuel economy.
LEADING UP TO THE NEED FOR A HYBRID VEHICLE
For most of the lifetime of automobiles, propulsion has been provided by the gasoline or diesel powered internal combustion type of engine. There have been brief flirtations with steam, electricity, and vehicles that could use a variety of fuels, but most of these have fallen by the wayside as the gasoline engine pushed billions of vehicles down the road.
Looking to cruise but without the high cost?
It may not be the vacation you imagined, but recent tests have shown that using the cruise control function on your car can help you reduce your fuel expenses. Cruise control ensures that a driver maintains a common, steady speed while on the road, helping to eliminate much of the stopping and starting that unnecessarily burns up expensive fuel. With gasoline prices rising across the country, using cruise control is a simple, effective, economical way to increase fuel efficiency and reduce out of pocket expenses.
Maintain your car. Check your tires to make sure they have plenty of tread. Slipping tires are dangerous and they waste gas. Ask your car dealer or mechanic if you can use a lighter weight oil during the winter to reduce friction and save gas. Consider using a low-friction or synthetic oil to save gas. If it’s been awhile since you changed your air filter, check your owners manual to find the recommended changing interval. A new air filter can greatly improve your gas mileage. Consider an after-market low restriction air filter system. Not only can these improve your gas mileage, but they often come with permanent filter media that can be washed or cleaned and reused. The higher cost of the after-market filter can be offset by not having to buy new air filters. Check your tire pressure. As the temperature drops, so does your tire pressure. Low tire pressure is one of the most common causes of poor gas mileage and it can also wear your tires quicker and make your car handle badly. Check your tires regularly with a tire pressure gauge and make sure they’re at the manufacturer’s recommended settings. To find the recommended settings look in your owners manual or open your driver’s door and look for a sticker on the rear of the door near the latch mechanism. Some cars have different recommended pressures for the front and rear tires. Don’t overinflate your tires because that can make them wear out quicker and make your car handle poorly. Don’t run your car’s engine to warm it up. This is a common way people waste gas in the winter. See your owners manual for recommended warm-up time for your car. It’s usually less than a minute and often less than 15 seconds. Running your car’s engine longer wastes gas. If you live in a very cold climate, install an electric block heater to pre-heat your car’s engine. Consider bundling up in warmer clothes if comfort is an issue. If you’re out shopping, park in a sunny spot and let nature help keep your car warm for your return. Clear all ice and snow off your car before you start driving. In addition to being a lot of extra weight to haul around, ice and snow can increase wind resistance which also hurts gas mileage. Also make sure you’re not dragging around any more weight than absolutely necessary by removing unneeded items from your trunk. Remove your roof rack. If you use a roof rack for skis, snowboards, or other items, remove the rack when you’re not using it to reduce wind resistance. If you must leave the rack on, at least remove the equipment from the rack to minimize the mileage drop. Consider using an aerodynamic box-style container on your roof rack for your winter sports equipment. If you transport sports gear or other items in your trunk or inside your vehicle, remove them as soon as you’re done using them to save weight. Avoid the drive-through. It’s convenient to use drive-through lanes for coffee, food, or banking, but all that sitting in line wastes gas. Park your car and brave the cold to walk inside the eatery or bank and you’ll save gas. Bonus: Holiday gift suggestions to help save gas. For those on a budget, an accurate dial-type tire pressure gauge should cost you less than $15. Even the entry-level digital gauges are less than $20. Of course if you want a professional-quality gauge with superior accuracy or a digital gauge that tells you your tire pressure audibly, you can spend considerably more. If you’re shopping on a higher budget, consider a GPS navigator. These electronic marvels listen to radio signals from orbiting Global Positioning System satellites and calculate your location with amazing accuracy. They can display maps, give you step-by-step directions to your destination, and even tell you where to find the nearest restaurant, gas station, or hotel when you’re on the road. You’ll never have to worry about being lost and you’ll save gas by having a computerized navigator to direct you to your destination. The cost? An entry-level GPS navigator is under $90 and they range from there to over $1000 for a top-of-the-line model.
Scott Babb is the webmaster of http://www.gas-mileage-tips.com where you’ll find many more tips, tools, and resources to help you get better gas mileage, save money, and be kinder to the environment.
Some of the most common complaints of drivers today, are lack of engine performance and poor fuel economy. There are many variables that can cause these two concerns. Old spark plugs, clogged air filters, and plugged fuel filters are just a few of the most commonly neglected maintenance items that cause these complaints. One component which most people do not even think about when it comes to tune-up maintenance is the FUEL INJECTORS.
As fuel burns within the combustion chamber, there are small particles of carbon that are left behind. These small particles stick to parts located within the cylinders. Over time these become larger deposits that rob your engine of its performance and economy. Intake and exhaust valves no longer seat properly in the cylinder head. Fuel injectors become clogged and no longer spray the fine atomized spray that they are designed to for optimum performance. Carbon even sticks to the piston rings, eventually causing oil consuption.
Starting a ride share or car pool program at your work is one of the easiest, yet least utilized ways for people to save gas, especially considering there really isn’t much work involved in setting it up.
First off - why should you spend your personal time setting up a carpool program for your work? Aside from the obvious reason of saving gas, here are a couple of benefits to taking part in a ride share program:
Looking for ways to save money at the pump in light of the climbing costs of gasoline? It’s surprisingly easy to do so. Check out these simple things you can do to make your car’s gas last longer.
Stop driving your sport utility vehicle. These vehicles, and others similar in size (including trucks), require quite a bit more fuel than smaller cars do to operate. Unless a larger car is a necessity for your lifestyle,(you have big family or you tend to carry large items), driving a smaller one can help you save big at the pump.
It used to be that the US had some of the best cheap gas on the planet, but now gas prices are at unprecendented rates and climbing.
I won’t go into the political situations behind this at all.
As big oil companies continue to grow bigger, foreigners are the ones who get most of the money. If you own a lot of oil stock you may be happy, but the rest of us can only grumble when we see prices jump higher at the pump. The gas station is the easiest way to see how the rising cost of oil affects us, but there are many hidden costs, too.
Much of the world’s oil now comes from the middle east. We are able to see on a daily basis the price of being dependent on another part of the world for the energy we have come to rely upon. The wars in that region may not be for oil specifically, but if there was no oil, there would be considerably less money to make war. Most of the oil money goes to a few people who are in control. The majority of the people in the oil rich countries remain poverty-stricken and greatly resent the way the cash flow does not improve their lives.
In my previous articles, I have discussed many ways to save fuel for your vehicle. Some of these are:
1. Adopting good driving habits like observing speed limits, reducing braking, gradual acceleration, reducing excessive weights, avoiding idling time, using cruise speed control high gears.
Whenever new regulations regarding the auto industry are imposed, it reminds me of two parents arguing about their child. One parent wants to make an unpopular decision that will better their son or daughter in the long run. The other doesn’t see any long-term gains just short-term pain. The child usually takes the side with no short-term pain. Last week the Bush Administration announced new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) guidelines to automakers that now include large SUV’s. Under the new rules, light trucks and SUV’s must average 24 miles per gallon by 2011, up from 21.6 mpg, an increase of more than 10% in 5 years. Automakers say these new regulations pose serious challenges and prices will rise a few hundred dollars per vehicle, hurting consumers. The Bush Administration said the new regulations will help reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil over the next few years.
Like before, an automaker can use vehicles that get above the requirement to offset those that get below. However, in order to achieve the higher average, automakers will need to introduce new technologies to make fuel efficient vehicles even more fuel efficient, and make gas guzzling SUV’s drink fuel at a slower pace. Today many new technologies improve power and reduce fuel consumption. Improved aerodynamics, reduced weight and more efficient drive trains will help achieve these gains. As automakers point out, there is a price to pay for all of these impending improvements.
When it gets warm outside, your air conditioner becomes your best friend. This is most definitely true in your car, where temperatures can sky rocket to 170 degrees under direct sunlight. But most people these days are under the impression that the more you run your air conditioner the more gas your car will guzzle. Now that gas prices are higher than the cost to eat at McDonald’s, people are starting to take precautions and do what they can to help with their cars fuel economy. The assumption that running your air conditioner burns way more gas is somewhat untrue. Leaving your air conditioner off makes barely any difference in the amount of gas you burn. With the advent of modern, more fuel efficient cars, this myth is busted!
The air conditioner draws its power from the engine which uses some gas, but with today’s cars, this use of gas is minute. The air conditioner can decrease the fuel economy of your car up to 20% in some vehicles, but it depends on the type. Driving with the air conditioner is more fuel efficient than driving with the windows down. Driving with the windows down creates drag which means that your engine has to work harder to keep your car at the current speed; this burns more gas than if you just ran your air conditioner.
Gas prices are at an all time high and there is no indication that they will be coming down any time soon. What if we could show you how to easily save 20% or more on gas? Here are some great tips that are guaranteed to save you big at the pump.
Start keeping track of your gas mileage so you can see how much you are paying and what you are or will be saving. Many cars will automatically tell you this in the digital display. If yours does not, the easiest way is to write down the amount of gas you put in at your next fill up. Then erase the odometer (press the single long button on your odometer display). When you get near empty, divide the miles driven by gallons used. This will give you your miles per gallon. This is good to know as it can tell you when something is wrong with your car. It will also show a noticeable improvement when you incorporate some of the tips below.
Millions and millions of people are going crazy for many of the new SUVs that are on the market today. People are going crazy over the great new look of these vehicles, but there are things that people are not being informed of. These vehicles are not without their problems.
SUVs are being advertised in such a way to make people think that they are a great way to get back to nature. They are in a sense a return to nature. However, there are some problems that people are not aware of. In actuality these vehicles cause a great deal of environmental problems. Research has shown that these vehicles are destroying our natural resources.