We, as a nation, are gluttons of just about every resource you can name: food, water and oil. Our voracious appetite for oil has not waned, despite soaring gas prices with no end in sight. Among the many solutions, one thing everyone can do to help is to reduce consumption. Any good environmentalist will agree with that. Regular readers know that this is not a political blog, there are plenty of other blogs out there that handle the heavy stuff. But I thought I'd provide a free public service to the faithful readers who may be suffering from shock at the gas pump. So aside from driving smaller cars, buying hybrids, taking mass transit, riding a bike or just plain walking, there are still some other options. This brings me to another scintillating edition of: The Saturday Seven: Top Tips to Save Gas Please share this information with others- consider linking back to this post from your blog.
# 1. Avoid Jack-Rabbit Starts and Stops- fast starts out of the line will consume huge amounts of gas as the engine has to work much harder to get the car up to speed. Accelerate gradually when starting off and extend your gas mileage.
#2. Drive 55 MPH- As painful as it is (and believe me, I have a lead foot) it really does save a LOT of fuel by driving 55-60 miles per hour. You'll be shocked at how much longer your tank will stay full driving at this speed.
#3. Use less air conditioning- this coming from a man who lives in the desert. Your car uses a lot of horsepower to run the a/c on full blast. Try to keep it a little lower.
#4. Turn off the car- if you are waiting more than a minute in a line or at the Starbucks or McDonald's drive through. Excessive idling just wastes gas.
#5. Keep your tires properly inflated- Under-inflated tires can zap as much as one mile per gallon! Go to an auto parts store and buy one of those cheap digital tire pressure gauges. Anyone can use it, even the Palm Springs Savant knows how to check the tires.
#6. Clean out the trunk of extra weight-This includes any pesky in-laws or annoying kids. An extra 100 pounds reduces a typical car's fuel economy by 2%.. If you have an SUV this also includes taking out the extra row of seating.
#7. Keep your car serviced regularly- Regular maintenance will optimize your car's performance, safety and extend gas mileage. At the very least get regular oil changes. And besides, there are some cute mechanics out there.
Bonus- Buy gas in the mornings or late evenings-Not many car drivers know about this one. Gas is more dense when it is cooler. In other words, it is more concentrated. So the best times to buy gas are at night or early in the morning before the temperature rises.
Have any other tips or suggestions to share? GO AHEAD LEAVE A COMMENT, ITS CHEAPER THAN A GALLON OF GAS. But more important, please share this post with others. Please put a link from your blog to this post, or just copy and repost it. Let's all try to reduce our consumption of gas.
-Rick Rockhill
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